This week the letter of Kerrie´s alphabet meme is S.S is for the British writer Dorothy L Sayers, a Golden Age favourite of mine. She wrote fourteen Lord Peter Wimsey novels and I devoured them all (several times).
I wrote a tribute to Ms Sayers (and to my dear grandmother) around a year ago in this post.
And S is for Danish writer Susanne Staun, a modern favourite of mine. I reread and reviewed her fantastic debut in March last year, and I am really sorry that you can only get her novels in Danish and German. (She says her books do not translate well, and I believe her; her tone is unique and very, very ironic).
Her first three Fanny Fiske novels are five-star crime stories, and while the fourth is a bit weaker, I will still give it three stars, and four for the latest, Before I Die (she sent me a signed copy, and my, how proud I was!)
S for Sayers og Staun.
Ugens bogstav er S.
S for den britiske forfatter Dorothy L Sayers, en af mine guldalder-favoritter (1920erne og 1930erne). Hun skrev fjorten krimier med den seje Lord Peter Wimsey, og jeg har slugt dem alle sammen – mange gange.
Jeg skrev en hyldest til D.L. Sayers (og til min dejlige farmor) for et år siden.
Og S er for den danske krimiforfatter Susanne Staun, en af mine nutidige favoritter. Jeg genlæste og anmeldte hendes debut i marts sidste år.Hendes tre første Fanny Fiske-bøger er femstjernede krimier (fængslende og uhyggelige, med masser af tjæresort humor), og selv om fireren er lidt svagere, vil jeg stadig give den tre stjerner, og fire stjerner til den seneste, Før jeg dør (forfatteren sendte mig en signeret udgave, og jeg var helt ellevild).
Fanny Fiske-serien:
Som arvesynden (1999)
Liebe/Mord som forløser (2000)
Mit smukke lig (2002)
Mine piger (2008)
Før jeg dør (2009)
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9 kommentarer:
The English do irony very well so perhaps one day we will get Susanne Staun.
Norman: you certainly do! I love the British humour, perhaps even more than our own.
And with the right translator, I am sure you would all love Susanne´s well-written novels, but it is not all and sundry who can convey her very special flavour.
Will I get thrown out of the club if I admit I've never read a Dorothy L Sayers book? I have meant to many times but seem to have never gotten around to it.
Dorte - Thank you so much for featuring Dorothy Sayers! As you know, I am a fan, and it was nice that you acknowledged her role in crime fiction.
After reading yours and Norman's comments, I think I'm interested in Susanne Staun, although as you say, it's not easy to translate humor well. We shall have to wait and see...
Bernadette: I am sure you will - but which club? ;) Sayers is great, but then there are so many excellent crime stories around.
Margot: she made such a major impression on me the first years, and the first time I pulled myself together and read a whole novel in English (voluntarily, that is), it was a Sayers´ novel I could not find in Danish.
And you *would* love Staun so here is yet another reason to struggle with the Danish language. But she does not exactly write easy readers :D
I don't believe I've ever read any Dorothy Sayers, either. I've always heard good things, though, so perhaps I should!
Kelly: she is one of the very best golden age crime writers.
Dear Dorte!
A thought pops up..could you be the one translating Susan Stauns novels? Perhaps I already know the answer. You will rather write your own novel than translate others and haven`t got the time doing both. Life`s too short!
Bente: I wish I could, but usually you translate novels into your own language. And if it comes to that, I think Staun is quite good at English herself so it would probably be better for her to rewrite it herself.
I wouldn´t mind translating good crime fiction, really, but it is rather low-paid work.
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