Kevin B:
> Given how alternately nepotistic and fragmented and just plain wacko
> publishing is, it may not necessarily be any indication of anything
> except networking, availability of rights and voodoo mojo to explain
> why a press picks up a foreign book. And it gets even hinkier when
> it's a foreign language book.
Yeah, you're pretty much right about nepotism and wacko about publishing,
but the case isn't really that bad in Europe, especially in Finland where
the book market somewhat relies on translated material, both in fiction and
non-fiction. But you could well be right about the fact that not having John
D. MacDonald in Finnish doesn't have much to do with anything. There are
lots of English-language MacDonald books available cheaply in Finnish
bookstores, though.
You're wondering about Thomas Pynchon. I don't know if it has something to
do with being difficult to translate, but he's had only CRYING OF LOT 49
translated in Finnish. I was shortly thinking whether I should include
INHERENT VICE in the paperback series I'm editing, but the lukewarm reviews
didn't encourage me.
Juri
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