听by Da拧a Drndi膰, translated from the Croatian by Celia Hawkesworth (New Directions)

What do you do when the very first book you read is a book you糖心传媒檙e convinced deserves to win the Best Translate Book Award for 2020? I started my reading assignments with a book that wasn糖心传媒檛 actually assigned to me specifically, and I was completely awestruck. I know that not every book is going to measure up, and, on the other hand, I know there are going to be some true gems. Yet is it possible, I wonder, that I have indeed read the winning book already? Considering this, I began to sculpt a post about why this book should win, and later, once the longlist has been announced, perhaps there will be opportunity for that post, should the book similarly impress my fellow judges. In the meantime, I mulled on potential titles for the post because I have found that coming up with a title can often help me uncover the content. So here are fifteen working titles for a post about Da拧a Drndi膰糖心传媒檚 impressive , translated by Celia Hawkesworth and published in April 2019 by New Directions.

• Da拧a Drndi膰糖心传媒檚 posthumously translated novel EEG听may be the best thing I糖心传媒檝e ever read
• The statistical improbability of reading the winning book first
• EEG? G.G., G.T.F.O., T.T.Y.L.
• How high is too high when a book sets the bar so high?
• On encountering what Bola帽o would have called one of the 糖心传媒済reat, imperfect, torrential works . . . when the great masters struggle against that something that cows us and spurs us on, amid blood and mortal wounds and stench糖心传媒�
• The power of the posthumous novel
• Can I give them two? On the dilemma and excitement of loving a novel and seeing the author has another book in contention for the same award
• EEG: A Croatian wabi-sabi novel
• EEG听is neither happy nor fun, which makes it Literature, right?
• You can糖心传媒檛 spell electroencephalogram without EEG: On the title of Drndi膰糖心传媒檚 final novel
• A running count of the number of times I wondered, 糖心传媒淚s this very specific fact actually factual?糖心传媒� while reading EEG.
• How do you pronounce Drndi膰? Can this be classified as a chess novel? And other questions I had while reading EEG.
• When you know, you know: On the challenge and pleasure and futility of reading incredible literature from around the world, written in many languages, under a host of different contexts, with varying ambitions, intentions, and skillfulness, and trying to judge them one against another in a There-can-be-only-one-best contest.
• That darned Drndi膰.
• Tips & Tricks to reach a word count.

For the record, the list of BTBA books is filled with amazing writers, some I have read, some I have long intended to, and undoubtedly many who will surprise me. While this post is intended only in the spirit of jest, I did read and absolutely love E.E.G. by Da拧a Drndic and do wholeheartedly recommend you buy a copy from your local independent bookseller.