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The popular American author, George Saunders, spoke to the newspaper To Vima about his new novel, Oblivion and Lincoln (translation: Giorgos-Ikaros Babasakis), which is in the running for the 2017 Man Booker Prize. Interview by Grigoris Bekos. The interview was published on Sunday 1 October and you can read it below:On 22 February 1862, two days after his death from typhoid fever, 11-year-old Willie – son of the iconic US President Abraham Lincoln – was buried in a marble crypt. That very same night, the distraught father – wishing to mourn a little longer beside his lifeless child – visited Georgetown Cemetery alone. George Saunders structures his new book around this historical event; the Greek title is *Lethé and Lincoln* (the original English title is *Lincoln in the Bardo*). The ‘bardo’ refers to Buddhist tradition; it constitutes a transitional stage, an intermediate state between death and rebirth. Well, the American author transforms this into an unpredictable fictional setting, creating a sparkling, polyphonic story featuring the most human ghosts we have ever encountered in the pages of literature. And that is why he is a nominee for the 2017 Booker Prize... You are in fine company on this year’s shortlist, Mr Saunders, alongside Paul Auster, Ali Smith...’It is, of course, a special honour, and I must admit that it had the strange – though somewhat reprehensible – effect of making me like myself a little more, of fuelling my ambition for much grander projects.”You were devoted to the short story. How did your first novel come about? Was it an experiment that simply went well this time? Did the material you had to work with play a part? ‘I have the feeling that, in this case, the material itself demanded that I handle it in this particular way. I must tell you that, for the most part, I had been cleansed of my desire to write a novel; but I loved the core of this story so much that, once I had properly embarked on the process of actually writing it, the story itself demanded to become something more extensive than a short story. An extremely important advantage for me was, as you say, the experimental nature of the project – I tried to get inside the mind of a ‘newcomer’, so to speak, to adopt his perspective, so that I could discover from the outset how a novel is written. I believe, more broadly, that when an artist begins to mature, they must look steadfastly ahead, indeed provoke in themselves a sense of wonder or bewilderment regarding what they do, and reject complacency, the ‘autopilot’.How did you find out about that particular visit by Abraham Lincoln? ‘At some point, back in the 1990s, my wife’s cousin began telling me about this incident – a tiny seed of history – as we were driving past Oak Hill Cemetery in Washington; namely that President Lincoln, broken with grief, kept the body of his dead son in the crypt. The image lodged itself in my mind and stubbornly refused to leave for nearly two decades. I wrote a play that didn’t turn out well; I tried to forget it, but I simply couldn’t. Gradually, I began to realise that the reason I was trying to escape from all this was my fear that I lacked the skills and qualifications to complete such a book, something terribly distressing for me. Giving up on the project seemed to me like a kind of artistic death. And so, in 2012, I started writing it, absolutely convinced of the outcome: I would give up. But that was when – in a strange way – the book really took off!’ The Buddhist concept of ‘bardo’ is essentially what makes the ‘action’ in your novel possible. In what way exactly did it serve you? ‘I used this transitional condition because it helped me – it reminded me, to be precise – that I must constantly imbue the afterlife with a mysterious aura. In that state – or at least based on the limited understanding I actually have of it – what keeps the soul trapped is precisely its inability to comprehend the state it is in. This means that the soul continues to misinterpret what it is (as is always the case) as something else: a permanent, stable, unchanging entity. This differs slightly from the Roman Catholic Purgatory, in the following sense: the bardo (again, I’m talking about my own version in the novel) is a more flexible and changeable state – in contrast to Purgatory, where, once you’re there, you remain until the end of the world, sitting on some uncomfortable bench or something similar, I don’t know...’. What is striking, if nothing else, is the ‘form’ you chose. Beyond the technique, did you perhaps want to link the president’s personal drama with the stories of ordinary Americans at all costs? ‘Look, all the questions you’re asking are truly very important. For me, however, the whole game of writing and fiction lies in finding, as a writer, a voice that is entertaining. Which means a voice that is literarily accomplished, rich, and at the same time accessible and approachable – that is what I devote myself to faithfully every day, and it gives me great pleasure. Otherwise, everything becomes so rigid, so harsh and, moreover, so restrictive.”Why not, for example, a monologue by Lincoln? ‘When I thought of writing the novel from Lincoln’s own perspective, I simply became depressed, and that is a thoroughly bad place from which to start. It seemed to me that it would be incredibly painful to extract anything authentic or entertaining from his own voice – it would be far too contrived, somewhat deterministic, if you like. An old student of mine predicted, quite out of the blue, that if I ever wrote a novel, it would be a series of monologues – and at that moment something clicked in my head! —the prospect of a tangible possibility, a playful mood, opened up within me.” You write about death in a way that doesn’t depress the reader. Do you approach death differently as a writer and as a person? “What I feel about death has been described beautifully by Woody Allen: ‘I’m not afraid of death – I simply don’t want to be there when it happens’. Otherwise, I believe this: art is something that helps us move towards this inevitable destination for us all; it helps us – if you like – to become familiar with the prospect of death, to redefine it in such a way that, perhaps, it does not seem so alien and terrifying to us – I must admit, of course, that for me this has not worked at all so far; indeed, it may even be making things worse, yet I remain optimistic...’.So? “I think we fear death because we have an innate tendency to invest in ourselves to an excessive degree, as if we were going to remain in this world forever, as if we were the centre of the universe. When we write, and imagine the lives of others, this may result – I say may – in our individualism being somewhat diminished. The same may be true of prayer or meditation. All of this can teach us (and constantly remind us) how things really are: we humans are lovable beings, but finite ones. And all this energy we expend to discover who we truly are is nothing more than a Darwinian trick – it makes us want to stay here longer and longer, by any means and at any cost, which is generally good for all species of fauna and flora, but then again, in the end someone has to foot the bill.You mentioned a bill... Does literature serve a purpose, more specifically, Mr Saunders? ‘I think literature performs a very important but rather humble task: it soothes the reader as an individual. It probably has a more effective impact on the sort of person who doesn’t really need this ‘softening’ all that much; even so, however, who among us doesn’t need to refresh our humanity and compassion towards others every now and then? Speaking as a writer now, for me it is preferable – and better – to focus on and address an imaginary reader, an intelligent, thoughtful person with good intentions: if you manage to inspire such a person, then you have achieved something as a writer. How meaningful can this inspiration be? Can it change them? “Even if your influence, as a writer, is only going to last a few hours for the reader, the fact that someone feels more present and more human in their daily life is, for me, a priceless gift. Something that has certainly happened to me, too, with many of my favourite books. Beyond all that, however: who knows? If we look back at history, we will see that great literature has always existed, but it has always been alongside violence and destruction. What can I say? Good literature is perhaps simply like good sex, or a delicious meal, or effective exercise. Literature is the pressure valve on the lid of the pot in which the evil nature of human beings boils...’ I heard you talking somewhere about ‘radical tenderness’. It sounds wonderful. What exactly is it about? “Ah! I haven’t really thought about the full scope of that concept (laughs). Basically, though, this is what I mean: on only a few occasions in my life — and for a brief period — I have happened to feel overwhelmed with love for certain things or people (following the death of a loved one, for example) and I have experienced just how boundlessly all-powerful this state is: that is, to sense the true place of a thing or a person in the world (a temporary place, not necessarily central, a place of service to others). After that, every decision seemed clear and there was little fear or uncertainty. We usually equate ‘love’ or ‘compassion’ as a way of life with weakness, but we need to consider the examples of Jesus or Buddha, or, for instance, the example of Gandhi, to see how invincible this is: to live in a state of unadulterated love and reduced individualism. Does literature, beyond beauty, also have a duty to cultivate a certain morality? ‘Perhaps. I wouldn’t pin all my hopes on literature in this regard. Literature is undoubtedly a space where you can certainly be free. Sometimes, however, I have found that precisely when I am working within a specific logic imposed by a text, I also clarify my own beliefs more clearly. And as I focus, with each new draft, on a specific character (through the prismatic lens of language), I have the sense that what is happening, reality, let’s say, is somehow slowing down, and at the same time it’s as if I’m watching myself create a kind of second-degree empathy. We practise and do it on paper, for years on end, and perhaps things would go better if we applied it to the world around us, if we pushed ourselves. Perhaps...’.You followed Donald Trump’s election campaign closely and wrote about it in *The New Yorker*. How did that come about? I mean the president himself...’That is precisely what a large proportion of Americans are now asking themselves on a daily basis. I don’t think, however, that any of us has the answer. One factor is certainly the incredible concentration of wealth at the top in the US over the last thirty years: the rich have become vastly richer, whilst the poor have become even poorer. I liken this pivotal development to a community living on a mountain where the oxygen has gradually moved upwards and now exists only at the summit: it is natural for the people living lower down, at the foot of the mountain, to feel anxiety and unease.”How do you relate this image to Donald Trump? ‘I am referring, of course, to one aspect of the whole situation, and that is the appeal Donald Trump holds for the working classes. But even that does not cover the whole picture, given that the new president proved attractive only to white working people. People of colour did not support him. Donald Trump played on certain primal insecurities and exploited them, particularly the misguided tendency we have as a nation to think of our country as a white place. We must also take into account another key factor: the poor quality of the education provided, our national inability to grasp, from his dubious rhetoric, that this man in fact neither understands nor cares – nor has he ever been willing — to learn anything about our political system, world history, etc. So, in other words: I have no idea! Like many others here, I feel disheartened and disappointed, and I’m waiting to see where all this will end up.’ You can find out more about George Saunders and his books published by Ikaros here.

We are welcoming autumn with a host of important books for readers of all ages. Read on for more information about the titles we plan to publish by the end of 2017. GREEK FICTION Ismini Kapantai: A Townhouse in HalandriThe prolific and award-winning author, Ismini Kapantai, marks the start of her collaboration with Ikaros by publishing a subversive crime novel entitled A City House in Halandri. Kyriakos Margaritis: KronakaWith the eponymous work, Kyriakos Margaritis attempts a fictional reconstruction of the chronicle as a narrative form in the 21st century.All the stories I loved were rivers, but I would like you to see the one I have decided to tell as a sea: who will ever exhaust it? Certainly not me. Yet I have a longing to reach it and enter the inexhaustible. I am referring to the mystery of the Word, and I go to celebrate it in the courtyard of childhood. There I lay out my castles, with ashes from Auschwitz, the immaculate tears of Turin, soil from the Green Line, verses from Siberia, Athonite relics and a few strolls through the arcades of Athens. If I am not mistaken, the foam will be called Kronaka, that is to say, Chronicle. The rest, perhaps eternity, I hope will be my depths. The publication is made possible by the kind sponsorship of the Kimonos Arts Centre. GREEK POETRY Yannis Metaxas: But afterwards, afterwards… Yannis Metaxas’s new collection of poetry, featuring three paintings by Yannis Psychopedis. Yannis Metaxas, Emeritus Professor of Political Science, founder of the Political Communication Laboratory at the University of Athens and full member of the European Interdisciplinary Academy of Sciences (Académie Européenne Interdisciplinaire des Sciences), has published numerous academic books and the poetry collection From Time to Time (Gavriilidis, 2011). George K. Psaltis: You George K. Psaltis returns with his new poetry collection entitled You. He has published three poetry collections with Ikaros: Return to the United Country (2008), Please Do Not Dig, a Dog Is Buried Here (2011), and Panagies Elenes (2014). His play Poppy Seeds (Koukoutsi Publications, 2015) was staged at Analogio 2015 (Theatre of Art). He collaborates with artists on creative projects. His writings have been published in literary journals and on websites. GRAPHIC NOVELTassos Zafeiradis – Yannis Palavos – Thanasis Petrou: Gra-GrouA unique and atmospheric graphic novel, told like an allegorical fairy tale about our deepest dilemmas.In Vermio, outside the village of Kastania, the ‘Gra-Grou’ restaurant marks the transition from Central to Western Macedonia. Many pass by, but few notice, lost in the mist, an arched bridge at the side of the road. No one knows where it leads. Those who do see it have their own reasons. One morning, a young woman arrives at ‘Gra-Grou’ with the intention of crossing the bridge. As she hesitates to cross it, whilst waiting in the restaurant, she gets to know the regulars and listens to their stories. The months pass. Meanwhile, the new road bypassing Kastania is about to open. The heroine must make her decision.The graphic novel by Tassos Zafeiradis, Yannis Palavos and Thanasis Petrou unfolds an atmospheric story, where tradition intersects with the present and realistic narration is undermined by beliefs and legends. Set against the backdrop of the eponymous restaurant, a landmark in Northern Greece for an entire era, Gra-Grou crafts a charming gallery of characters just before each of them chooses the ‘big Yes or the big No’.The publication is accompanied by original music composed by Michalis Siganidis. ESSAY/TESTIMONY Panourgias Panourgias: Free GreeksGeneral Panourgias (1917–2008) served in the 2nd Staff Office of the General Staff from 1966 and was present at the coup d’état of 21 April 1967. He opposed the regime from the outset, was arrested in June 1969, remained in solitary confinement and was subsequently exiled. He was a member of the steering committee of the organisation known as the ‘Free Greeks’, responsible for political contacts. In this book, he describes in detail the events as he experienced them from his position both before and after the junta. The narrative begins in 1964, with emphasis on the early months of 1967 and, of course, the coup, whilst also providing an extensive account of the royal counter-coup. The book concludes with a detailed chapter on the Free Greeks. The author has drawn on an extensive bibliography, as well as material from his personal archive. The publication includes a list of the members of the Free Greeks, an appendix with interesting illustrative material and rare documents, and an introduction by the historian Tassos Sakellaropoulos. Efi Sapouna-Sakellaraki: When Time Spoke: The story of two people who dedicated their lives to their science and left their mark on archaeology. A description of the academic careers of Yannis and Efi Sakellaraki, covering excavations, writing and publications, trips to international conferences, successes and disappointments, brings to life an entire era, the events in the cultural and social life of Greece in the second half of the 20th century.Through a fictional narrative, the author describes their shared journey and how they felt, acted and reacted, guided by a specific logic, aesthetic and ethos, both within and outside the archaeological world.The publication was made possible through the generous sponsorship of Alpha Bank. FOREIGN PROSE Vicente Alfonso (Mexico): The Remains of Saint Lawrence (Huesos de San Lorenzo) Translation: Maria Palaiologou The truth is one; its interpretations, infinite. Astonished by the gravity of the charges against his patient, Romo Ayala, the psychologist Alberto Alborés agrees to join a team that will defend the young man’s innocence. As time goes by, reality reveals more and more disturbing facts about Romo’s past, and Dr Albores is called upon to decide whether his monologues are mere fantasies or confessions of heinous crimes...How many lies and truths are there in the stories that Romo tells his psychologist? Under what circumstances did Romo’s mother die, and why are some people trying to cover her tracks? Is it possible for a man to be murdered in a bar without anyone being able to confirm the identity of the perpetrator? Was it Romo, or perhaps his twin brother, Romylos? Why is the twins’ mother’s grave empty? The investigations to solve these mysteries will piece together the history of the Agiala family and show that every reality can have infinite interpretations. Jean Echenoz (France): Special Envoy (Envoyée spéciale)Translation: Achilleas KyriakidisIt all begins at the French intelligence office, where the elderly General Bourgeot asks his trusted colleague, Paul Obza, to help him choose the person who will lead the secret mission they are preparing: a beautiful woman, easily manipulated.Constance, an attractive, restless woman stuck in a failed marriage to a washed-up pop musician, seems the ideal choice.Obza’s men kidnap her, entangle her in the web of French bureaucracy and train her for the special mission. Their aim is to destabilise Kim Jong-un’s regime in North Korea.From the banks of the Seine to the shores of the Yellow Sea, along the River Creuse, nothing can stop Constance from fulfilling her mission.Delightfully strange and unpredictable, full of unexpected twists and coincidences, Jean Echenoz’s novel Special Envoy is, according to L’Express ‘a precious gem, a delight at every turn, a celebration of the French language’. Hannah Kent (Australia): The Good PeopleTranslation: Maria AngelidouFollowing the huge success of her literary debut, Burial Rites, Hannah Kent returns with the novel The Good People.County Kerry. Ireland, 1825. Devastated by the death of her husband, Martin, Nora finds herself all alone, caring for her grandson Michael, a child unable to walk or speak. Where is the healthy, happy grandson she knew when her daughter was still alive?Mary comes to help Nora at home, whilst dark tales of inexplicable misfortunes, illnesses, and rumours that Michael is bringing bad luck to the valley begin to spread.Determined to rid themselves of the evil and help Michael, Nora and Mary enlist the help of Nance, an elderly wandering woman who possesses the knowledge and mysteries of ancient magic.As the three women hope to bring Michael back, their unique world of customs, beliefs and rituals closes in on them ever more tightly; they will be led down a dangerous path and forced to question everything they know.Set in a lost world that obeys its own rules, Hannah Kent’s The Good People is a striking novel about absolute faith and devoted love. George Saunders (USA): Lincoln in the BardoTranslation: Giorgos – Ikaros BabasakisHow do we live and how do we love, when we know that everything we care about will one day cease to exist?February 1862. The American Civil War is raging, whilst President Lincoln’s beloved eleven-year-old son is gravely ill and, despite predictions of recovery, eventually dies. On 22 February 1862, two days after his death, Willie Lincoln was buried in a marble crypt in Georgetown Cemetery.That evening, Abraham Lincoln arrived alone at the cemetery, wishing to spend time with his son’s lifeless body. During the night, the ghosts of those who have recently passed away and those who have been dead for some time coexist; a monumental battle takes place for the soul of little Willie.Taking this historical event as his starting point, George Saunders tells an unforgettable, kaleidoscopic story of family love, loss, and the forces of good and evil. Marina Tsvetaeva (Russia): My Pushkin (Мой Пушкин)Translation: Fotis LambrinosIn her book, the popular Russian poet Marina Tsvetaeva (1892–1941), My Pushkin, the author blends narrative, autobiography and poetic prose with great interest, in a unique quest to discover literature and its ability to transform reality.Marina Tsvetaeva sketches the Pushkin of her childhood, her secret readings, her journey and her encounter with the great poet. Juan Gabriel Vásquez (Colombia): The Shape of Ruins (La forma de las ruinas)Translation: Achilleas Kyriakidis “Conspiracy theories are like climbing plants, Vasquez: they cling to anything to get higher, and keep climbing until you take away what’s supporting them.”In 2014, Carlos Carvajo is arrested in a museum in Bogotá for the theft of the cloth suit belonging to Jorge Eliezer Gaitán, the liberal political leader who was assassinated in 1948.Carvaggio, troubled by the mysteries of the past that haunt him, is constantly searching for clues that will give meaning to his quest. Yet no one, not even his closest friends, suspects the deeper reasons behind his obsession.What links the assassinations of John F. Kennedy and Jorge Eliezer Gaitán, whose death shaped the history of Colombia? How can a crime that took place in 1914—that of the leader of the Liberal Party, Rafael Uribe Uribe—mark the life of a man in the 21st century? For Carvagio, everything is connected, and there are no coincidences. Juan Gabriel Vázquez, the novel’s author-narrator, possesses a peculiar privilege: he has in his possession the remains of the two Colombian politicians, and decides to delve into the secrets of the darkest moments of Colombia’s past.A gripping novel and a unique historical exploration of the relationships we forge in a world rife with wounds and the machinations of power. Alejandro Zambra (Chile): Skills Test (Facsimile)Translation: Achilleas KyriakidisTo say that Skills Test is a novel would be just as risky as saying it isn’t. Perhaps it is better simply to say that it is a book by Alejandro Zambra, because the style and themes that have made him a significant voice in Latin American literature unfold here in a substantial and intense manner.Taking as his starting point the structure of the oral examination administered in Chile from 1967 to 2002 to university applicants, the author creates an unexpected work in which stories coexist with literary excerpts and linguistic exercises that are, in essence, moral dilemmas: the need to lie in order to be validated by others; the desire to form bonds, despite mistrust of love and family; the difficulty of navigating a minefield full of secrets; the desperate conviction that, rather than learning to think, we have been trained to obey and repeat. NON-FICTIONErik Larson (USA) Dead Wake (Dead Wake)Translation: Katerina SchinaThe gripping story of the sinking of the Lusitania.On 1 May 1915, with the First World War already in its tenth month, the Lusitania, a luxury ocean liner, set sail from New York bound for Liverpool, carrying a large number of passengers, including many children and infants. Despite the fact that Germany had declared the seas around Britain a war zone, the liner’s passengers did not believe they were in any danger, as for a century civilian ships had been kept safe from any attack. For months, German submarines had been sowing terror in the North Atlantic, but the Lusitania was one of the finest and fastest transatlantic liners of the era, known as the ‘Hound of the Seas’. Germany was determined to change the rules of the game, and Walther Schwieger, captain of the submarine U-20, was ready to rise to the challenge.In *The Silent Wave*, Erik Larson, in a manner that captivates the reader, examines the sinking of the Lusitania by U-20 and the events surrounding the shipwreck, bringing to the fore the lives of a host of compelling characters, he paints a sweeping portrait of America during the Progressive Era. CHILDREN’S BOOKSDrew Daywalt & Oliver Jeffers: The Day the Crayons QuitTranslation: Filippos MandilarasAll poor Duncan wanted was to draw. But when he opened his box, he found a pile of letters, all saying the same thing: we’re quitting! Beige was tired of being Brown’s shadow. Blue needed a break after all that work, whilst Pink simply wanted to be used. Green had no complaints but wanted Yellow and Orange to make up.What could Duncan do? Debut author Drew Daywalt and beloved illustrator Oliver Jeffers create a lively and imaginative story that will have children in stitches and make them see their crayons in a whole new light… Alexia Vernikou: To the Sky and BackIllustrations: Sofia Touliatou‘To the Sky and Back’. That’s how much Elli loved her grandmother, ‘and three somersaults’ because she had a soft spot for her. Together, they always had a brilliant time! Everlasting love is never lost, no matter what happens. It is sustained and strengthened by the most beautiful memories. A tender, moving story about how our loved ones remain in our hearts as our most precious treasure. Alexia Vernikou, M.A. Psychologist-Family Psychotherapist, and the award-winning illustrator Sofia Touliatou, have created an exceptionally tender fairy tale about love and loss that will leave no one unmoved. Series: KaraviaMaria Angelidou – Antonis PapatheodoulouIllustrations: Christos Kourtoglou The creators of the ‘Ships’ book series are back with two new titles: Ships that played with fire Ships that sailed on curiosity Ships real and imaginary, from mythology and literature, from ancient and recent history, invite us to set sail with them on a journey through space and time, a journey where everything can be told as a maritime tale.The first two books in the series have been recognised by the Greek Children’s Book Circle and have been included in the international White Ravens list. Ioulita Iliopoulou-Giorgos KourouposIllustrations: Yannis KottisBut when will this Wizard arrive? or Every Obstacle for the Best (A Musical Christmas Fairy Tale)Poet Ioulita Iliopoulou has written and narrates a unique Christmas fairy tale, a new, subversive take on the story of the Magi.The original music and songs by Giorgos Kouroupos accompany the funny, yet strange, adventures of the fourth Magus, Magus Avasal, who kept getting into all sorts of situations, always meeting someone and always delaying his arrival at the manger near the newborn Christ. The book was illustrated by the artist Yannis Kottis. The edition also includes a CD featuring a recording of the musical fairy tale.

Tobias Wolff, a master of the short story form, gave a very interesting interview to the newspaper *To Vima* and to Grigoris Bekos to mark the publication of the book *The Warrior’s Joy and Other Stories* (translated by Tassos Anastasiou & Yannis Palavos). The American author talks about the art of short story writing, explains why literature is intertwined with problematic situations, refers to the Homeric epics and expresses shame regarding the new US president.The interview was published on Sunday 6 August and you can read it below: In his first email – the reply – he wrote to us: ‘Of course we’ll do the interview! We’ve got a bit of work on our hands these days, of course: my second son is getting married here at our house this Saturday. But I think your questions will be a pleasant break for me.” In his second email – let’s call it an apology – a few days later, he wrote to us: “Please forgive me! Immediately after the wedding, I had to travel with my family to Mexico, with the result that both my time and my concentration vanished.” But it was for the best and well worth the wait. Because this particular author, apart from being an authentic writer, is also a kind man. And he was not only consistent but also friendly in his conversation with ‘To Vima’. The 72-year-old Tobias Wolff is no stranger to the Greek reading public. In 2008, Polis Publications released his semi-autobiographical novel *The Old School* – that unforgettable portrait of the poet Robert Frost, among others! – and a year later the wonderful novella *The Camp Thief*, for which he had won, in 1985, the prestigious Pen/Faulkner Award. However, the publication by Ikaros of his exceptional collection *The Warrior’s Joy and Other Stories* came as a necessary complement. Precisely because Tobias Wolff, now a professor at Stanford University, is considered one of the leading short story writers in the US, a master of the short form, which proves to be larger than life when handled by the right hands. The recent Greek edition is a well-balanced anthology of ten of his short stories, ranging from his first collection, In the Garden of North American Martyrs (1981), to a piece published a few years ago in The New Yorker. Stories such as ‘Hunters in the Snow’, ‘An Episode in the Life of Professor Brook’, ‘The Liar’ and the later ‘A Bullet in the Head’ – what a text indeed; in a single, dense paragraph we see what goes on in a man’s mind when a bullet practically pierces his brain! — are not only technically flawless but also create a narrative depth that even voluminous novels would envy. However, if we consider the case of Tobias Wolff in terms of his representativeness in the domestic literary scene, we find that there are outstanding issues worth addressing, namely his two autobiographical works: This Boy’s Life (1989), in which he describes the eventful coming-of-age of ‘Toby’ —this book was adapted for the cinema by Michael Caton-Jones, starring Robert De Niro, Leonardo DiCaprio and Helen Birkin—and *In Pharaoh’s Army: Memories of the Lost War (1994), in which the author gives a harrowing account of his involvement in the Vietnam War, a traumatic experience for the US.  Mr Wolf, as you are something of a reclusive writer, it is worth asking: are you writing anything at the moment? ‘Indeed, I am currently writing a new book, a novel. I’ve been working on it for a few years now and I hope to finish it within the year, by Christmas – but for writers, deadlines (as Lenin once said of promises in general) are like pies, their crusts are made to be broken’. I know you don’t like being classified within the literary movement of ‘dirty realism’. But what do you think they mean, especially by the word ‘dirty’?Honestly, I don’t know. Realism as a literary style – not to say almost by definition – has always dealt with the most difficult, brutal and dark aspects of human nature and experience. Contemporary writers who have been categorised in this way, who have been – who we have been – labelled with this mysterious tag, suggesting we belong to such a movement, did not – and do not – do anything more strikingly ‘dirty’ than our predecessors. What can I say, it seems it’s still used simply because it’s catchy. We can discern personal experiences in your fiction, but also recurring themes in your work. I wonder, however, about the two memoirs, the autobiographical texts: did you write them because you believe they are unique experiences, or because you consider that they more broadly cover an important part of the American experience in the 20th century?The structure, the very form of my experience – the way in which my life took shape and as described in these two autobiographical narratives — always seemed to me to be inherently fictional in itself, that it needed none of the inventions of fiction, that it required neither the reconstruction of reality nor any embellishment. And I did, in fact, think it would be worthwhile to express and record all of this, to describe the events that make up the coming of age of a young American and, subsequently, to follow that same person to the front lines of a war. My other works – and those you allude to – although also based on certain personal experiences of mine, required me, the writer, to approach them more through my imagination. And that, I must tell you, is an instinct one develops when writing.” The United States has a long tradition of the short story, dating back to the 19th century. To what, I wonder, is this largely attributable? To the writers themselves or to the readers? ‘In reality, very few Americans read short stories. Even today, the most popular reads here are those multi-page ‘bricks’—the highly sentimental and extremely poorly written books that also have pretentious, bombastic titles, the so-called ‘blockbuster’ books. Every now and then something good pops up, a literary work of substance stands out, but it’s usually a novel. Short stories – like poetry – appeal only to a minority of readers.” Something that holds true everywhere, I think… “Yes, and it’s a shame because the short story is a very exciting genre and rewards the reader in many ways. The short story is a lofty, noble form. Besides, it is also a highly diverse form; there are so many different kinds of short story — from the Italian Calvino to Raymond Carver, from Ernest Hemingway to Jorge Luis Borges and Alice Munro — that only a fool would impose prerequisites and rules on their writing. In any case, the best one can say about short stories is that they must be interesting, and linger in the reader’s mind for quite some time after they have closed the book. In your short story ‘The Liar’ we read that ‘a solipsist is someone who believes that they create everything around them’. Is a good writer a solipsist? ‘Far from it; a good writer is the opposite of a solipsist, his gaze is unwaveringly fixed on a world that is ceaselessly charming and captivating by its very nature, and the good writer honours through his work both the complexity and the harsh underpinning that exist in the reality of this world. Furthermore, the good writer is the opposite of a liar. He is the one who seeks the truth, the one who understands that we must expand and use our imagination in order to discern and confront the truth, as far as we are allowed to. In the same short story, Dr Murphy says something strange, that ‘perhaps unpleasant things are more interesting’. And the question is: can there be literature without problematic situations?It is very difficult to imagine literature without problematic situations. It is problems that make literature happen, precisely because they force people to make their choices, for better or for worse. In this way, in any case, people reveal themselves or become themselves. Problems are the stories. Just imagine for a moment an ‘Iliad’ in which Agamemnon sails in great comfort and arrives quickly at Troy – at Ilion, in any case – the city walls come tumbling down like a house of cards, a wonderful peace is immediately made with Priam, Hector and Achilles become the best of mates, and Menelaus simply gives Paris a friendly pat on the back and returns with the lovely Helen to their home, where, thereafter, they lived happily ever after. How boring! Where is the moment when, just before the duel with Achilles, Hector’s young son frightens everyone with his father’s helmet? Where is Patroclus, killed by Hector whilst wearing Achilles’ armour? where is Priam, begging for the dishonoured body of his dead son, where is the Trojan Horse, where is the city engulfed in flames? But how much do we love these tragedies in the end – these problems!’ In the short story ‘Sleepless’, Richard reads the ‘Odyssey’ and gets bored. Has that ever happened to you? “No! I really like the ‘Odyssey’, but the ‘Iliad’ is perhaps the literary text I love most of all genres, from all eras, timelessly. Once I drove all the way from Athens to Mycenae, in an incredible heatwave, just to show my daughter—who had also become obsessed with the ‘Iliad’—the famous Lion Gate. She considers the photograph I took of her standing near the Gate to be one of the most precious gifts I have ever given her, and she is very proud of it. I love ancient Greek drama very much; in fact, I taught it at university, particularly Aeschylus’s ‘Oresteia’ trilogy. And to turn to more contemporary figures: Elytis, Cavafy, Kazantzakis, George Seferis and Yannis Ritsos are some of the Greek writers who have more recently found a place on my bookshelf.” At this stage of your life, do you return to certain authors, rereading them? “In the past, I used to return more and more to certain authors – Dickens, Melville, Hemingway, and Katherine Anne Porter, whom I personally consider a leading figure in American literature. However, in recent years I have been reading more history books; I do not return to literary texts, but rather I am looking for a different perspective on the same historical period that interests me; I am trying to see how another historian interprets the same set of events.”  Can technology, the so-called digital age, have a substantial impact on literature, on the way we write and read? ‘I’d rather not answer that; I’ve no idea what we mean by the digital age; I’m not in the know.’ In 2015, you received the National Medal of Arts from then-President Barack Obama. What was it like? “It was a wonderful day for me and my wife, but also for the friends who accompanied us to the ceremony, because we already had great admiration for both President Obama and his wife Michelle. At the end of that day, I remember, we were overwhelmed by a sense of sweetness, a tenderness.” Are your fellow countrymen interested in writers’ opinions? Does the public discourse articulated by writers in the US have any influence? “I hope so! Because literature allows us to step into lives other than our own, to enter other souls. When we manage to imagine ourselves as someone else, we become more cautious about judging and condemning others. Because we see in them a reflection of our own human condition, and this deepens our understanding of humanity as a whole; we see it as a community rather than a war of all against all.” I now think that many of your heroes – ordinary people testing their limits – might have voted for Donald Trump, if they were real. That doesn’t mean they would necessarily all be bad people. But they would have... Why? ‘Donald Trump’s election is a disaster for our country. I’m still trying to come to terms with it and accept it. I really cannot understand what could possibly drive someone to vote for a proven bigot, a man who – by his own admission – mistreats women, someone who mocks the public with his so-called ‘university’, a common thief not only of his employees’ hard-earned labour but also of their personal belongings, a pathological liar, an admirer of the most bloodthirsty tyrants, an ignoramus who believes that climate change is a hoax orchestrated by China, and so much more... But all this was known on election day. I mean, this is Donald Trump. And he is consistent with who he is – I’ll give him that, he is consistently dishonest and repulsive. He has managed to completely disrupt our daily lives in the United States and has made us the laughing stock of the rest of the planet. I feel deeply embarrassed and ashamed about this.”

Two novels due to be published by Ikaros in the coming months have made the longlist for The Man Booker Prize 2017, which has just been announced.Lincoln in the Bardo, George Saunders’s first novel (translated by Giorgos-Ikaros Babasakis), is due to be published this coming September, whilst Days Without End by the Irish author Sebastian Barry, whose books have previously been recognised by the Booker Prize committee, will be published in spring 2018, translated by Maria Angelidou. The shortlist will be announced on 13 September. See the full list of nominations here.