6 European books presented by Newmag with the "Creative Europe" program (video)

Newmag is the first Armenian publishing house to have won the competition, translating and publishing six books that received the literary prize of the European Union. These novels moved, surprised, and shocked European readers and their authors emerged as widely-read writers with pan-European recognition.

Bulgaria, Germany, Greece, Italy, Spain and Sweden. Six countries, six authors, and six novels represent different crises: age, social, economic, political, and war.

The first two books were published in May 2022. German writer Eugen Ruge's novel "In Times of Fading Light" is about the collapse of the Berlin Wall, the irrevocable divisions caused by the same wall, and separated relatives. On both sides of the wall that divided Berlin between East and West for almost half a century, there are 4 generations of the same family. The novel won many awards and was staged in the Berlin theater. Based on the book, a film of the same name was shot in 2017.

Fredric Backman's novel "A Man Called Ove" is about an intolerable old man who keeps trying to commit suicide after his wife's death, but the new neighbors constantly disturb him and ask him to help them with household matters. Backman's books have been translated into 30 languages. "A Man Called Ove" is Backman's first and most famous novel. The book became a bestseller in Sweden, then throughout Europe and the USA, and stayed on the New York Times bestseller list for 42 weeks. The book was adapted into a stage play, and a feature film was produced, which was nominated for an Oscar. Two more books were launched at Newmag's 2022 Summer Fest.

An incredibly exciting and unusual novel about compassion has become a pan-European discovery. The hero of Bulgarian writer Georgi Gospodinov's novel "The Physics of Sorrow" becomes entangled in the labyrinth of his family's stories like the mythological Minotaur. Past and present, myth and reality are intertwined. Moving from one period to another, the author reveals the way Eastern Europeans think and explores the consequences of World War II.

Spanish novelist Fernando Aramburu wrote the novel "Homeland" when the Basque terrorist group announced that it was ending its armed struggle. The writer shows what happened to people during that tragic period, why they supported the murders, why they sympathized with the rapists. And finally, why were even those who disagreed silent? The novel is about two families. mutilated destinies, struggle for Independence, which was accompanied by terrorism and hostility of close families. In November 2023, the last two books under the "Creative Europe" program were published.

Italian writer Giovanni Dozzini's novel "Here I Should Stay" was published in 2021. It is about emigrants, one of the most serious problems in Europe in recent years. The author talks about his native Perugia, whose angry residents are convinced that the emigrants are to blame for everything. The basis of the novel is the sixteen-day reflections of the painter Bregolise.

Greek writer Nikos Chrysos talks about the life of the homeless with his great and shocking novel "New Day", revealing the problem of homeless people in Europe. The novel is based on the structure of the New Testament and is written based on real stories. The core is the fate of a vagrant man-Sebastian. One December night he was burned alive. The writer presents the burned homeless man and his friends with the example of Jesus and his apostles.

Six books, published through the "Creative Europe" program, have contributed to overcoming the post-coronavirus and post-war crises. These stories illustrate that people are not alone in their struggles; their challenges are universal and can be overcome through personal determination, courage, and unity.

In addition to 6 contemporary European novels, Newmag has also translated one book by an Armenian writer from Armenian to French and German under the "Creative Europe" program. The book presentation of Susanna Harutyunyan's novel "Crows after Noah" in German took place at the Frankfurt Book Fair.