Independent Foreign Fiction Prize shortlist

"Their authors include a young Chinese film-maker (Xiaolu Guo) and a Brazilian pop star-turned-writer (Chico Buarque). Their subjects stretch from the almost unimaginable horror of the World Trade Centre on 9/11 (Windows on the World) to the all-too-familiar heartbreaks of teenage life, but in the fresh setting of market-crazy Russia (Give Me: songs for lovers). Two of these six works of fiction come from Turkey, and one each from France (but that's largely about the US), Brazil (largely about Hungary), Russia and China. Whatever their other merits and attractions, the shortlist for this year's Independent Foreign Fiction Prize will guarantee its readers a window on the world." Read on.