Complete Review

Complete Review (stylized complete review) is a literary website founded in March 1999.[1][2] It is best known for reviews of novels in English translation, in particular drawing attention to otherwise neglected contemporary works from around the world, but there are also reviews of classics, non-fiction, drama and poetry.[2][3] As of March 2009, on its tenth anniversary, there were a total of 2251 works under review,[2] averaging over 250 new reviews added per year.[4] A blog, Literary Saloon, was added in August 2002.[3][5]

As of its 10th anniversary in 2009, 95 percent of the reviews were written by the site's founder and managing editor, Michael Orthofer (b. 1964, Austria).[1][2][3] From the beginning, it was Orthofer's intention to create an institutionalized persona for the site, and he therefore did not sign his name or even have it anywhere easily visible. However, beginning in 2009 Orthofer, recognizing that he was the majority contributor, announced "posts and reviews will now be signed 'M.A.Orthofer', as I might as well lay claim to (and accept blame for) them."[2]

On founding the site Orthofer said "I’ve always read a lot and been interested in literature, and I was interested in exploring the possibilities of the Internet. It struck me that while there were a lot of sites ... offering book reviews, practically no one was linking to other reviews of the same book, so that’s what I set out to do."[6]

In 2010 Orthofer published a book about the website called The Complete Review: Eleven Years, 2500 Reviews. A Site History, with commentary on diverse and sundry related matters.[7] In 2016, Orthofer published The Complete Review Guide to Contemporary World Fiction.,[8] a reader's guide to world literature with an emphasis on fiction published since the 1990s.

  1. ^ a b Japin, Arthur (April 26, 2007). "Michael Orthofer". Pen World Voices Festival. Archived from the original on 2007-06-04.
  2. ^ a b c d e Orthofer, M. A. (April 2009). "The Complete Review: the first decade". Literary Saloon. Retrieved November 24, 2018.
  3. ^ a b c Cite error: The named reference Freeman was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  4. ^ Post, Chad W. (April 6, 2009). "Happy Birthday to the Complete Review". Three Percent. Archived from the original on August 5, 2012. Retrieved April 6, 2009. [F]or one person that's absolutely amazing.
  5. ^ Doosti, Farzaneh (December 10, 2011). "Persian literature still a strong and active literary culture". Iran Book News Agency. Archived from the original on 2015-07-06. Retrieved November 24, 2018.
  6. ^ Howard, Sara (September 28, 2005). "NET Review: The Ultimate Bookworm". ImprintMagazine. Archived from the original on April 15, 2013. Retrieved April 6, 2009.
  7. ^ Orthofer, M. A. (2010). The Complete Review: Eleven Years, 2500 Reviews. Aesthetics of Resistance. ISBN 978-0-557-75037-5.
  8. ^ Orthofer, M. A. (2016). The Complete Review Guide to Contemporary World Fiction. Columbia University Press. ISBN 978-0231146753. JSTOR