Following the success of the first year of the BookBlast® Translation Book Club at Hatchards, Piccadilly, we are thrilled to announce the titles up for discussion from March to June. We will meet as usual on the second Monday of each month at 6 p.m.
So please note the following in your calendars or diaries:
Mon March 10 – Elena Knows Claudia Pineiro (Author) Frances Riddle (Translator) Charco Press
“A piercing commentary on mother-daughter relationships, the indignity of bureaucracy, the burdens of caregiving, and the impositions of religious dogma on women,” The New York Times
Elena Knows was shortlisted for the International Booker Prize in 2022
Mon April 14 – Byron and the Beauty: A Turkish Tale Muharem Bazdulj (Author) John Knox (Translator) Istros Books
John Knox: “If you could recommend three books to the Anglophone world for people who want to sample the beauty and complexity of Balkan culture and history, what would they be?”
Muharem Bazdulj: “The Iliad by Homer, Days of the Consuls in English by Ivo Andrić, and Imagining the Balkans by Maria Todorova. One epic, one novel, and one non-fiction book – all available to people from the Anglophone world and all really worthy of their attention. [Source: Spirit of Bosnia]
Mon May 12 – Men Don’t Cry by Faïza Guène (Author) Sarah Ardizzone (translator) Cassava Republic Press
“Guène’s writing is rich with passion as she balances depth with lightness of touch to convey generational conflict aggravated by cultural uprooting, the consequences of social inequality, the complexities of truth and the essence of what it is to be human,” BookBlast Diary
“Both hilarious and sad, Men Don’t Cry offers a vivid portrait of a family and a society in flux. Written with a lightness of touch, this entertaining and enjoyable read nevertheless asks important questions and offers new insights into the experiences of individuals caught between the conflicting demands of traditional values and modernity,” European Literature Network
“The bright buoyancy of Guène’s voice, plus the humour and generosity make Men Don’t Cry a sophisticated and immediately entertaining read,” The Guardian
Podcast interview Guene & Ardizzone
Mon June 9 – The Palace on the Higher Hill Karim Kattan (Author) Jeffrey Zuckerman (Translator) Foundry Editions
In beautiful, edgy prose, Karim Kattan introduces us to an intimate Palestine of the imagination – where dreams and nightmares are in constant conflict – in this grand, sprawling novel.
“The Palace on the Higher Hill is about the collapse of a monied, cosmopolitan, Palestinian family and what happens after such a family has collapsed . . . One of the things I was interested to look at in the novel is how class works in the West Bank; how class really works under Occupation; and how it impacts relationships, politics, memory, objects, property,” Karim Kattan speaking at the Beyond Words Festival @Ifru_London in May 2025
BUY The Palace on the Higher Hill
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