The BookBlast® Translation Book Club meets in person at 6pm on the second Monday of each month at Hatchards, Piccadilly, to discuss engaging, well-written fiction in translation from the past decade, offering enjoyable reads and insights into global cultures. Surprise guests include translators, publishers, editors or authors who occasionally join in, offering insights into their work and experiences.
As international relations and intercultural understanding grow increasingly strained, reading literature in translation has never been more vital.
Who better to introduce readers to cultures from around the world than leading writers translated into English?
We look forward to seeing you at 6pm next Monday 8 September to discuss
Owlish by Dorothy Tse, translated by Natascha Bruce
‘Owlish wittily captures a recent crisis moment in Hong Kong, exploring a discombobulating state caught between civilisation and its discontents. Tse writes poignantly in the afterword about waking, dreaming and memory,’ The Guardian
On Monday 13 October at 6pm we are discussing
In the Company of Men by Véronique Tadjo, translated by the author with John Cullen
‘In the Company of Men centres on the question of how to speak and write about the ebola epidemic that devastated West Africa between 2014 and 2016. The narrative voice with which the book opens soon recedes, giving way to other characters [. . .] Published in French in 2017, In the Company of Men emerges into a changed world with its English translation in 2021 – and the questions it raises have a striking new resonance,’ Times Literary Supplement
This poignant, timely fable reflects on both the strength and the fragility of life and humanity’s place in the world. It explores critical questions about how we cope with a global crisis and how we can combat fear and prejudice.
Los Angeles Times 2022: Book Prize Winner for Fiction
It will be an evening of superb discussion since the author Véronique Tadjo will be with us, so we hope you can join us!
Tickets Read the BookBlast Review
On Monday 10 November at 6pm we are discussing
The Winter Warriors by Olivier Norek, translated by Nick Caistor
‘A fascinating and gripping novel about a forgotten corner of the Second World War. Remarkable and revelatory,’ William Boyd
‘A sniper’s life, a thriller of the highest quality, as timely as it is gripping, by a very fine writer,’ Philippe Sands
Tickets Read the BookBlast Review
On Monday 8 December at 6pm we are discussing
The National Telepathy by Roque Larraquy, translated by Frank Wynne
‘In The National Telepathy, Roque Larraquy, one of the most original voices in contemporary Argentinian literature, brings us a literary high-wire act, an over-the-top comic grotesque about atrocity. This shocking, bizarre, funny, imaginative novel lays all-too-bare the secret longings and not-so-secret machinations of a social class that will stop at nothing in order to stay on top,’ The Guardian Bookshop
Tickets for each event are available via Eventbrite
Purchase of any one of the specified book club titles in store at Hatchards, Piccadilly, includes £3 off. Wine and water included to keep the conversation flowing!
Happy reading, and see you in the Autumn!
Georgia & Hatchards booksellers
A few comments from our readers:
“You have a good eye for extraordinary pieces of literature,” Kristina R.
“I look forward to the next treat!” April E.
“A fruitful discussion,” Christopher M.
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