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 thought-provoking reads that illuminate global cultures. Surprise guests include translators, publishers, editors or authors who sometimes join in, offering insights into their work and experiences.
Who better to introduce readers to cultures from around the world than leading writers translated into English?
On Monday 12 January we discussed
Far by Rosa Ribas trs. Charlotte Coombe
‘The novel Far by Rosa Ribas – called Lejos in Spanish – translated by Charlotte Coombe, is a dark, satirical and very Spanish love story with echoes of Claudia Piñeiro and JG Ballard,’ Sam Jones, The Guardian
“Far is compulsively readable and weird, with its hallucinatory landscape, its surreal and fragmented world, the dark comedy, violent twists, redeeming moments of friendship and, most of all, its oddball love story between two lost people,” BookBlast
On Monday 9 February at 6pm we are discussing
Small Boat by Vincent Delecroix trs. Helen Stevenson
“A gut-punch of a novel,” International Booker Prize 2024 Judges
“Vividly translated by Helen Stevenson, and currently on the shortlist for this year’s International Booker prize, Small Boat is painful, compelling and mercifully short, with a powerful undertow,” Times Literary Supplement
“Vincent Delecroix is not just a writer but a philosopher, and it shows. His novel — shortlisted for the 2024 International Booker Prize — reads less like fiction and more like an existential meditation on the value and meaning of life,” BookBlast
On Monday 9 March at 6pm we are discussing
Lovers of Franz K. by Burhan Sönmez trs. Sami Hêzil
“At 210 pages this slim volume packs a punch and brings a wonderful story to the reader. I loved it and would highly recommend reading Lovers of Franz K which has been made possible by the terrific translation from Kurdish by Sami Hézil. It is a wonderful first publication from the new imprint Open Borders,” lovebooksreadbooks.com
“Ultimately, the book probes the boundaries of good and evil, infused by existential inquiry. It doesn’t offer easy answers, but questions the stories we are told, and the ones we tell ourselves. With echoes of Borges and Dostoevsky, Lovers of Franz K is more than a literary psychological thriller — it is a creative resurrection; a metafictional kaleidoscope where Poe meets Kafka whose bureaucracy is refracted through a Cold War lens. Literary rebel Sönmez does not just pay homage to Kafka — he enacts it,” BookBlast
On Monday 13 April at 6pm we are discussing
Fire: Voices of a Generation in Iran, Ukraine and Afghanistan by Cecilia Sala trs. Oonagh Stransky
“Beginning in Iran and moving through Ukraine and Afghanistan, Italian journalist Cecilia Sala plunges readers into three turbulent regions in her unflinching Fire: Voices of a Generation in Iran, Ukraine, and Afghanistan. Readers are immersed in recent conflicts through the lives of young people living at their centre. Drawing on personal relationships and firsthand reporting, Sala combines intimate testimony with clear historical context, from Iran’s Woman, Life, Freedom movement to Afghanistan after the Taliban’s return to power following the disastrous U.S. interventions in the region. The result is a tightly reported, deeply human and very readable account of revolution, resistance and loss,” Nina Semczuk, Shelf Awareness
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 Spring!
Georgia & Friends
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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