What we’re about
Did you know that there are over 7,100 languages in the world today, but only 3% of the books that reach American readers each year are translated? There's a lot of great stuff out there to discover! If you're an adventurous reader looking to expand your knowledge about the world, then this book club is for you. We exclusively read works in translation, picking something from a different country every month and meeting to discuss our thoughts in a friendly and accessible environment.
For a full list of what we've read and where we've been so far, click here.
Upcoming events (1)
See all- November Meeting: THE APPOINTMENTMadison Public Library - Central, Madison, WI
For November we'll be reading THE APPOINTMENT by Herta Müller, translated by Michael Hulse and Philip Boehm!
"I've been summoned. Thursday, ten sharp." Thus begins a day in the life of a young factory worker during Ceausescu's totalitarian regime. She has been questioned before; this time, she believes, will be worse. Her crime? Sewing notes into the linings of men's suits bound for Italy. "Marry me," the notes say, with her name and address. Anything to get out of Romania.
As each tram stop brings the young woman closer to the appointment, her thoughts stray to her father and his infidelities; to her friend Lilli, shot trying to flee to Hungary; to her grandparents, deported after her own husband informed on them; and to Paul, her lover, her one source of trust despite his drunkenness. In her distraction, she misses her stop and finds herself on an unfamiliar street. And what she discovers there makes her fear of the interrogation pale by comparison.
Bone-spare and intense,THE APPOINTMENT powerfully renders the humiliating terrors of a crushing regime and its corrosive effects on family and friendship, sex and love.
Please consider obtaining your copy from one of Madison's wonderful independent bookstores or from Bookshop.org! There are also used copies available from several online retailers.
