What we’re about
Are you interested in learning more about world literature or looking for a book club geared towards 20 & 30somethings?
This North Herts based group aims to bring people together in a friendly and relaxed environment to discuss a range of fiction from a diverse array of international authors.
Sounds interesting! What kinds of books will I be reading?
We’re super keen on the idea of creating a reading list that centres around books with global voices, contemporary perspectives, and (perhaps most importantly) don’t require a massive amount of time to get through. As such we’ll be using the following guidelines to help pick our titles:
• Must have been translated into English from another language
• Should be no longer than 350 pages
To give you a taste of what’s to come, our upcoming sessions in 2024 are:
January: Wound by Oksana Vasyakina (translated by Elina Alter)
February: The Living and the Rest by José Eduardo Agualusa (translated by Daniel Hahn)
March: Strega by Johanne Lykke Holm (translated by Saskia Vogel)
April: All The Lovers In The Night by Mieko Kawakami (translated by Sam Bett & David Boyd)
May: Pyre by Perumal Murugan (translated by Aniruddhan Vasudevan)
June: The Understory by Saneh Sangsuk (translated by Mui Poopoksakul)
July: White Nights by Urszula Honek (translated by Kate Webster)
August: The Mark by Fríða Ísberg (translated by Larissa Kyzer)
September: Clean by Alia Trabucco Zerán (translated by Sophie Hughes)
October: A Fistful of Moonlight: New Fiction from Assam by Various Authors (translated by Various authors)
November: Untold Lessons by Maddalena Vaglio Tanet (translated by Jill Foulston)
Cool list! So, how will the sessions be structured?
We’ll kick off each session by going around the group, asking everyone to introduce themselves and give their brief impressions of the book. We’ll then split into smaller groups and present a series of open-ended questions exploring the title’s themes, characters, language and style. The discussions will be moderated to allow everyone the chance to speak (or not if they choose, that’s perfectly fine!).
After the group questions we’ll come back together to gather everyone’s final review scores. There will then be a social period where members are free to chat and get to know one another better 😊
Understood! When and where do we meet?
Meetups will be held on a Sunday morning once a month in Hitchin (see individual events for times & locations). Meetups are free to attend but out of courtesy to our hosts please do remember to purchase something to drink or eat from the café or bar where the event is held.
Oh! And if you are planning on attending a session, remember to RSVP!
Upcoming events (1)
See all- Book Club Meetup: Untold Lessons by Maddalena Vaglio TanetHitchin Coffee Lab, Hitchin
For November we’ll be reading Untold Lessons by Maddalena Vaglio Tanet; Translated from the Italian by Jill Foulston
Available at Waterstones: https://www.waterstones.com/book/untold-lessons/maddalena-vaglio-tanet/9781805330073 | 272 pages |One morning, a teacher disappears into the woods. As whispers fill her classroom and relatives scour the streets, she melts into a wild landscape – a darkly entrancing place where boars roam free, silver birches tower overhead and the air is filled with ancient bird calls. Sinking into a bed of moss, she tries to escape the shocking news of a pupil’s death.
Back in town, behind shuttered windows and on factory floors, the mystery takes hold. Who is Silvia really? A teacher of rare kindness, living outside of other people’s expectations, or a solitary misfit without a family to call her own? When a local child stumbles upon her hiding place, it seems like the search might be over. But what happens when the missing do not want to be found?
'Vivid, beguiling and needle-sharp . . . stirs our darkest impulses' Lucy Rose, author of The Lamb
'Mysterious and elegant, full of fears and tenderness' Veronica Raimo, author of Lost on Me
'An intense literary thriller that subverts expectations' Dazed
