With two independent publishers – Istros Books and Peter Owen – and a wonderful library on our premises, we thought it a good time for a new literary initiative: a monthly book club for members and friends, where we discuss some of the titles produced by our resident publishers, as well as the occasional guest sessions hosted by staff and other residents.
This month we will be reading Petite Fleur by Iosi Havilio – with the translator, Lorna Scott Fox.
When his fireworks factory job ends explosively and his wife returns to work, José is surprised to realise he has a talent for keeping house: childcare, tidying, cleaning, cooking, gardening, he excels at it all. On Thursdays, he hangs out and drinks good wine with his jazz-loving neighbour. But when José’s new talents take a sudden and gruesome turn, life, death, resurrection, and domesticity unexpectedly converge. In one single, hypnotic paragraph, Petite Fleur harnesses the unpredictability of Aira and the mysticism of Tolstoy in a discordant riff on suburban life.
- ‘Iosi Havilio’s remarkable first novel brings news of an intriguing world’ Martin Schifino, The Independent
- ‘An ambiguous tale that verges on dark comedy . . . With skill and subtlety, the novel hints that a whole society might labour under an illusion of liberty.’ The Economist
- ‘A haunting tale set in the aftermath of an apocalypse . . . Iosi Havilio has caused a literary storm in Argentina’ Amanda Hopkinson, The Independent
- ‘Look out for the much-praised Iosi Havilio.’ Boyd Tonkin, The Independent
- ‘Deliberately unshowy, so that plot twists can unfold in the quietest ways.’ Fatema Ahmed, Prospect
The next book club event will be held in the library on Friday 27th April:
Julia and the Bazooka by Anna Kavan.
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We are committed to promoting inclusive practice at Conway Hall. Due to the constraints of our building, the Library is not currently accessible to wheelchair users or those with limited mobility, we are happy to discuss with you how we can make the contents and materials accessible to you. We carefully monitor which events are held in the Library, and will use your comments to enable us to develop ways to ensure that everyone should be able to attend events in the future.