Dear walking book clubbers,
How have you been getting on with Tove Ditlevsen (photographed above by Birthe Melchiors, on her childhood street)? I’m continually stunned by her razor-sharp observations, her peculiar combination of strength and vulnerability, the brutality of her childhood world in Copenhagen 100 years ago, and the unexpected humour amidst all the poignancy.
I can’t wait to discuss Childhood with you on Hampstead Heath this coming Sunday, or on Zoom on Monday evening. Thanks to the many of you impressively organised people who have already booked in. See below for the links to book your spot.
Please do scroll down for more information about this fascinating Danish writer, including THIS SHORT YET INSIGHTFUL INTRODUCTION ON NPR and THIS GREAT TALK organised by Brooklyn’s iconic Community Bookstore.
On Sunday, we will also be welcoming along Cordelia, who has the enviable job title of Book Fairy in Chief, to tell us a little about an exciting BOOK FAIRIES collaboration for our July Giorgio Bassani walk. More details to come, and a reminder that tickets for July are now on sale - please keep on scrolling down to the links to book your place for this exquisite novella about a gay doctor in 1930s Italy.
For those of you who are after Summer Reading reccommendations, you might enjoy listening to THE LATEST EPISODE of Kate and Laura’s lovely podcast: The Book Club Review. Emily’s Walking Book Club starred in it many moons ago (HERE), and I was very happy to tell Kate on this new episode about a couple of my ideas for good summer reads, and to pick up some great tips too.
Finally, a bonus link: I was thrilled to switch on Radio 3 on Sunday evening to find a fascinating programme about Chinua Achebe (whose landmark novel Things Fall Apart, was our April book). You can listen to THIS EPISODE OF AFTERWORDS HERE.
Looking forward to seeing you on Sunday/Monday,
Emily
1. Book your place for our June meetings this Sunday / Monday
Tove knows she is a misfit, deemed odd for her love of words and writing ... This is a visceral depiction of the author's girlhood in working-class Copenhagen 100 years ago - a time and place that Tove knows she must leave behind.
Striking emotion, luminous images, and unforgettable statements abound in Ditlevsen's disarmingly pared-back prose, such as: "Childhood is long and narrow like a coffin, and you can't get out of it on your own." This astonishing work of autofiction is the first in Ditlevsen’s celebrated Copenhagen Trilogy.
On the Heath: Sunday 26th June, 11.30-1pm, setting off from Daunt Books Hampstead, 51 South End Road, NW3 2QB
On Zoom: Monday 27th June, 8-8.30pm
Buy Childhood, Youth, Dependency from Daunt Books here and receive 10% off using the code WBC at checkout, or just tell them you’re in the group if you’re buying it in the shop. N.B. Childhood is only available new as part of the complete Copenhagen trilogy, so please bear in mind we’re just discussing the first part of this book (though of course do feel free to read on).
*** Are you able to pay a small annual subscription of £20/year to support Emily’s Walking Book Club? Or indeed pay £50/year to include a bespoke literary consultation with me? I am committed to keeping this newsletter free for those who need it to be, but if you enjoy being part of our community and are able to offer your paid support then please do. ***
2. More about Childhood
This episode of Great Danes (above) - a half-hour documentary in Danish with English subtitles - is a great introduction to Tove Ditlevsen’s life and work.
The Copenhagen Trilogy has been admired in many of the major U.S. publications, including: THIS SHORT YET INSIGHTFUL INTRODUCTION ON NPR, THIS BEAUTIFUL LONG PIECE BY HILTON ALS IN THE NEW YORKER ,and ANOTHER LONG BEAUTY BY DEBORAH EISENBERG IN THE NEW YORK REVIEW OF BOOKS. If you are intrigued by the auto-fiction side of things - this genre that straddles memoir and fiction - then I reccommend THIS DIVERTING PIECE on Lit Hub which discusses Tove Ditlevsen in the context of Annie Ernaux, Marguerite Duras and others.
I loved spending an hour listening to writers Katie Kitamura and Hermione Hoby discuss Ditlevsen in this Zoom event organised by Brooklyn’s celebrated Community Bookstore:
And lastly, I enjoyed this engaging tour of her area of Copenhagen:
3. Our July walk
The Gold-Rimmed Spectacles by Giorgio Bassani translated by Jamie McKendrick
Tickets are now on sale for our July walk. Although some may argue that our walks are stimulating enough, for an added dose of excitement, I’m thrilled to announce that we’ll be collaborating with The Book Fairies for this walk. The Book Fairies is a worldwide organisation dedicated to sharing great reads by hiding books in public for people to find. Look out for more info about this on the Heath this weekend, and in our next newsletter.
This elegant novella (by the celebrated author of The Garden of the Finzi-Continis) follows the gradual marginalisation and rejection of a gay doctor in 1930s Ferrara. Bassani encourages us to find parallels between the doctor and the Jewish narrator, and to see this beautifully distilled portrait of the ruining of a man's life as a metaphor for Italy's slide towards fascism. A painfully brilliant book.
On the Heath: Sunday 24th July, 11.30-1pm, setting off from Daunt Books Hampstead, 51 South End Road, NW3 2QB
On Zoom: Monday 25th July, 8-8.30pm
Buy The Gold-Rimmed Spectacles from Daunt Books here and receive 10% off using the code WBC at checkout, or just tell them you’re in the group if you’re buying it in the shop.
Looking forward to seeing you IRL on Sunday, but please say hello on Instagram (@emilyrhodeswriter) / TikTok (@emilyrhodeswriter) / YouTube(@emilyrhodeswriter) / Twitter (@emilybooksblog) in the meantime.
Happy reading,
Emily