Dear walking book clubbers,
Welcome to a very long newsletter. So long in fact that I am helpfully going to provide a contents section, in part to guide you through and in part to unscramble my brain. Please keep scrolling down…
Good luck!
Emily
Contents
Catching up on The Hare with Amber Eyes by Edmund de Waal
This month’s webcast about The Hare with Amber Eyes
April - Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe - tickets and info
Announcing May, June and July!
1. Catching up with The Hare with Amber Eyes
Thanks so much to those of you who braved the clock change, the sudden drop in temperature, Mother’s Day and train chaos to join us on Hampstead Heath to discuss Edmund de Waal’s beautiful book.
Extra thanks to Selinda for baking a cake - a delicious Claudia Roden one, which oddly was the only cake my late mother knew how to make - so it felt as though she too managed to join us on Mother’s Day. Thanks too to Julia, for her Renoir postcard, with Charles in the backgroud. Extra thanks also to Suzanne, Susan’s friend, who brought some of her own netsuke for us to see and hold - you really made it a very special walk.
At the moment captured in this atmospheric photo (thank you too, Ben!), Beata was mid-flow in a brilliant account of European Jewish history. We were all entranced. The way we moved on to this just a breath after discussing awkward relationships with mothers totally exeplifies how wonderful this book is at covering so so much! A huge sweep of history, a family memoir, a personal quest - all through these tiny beautiful objects.
Thanks so much to all of you for sharing your thoughts and stories. A reminder that you can find more photos of our walks and books over on Instagram - please follow & use #emilyswalkingbookclub, and you can find me at @emilyrhodeswriter.
2. Webcast
Here is this month’s webcast about The Hare with Amber Eyes. I read out the bit about Anna hiding them, and whizz through the various characters in the book, and what the netsuke mean to them.
Please like or leave me a comment over on YouTube if you enjoy the webcast - I love getting your feedback. If you’ve missed any of the previous webcasts, you can find them on MY YOUTUBE CHANNEL, grouped by year on playlists.
You can find the Persephone Books editions of Elisabeth de Waal’s excellent novels, HERE.
*** This newsletter will always be free for those who need it to be, but if you are able to help keep the show on the road / on the Heath, and support Emily’s walking book club by paying a small annual subscription of £20/year, then please do. Alternatively, you can pay £50/year to include a bespoke literary consultation with me. Feel free to drop me a line for more info. ***
3. April: Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe
First published in 1958, Achebe's debut novel is widely considered to be a landmark of African literature. This is the story of Okonkwo, who has risen from poverty to become a famed, respected leader and wrestling champion in an Igbo part of Nigeria. Okonkwo ruthlessly sticks to tradition and refuses to adapt to the new order imposed by the British colonialists and missionaries. So, inevitably, we witness his tragic fall. This hard-hitting novel is a powerful depiction of the demise both of an individual and a way of life.
On the Heath: Sunday 24th April, 11.30-1pm, setting off from Daunt Books Hampstead, 51 South End Road, NW3 2QB:
On Zoom: Monday 25th April 8-8.30pm:
Buy Things Fall Apart 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.
4. Announcing May, June, July!
Ta da!!! I’m so excited to read these three brilliant books with you.
Please keep on scrolling down for details, dates for your diary, and links to buy tickets.
May: Death and the Penguin by Andrey Kurkov translated by George Bird
Fundraiser for Ukraine
This is a vital time to come together in celebration of and support for Ukrainian culture. All money from ticket sales will go to the DEC UKRAINE APPEAL.
Set in 1990s Kyiv, our protagonist is lonely aspiring writer Viktor, with just his pet penguin for company. Viktor lands a job writing obituaries for a newspaper, only to discover that he has in fact been drawn into a sinister political trap. Deadpan, absurd, gripping and moving, this highly original novel feels especially potent now.
#standwithukraine #readwithukraine
At the Daunt Books Festival: Friday 20th May, 10.00-11.30am, setting off from Daunt Books, 84 Marylebone High St, London W1U 4QW.
On the Heath: Sunday 22nd May, 11.30-1pm, setting off from Daunt Books Hampstead, 51 South End Road, NW3 2QB
On Zoom: Monday 23rd May, 8-8.30pm
Buy Death and the Penguin 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.
June: Childhood by Tove Ditlevsen translated by Tiina Nunnally
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.
Tickets go on sale: 1st May
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).
July: The Gold-Rimmed Spectacles by Giorgio Bassani translated by Jamie McKendrick
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.
Tickets go on sale: 1st June
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.
Congratulations on reaching the end of this very long newsletter! I hope it provides some inspiring reading for the coming months.
Looking forward to seeing you for Things Fall Apart on the 24th / 25th April. Look out for more about this book and some useful links in the next newsletter. As ever, do drop me a line anytime before then - it is always a treat to hear from you,
Emily