BookBlast

BookBlast A Community Interest Company (est. 1997) home of world literature across languages. Links embedded in ‘Buy the book’ buttons are affilliate links.

Translation Book Club ; Fr-En translation; literary estates; BookBlast Diary & Podcast 🔗 https://linktr.ee/bookblast The BookBlast® Diary covers traditionally published books and does not take advertising. This means that if you make a purchase via this link we earn a few pennies. We only ever recommend books we truly believe in. We do not run advertisements or sponsored conten

t. The books included in our occasional giveaways, contests and promotions have been gifted, usually by friends in publishing, or the featured publishers and/or authors, not because we think BookBlast is a super influencer.

07/04/2026

Byron and the Beauty: A Turkish Tale by Muharem Bazdulj, translated by John Cox (2016), is an atmospheric, fictional reimagining of Lord Byron’s 1809 travels through the Balkans. Set over two weeks in October, the novel blends history, romance, and myth as Byron becomes captivated by the elusive Zulejha whom he barely encounters, yet he becomes obsessed.
The lyricism and evocative atmosphere of the wild mountains and nature surrounding the travellers evokes the spirit of Byron’s Eastern-inspired works like The Giaour. Themes of East-West cultural exchange and sevdah — a deep, melancholic longing — run throughout creating a haunting Ottoman-era romantic fantasy rooted in Balkan life.
Perfect for listeners drawn to historical fiction, poetic storytelling and romantic myth.
Hear publisher Susan Curtis from Istros Books in conversation with Georgia de Chamberet and book club members, discussing Byron and the Beauty at Hatchards Piccadilly (April 2025).
Recorded by BookBlast® CIC Edited by Gemma Jackson

“Translated fiction brings readers to new worlds where certain aspects of life – cultural practices, habits, histories, ...
06/04/2026

“Translated fiction brings readers to new worlds where certain aspects of life – cultural practices, habits, histories, social matters – are different but where other issues – feelings and situations – are shared. By discovering our commonalities, readers inevitably become more tolerant and empathetic,” says in her interview for the International Booker 2024

Translator of ’s The Fire - our April book club pick - Oonagh’s journey with Italian language began at nineteen, leading her to the University of Florence and the heart of the Casentino Valley where she lived for some years. Her immersion in Italian life and culture gives added depth to her translation.

Since then, Stransky has won a travel fellowship from the American Literary Translators Association, and was a Visiting Artist at the American Academy in Rome. Her work has been nominated for the International Booker Prize, the Oxford-Weidenfeld Award and various other awards.

Her translations include Domenico Starnone’s novels, including International Booker-longlisted The House on Via Gemito; as well as Abandonment by Erminia Dell’Oro and The Throne by Franco Berninil.

Pick up a copy of The Fire from the BookBlast bookstore at bookshop org UK and join us at our evening salon, 6pm, Monday 13 April Tickets via link in bio: linktr.ee/bookblast

A sweeping multi-generational epic about a family riddled with secrets, Biedermann’s debut novel fuses historical grande...
03/04/2026

A sweeping multi-generational epic about a family riddled with secrets, Biedermann’s debut novel fuses historical grandeur with personal memory. Set in Southern Hungary, Lázár is the story of an aristocratic family over the course of the twentieth century leading up to the 1956 uprising.

If you’re looking for something this Easter weekend to lose yourself in, then check out Lázár by tr. Jamie Bulloch on the BookBlast bookstore at bookshop org UK.

Find the full review on BookBlast Diary via the link in bio.

02/04/2026

Shortlisted for the 2025 International Booker and read on BBC Radio 4’s Book at Bedtime, Small Boat by Vincent Delecroix is a stark, tragic, beautifully written novel which confronts the moral bankruptcy and paralysis of Western humanism and liberalism in the face of one of the humanitarian crises of our time.
Set against the backdrop of desperate migrants attempting to cross the English Channel from France, the novel challenges the indifference and collective responsibility of France and the United Kingdom squabbling over who is responsible while lives continue to be lost.
Hear Helen Stevenson in conversation with Georgia de Chamberet and book club members discussing Small Boat at Hatchards Piccadilly (February 2026).
Recorded by BookBlast® CIC Edited by Gemma Jackson

We love this EBRD Literature Prize shortlist showcasing some of the best new literature in translation. 10 titles, 10 co...
02/04/2026

We love this EBRD Literature Prize shortlist showcasing some of the best new literature in translation. 10 titles, 10 countries & a world of incredible stories!

People and Trees – Akram Aylisli (Azerbaijan)

Sololand – Hassan Blasim (Iraq)

In Late Summer – Magdalena Blažević (Croatia)

Rock, Paper, Gr***de – Artem Chekh (Ukraine)

Ice – Jacek Dukaj (Poland)

Death and the Gardener – Georgi Gospodinov (Bulgaria)

We Computers – Hamid Ismailov (Uzbekistan)

On the Greenwich Line – Shady Lewis (Egypt)

Eye of the Monkey – Krisztina Tóth (Hungary)

Bedbugs – Martina Vidaić (Croatia)

Which one will you read first?

01/04/2026

“His novels are steeped in imprisonment and memory, with echoes of Fyodor Dostoyevsky and George Louis Borges” - Jason Farago, The New York Times

Burhan Sönmez is the President of P.E.N. International and a Senior Member of Hughes Hall and Trinity College, Cambridge.

Lovers of Franz K. is Sönmez’s sixth novel, but the first written in his mother tongue, Kurdish. Although the Kurdish language faces stigma today, it was officially banned in Turkey from 1980-1991, during the time when Lovers of Franz K. is set. This injustice is an important dimension - despite reading the English translation, its context is crucial to understanding how Sönmez weaves the tapestry of this book.

Sönmez creates striking novels anchored in his experiences of exile, displacement and injustice. He has published six novels, translated into 48 languages. While campaigning for human rights and working as a lawyer in Istanbul, he was tortured by the Turkish police. About four prisoners telling each other stories about Istanbul when held beneath the city, Sönmez’s third novel, Istanbul Istanbul, won the E.B.R.D. Literature Prize in 2018.

Join us at 6pm Monday 9 March to discuss Lovers of Franz K., translated by Sami Hêzil, out with

Tickets via link in bio - see you there!

31/03/2026

If Lovers of Franz K. hooked you with its blend of whodunnit, literary obsession, political gaslighting and beautiful writing, try these next . . .

- Istanbul Istanbul by Burhan Sönmez, tr. Ümit Hussein, winner of the EBRD Literature Prize 2018
- The Trial by Franz Kafka
- Labyrinths by Jorge Luis Borges
- The Master and Margarita by Mikhail Bulgakov
- The Last Pomegranate Tree by Bachtyar Ali, tr. Kareem Abdulrahman

30/03/2026

“A powerful, unflinching portrait of a generation fighting for change in Iran, Afghanistan, and Ukraine” — Europa Editions

Three countries defined by conflict, and by the gritty determination of a new generation.
What does courage look like for young people living with war, repression or revolution? How do their choices challenge the West and its assumptions about freedom and accountability?

The Fire is a powerful work of reportage by acclaimed Italian journalist Cecilia Sala. From the “Woman, Life, Freedom” protests in Iran to political activism in Afghanistan, Sala brings to life the experiences of young people pushing back against fear and repression.

Weaving together the stories of a Ukrainian soldier, an Iranian student activist and an Afghan political campaigner — each refusing to accept the future imposed on them by the ruling elites — Sala crafts a narrative that is both compelling and painfully timely.

“Her dispatches are as immersive and original as they are anthropologically probing" - The New York Times Book Review

Join us at 6pm on Monday 13 April at our evening literary salon when we will discuss The Fire: Voices of a Generation in Iran, Ukraine, Afghanistan by tr.

“What Sala finds traveling among her peers is a cohort brimming with a potent mix of disaffection and national pride” wr...
30/03/2026

“What Sala finds traveling among her peers is a cohort brimming with a potent mix of disaffection and national pride” writes Ruth Margalit in the New York Times Book Review. She goes on to praise the book, which is our book club pick for April, as being “immersive and original”.

Crafting an unflinching portrait of young generations in Iran, Ukraine and Afghanistan fighting for change, Cecilia Sala’s on-the-ground war correspondence is raw, honest and calls out the compliance of onlookers.

Pick up a copy of the book The Fire by tr from the BookBlast bookstore at bookshop org UK and join us at our evening salon, 6pm, Monday 13 April Tickets at link in bio: linktr.ee/bookblast

Reading Around the World: travel to the Congo, France, Suriname, the Netherlands and even further in our latest BookBla...
27/03/2026

Reading Around the World: travel to the Congo, France, Suriname, the Netherlands and even further in our latest BookBlast recommendations. We include International Booker-longlisted Women without Men, set in Tehran during the 1953 coup, and the 2024 Prix Goncourt du Premier Roman winner, Repatriation.

Our book club picks and recently published recommendations are curated, not algorithmic; written by a human with a clear philosophy and insider experience leading you to explore different political histories, storytelling traditions and lived realities.

Check out the full list on BookBlast Diary, and browse the BookBlast Collection at our bookshop.org (UK) shop

Link in bio: linktr.ee/bookblast

“Time and again, Sala shows how brave individuals of her young generation have stood up against these different regimes’...
23/03/2026

“Time and again, Sala shows how brave individuals of her young generation have stood up against these different regimes’ attempt to crush their spirit” - Nick Caistor, BookBlast Diary

Distilling her extensive reports across Iran, Ukraine and Afghanistan, Cecilia Sala shares the stories of young people, among them Nabila, le***an kick-boxing champion in Iran, and Zafira, the youngest local mayor in Afghanistan.

To find out more read Nick Caistor’s review of The Fire by for BookBlast Diary.

PIck up a copy of the book from the BookBlast bookstore at bookshop org UK and join us at our evening salon, 6pm, Monday 13 April to discuss The Fire: Voices of a Generation in Iran, Ukraine, Afghanistan by tr linktr.ee/bookblast

Reading Around the World, our latest selection takes in a sweeping multigenerational saga, Algerian noir and Stepanova’s...
20/03/2026

Reading Around the World, our latest selection takes in a sweeping multigenerational saga, Algerian noir and Stepanova’s thoughts on exile as we transport you to Madrid, Bou Saada, Baghdad and beyond. All from the comfort of your favourite reading chair, or sofa, or nook!

Check out the full article on BookBlast Diary, or browse the collection at our bookshop.org (UK) shop


Link in bio: linktr.ee/bookblast

Address

Hanwell
W105AU

Opening Hours

Monday 10am - 5am
Tuesday 10am - 5am
Wednesday 10am - 5am
Thursday 10am - 5am
Friday 10am - 5am

Website

Alerts

Be the first to know and let us send you an email when BookBlast posts news and promotions. Your email address will not be used for any other purpose, and you can unsubscribe at any time.

Shortcuts

Share

Category