The Book Club Thursday, 1st May *Afternoon*

This session of The Book Club will take place on Thursday, 1st May, 2-3pm. This month, we are reading The Gentleman from Peru by Andre Aciman – £8.99 is the price of the book and a ticket to the session. The book can be delivered directly to you (please add your shipping address and tick the box for shipping) or you can collect it in store free of charge. You can buy a book and ticket here.

If you already own a copy of the book, you can purchase a ticket only for £3. You can purchase a ticket only here.

For those unable to afford a book or ticket at present, we have a limited amount of complementary books/tickets. Please contact the bookshop via bookworms@houseofbooksandfriends.com or call 07597365380.

One of our booksellers will lead the book club, and the group will be split up into smaller groups in breakout rooms to discuss the questions. A Zoom link will be emailed to ticketholders prior to the event starting.

We always ask that you be respectful and kind whilst discussing the book and others’ opinions of it.

From the International Booker Prize–winning translator and Women’s Prize finalist, a propulsive, beguiling novel about eight translators and their search for a world-renowned author who goes missing.

Eight translators arrive at a house in a forest on the border of Belarus. It belongs to the writer Irena Rey, and they are there to translate her magnum opus, Grey Eminence. But within days of their arrival, Irena disappears without a trace.

About the Book

Yuki leaves the Japanese countryside to pursue her dream of becoming a concert violinist in London. Far from home and in an unfamiliar city, she finds herself caught up in the charms of her older teacher.

Haruka attempts to navigate Tokyo’s nightlife and all of its many vices, working as a hostess in the city’s sex district. She grieves a mother who hid so many secrets from her, until finally one of those secrets comes to light…

Shifting between three intertwining narratives, Mongrel reveals a tangled web of desire, isolation, belonging and ultimately, hope.