Ledia Xhoga Misinterpretation review, recensie en informatie roman en novel van de schrijfster uit Albanië. Op 5 juni 2025 verschijnt bij Daunt Books de in het Engelse geschreven roman van de Albanese schrijfster Ledia Xhoga die gekozen is op de shortlist van de Booker Prize 2025. Een Nederlandse vertaling van het boek is niet verkrijgbaar.
Ledia Xhoga Misinterpretation review en recensie
- “A Kosovan torture survivor requests translation assistance at his therapy sessions. Our narrator, a nameless translator, reluctantly agrees. But Alfred’s account of his experiences conjures hidden memories that seep into her psyche, forcing her to question her marriage and her place in the world. This is a story of a woman saddled between her Albanian past and her New York present. It explores the way that language is kept in our bodies, how it can reveal truths we aren’t ready to hear. Misinterpretation subtly blurs the distinction between help and harm. We found it propulsive, unsettling, and strangely human.” (Booker Prize 2025 jury)
- “Part of the pleasure of the novel, which is related in a direct, matter-of-fact tone, comes from second-guessing what the (occasionally unreliable) narrator has withheld or misinterpreted and how it affects others. Alfred misreads her compassion. She misconstrues others’ expectations, risking her marriage and mental health. The book is a nuanced exploration of communication failures, blurred boundaries and the emotional cost of unchecked altruism.” (Lucy Popescu, Observer)
Misinterpretation
- Auteur: Ledia Xhoga (Albanië)
- Soort boek: Albanese roman
- Taal: Engels
- Uitgever: Daunt Books
- Verschijnt: 5 juni 2025
- Omvang: 328 pagina’s
- Uitgave: paperback / ebook
- Prijs: £ 10,99
- Longlist Booker Prize 2025
- Boek bestellen bij: Amazon / Bol / Libris
Flaptekst van de Engelstalige roman van de Albanese schrijfster Ledia Xhoga
Albania was a country that made you uneasy and tense, but alert and alive. It infuriated, exasperated, without apology or retribution, and yet one felt seen here, often even loved. The urge to escape its stifling confinement was tinged with unexpected melancholy – for foreigners and natives alike.
In present-day New York City, an Albanian interpreter reluctantly agrees to work with Alfred, a Kosovar torture survivor, during his therapy sessions.
Despite her husband’s cautions, she soon becomes entangled in her clients’ struggles: Alfred’s nightmares stir up her own buried memories, and an impulsive attempt to help a Kurdish poet leads to a risky encounter and a reckless plan.
As ill-fated decisions stack up, jeopardising the nameless narrator’s marriage and mental health, she takes a spontaneous trip to reunite with her mother in Albania, where her life in the United States is put into stark relief.
When she returns to face the consequences of her actions, she must question what is real and what is not.
Ruminative and propulsive, Ledia Xhoga’s debut novel Misinterpretation interrogates the darker legacies of family and country, and the boundary between compassion and self-preservation.
Ledia Xhoga was born and raised in Tirana, Albania, She is a fiction writer and playwright. Her debut novel, Misinterpretation, was the recipient of a New York City Book Award, a finalist for Center for Fiction First Novel Prize, a Best of 2024 Book by Debutiful and was longlisted for the Booker Prize 2025. Her plays have been workshopped or produced by the Workshop Theatre, New Perspectives Theatre, Eclectic Podcast Network, Martha’s Vineyard Playhouse, Spark Creative Works, and Downtown Urban Arts Festival in Manhattan, among others. She lives in Brooklyn, New York.
