Our book club welcomes people from all round the world for a discussion about a work of fiction which has recently been translated into English. We meet on Zoom on the third Tuesday of each month during Trinity's term time. Admission is free, and participants may join as and when it suits. This month, we will be discussing:

Jellyfish Have No Ears

by Adèle Rosenfeld, translated from the French by Jeffrey Zuckerman

[From the book's cover:] 'Hearing, for Louise, is inseparable from reading other people's lips. Through sight, she perceives words and strings them together like pearls to reconstruct a conversation. Then an audiology exam shows that most of her hearing has gone, and her doctor suggests a cochlear implant. With this irreversible intervention, Louise would gain a new, synthetic sense of hearing - but she would lose what remains of her natural hearing, which has shaped her unique relationship with the world, full of whispers and shadows. As she weighs the prospect of surgery, she must also contend with the chaotic reality of her life as she falls in love, suffers through her first job, and steadies herself with friends. A masterclass in wordplay and language's possibilities and limitations, this fiercely original debut plunges readers into Louise's world as she grapples with loss, and considers what she might gain in the process.'

Born in Paris in 1986, Adèle Rosenfeld has worked in publishing for the last ten years. Her first novel, Jellyfish Have No Ears, was shortlisted for the prestigious Prix Goncourt du Premier Roman 2022.

Jeffrey Zuckerman is a translator of French, A graduate of Yale University, he has been a finalist for the TA First Translation Prize and the French-American Foundation Translation Prize, and has been awarded a PEN/Heim translation grant and the French Voices Grand Prize. In 2020 he was named a Chevalier in the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres by the French government.

'A profound, sometimes playful, meditation on deafness and the impact sensory loss has on human relationships' ― Financial Times

'Superb, surprising . . . A work of spirited imagination . . . Expertly translated by Jeffrey Zuckerman' ― Irish Times

If you enjoy events about literary translation, take a look at what else we have planned at the Centre, here.