In October, the Translations Book Club delves into Georgi Gospodinov’s International Booker-winning novel, Time Shelter (trans: Angela Rodel)
In Time Shelter, an enigmatic flâneur named Gaustine opens a ‘clinic for the past’ that offers a promising treatment for Alzheimer’s sufferers: each floor reproduces a decade in minute detail, transporting patients back in time.
As Gaustine’s assistant, the unnamed narrator is tasked with collecting the flotsam and jetsam of the past, from 1960s furniture and 1940s shirt buttons to scents and even afternoon light. But as the rooms become more convincing, an increasing number of healthy people seek out the clinic as a ‘time shelter’, hoping to escape from the horrors of our present – a development that results in an unexpected conundrum when the past begins to invade the present.
Come and join the conversation! New members are most welcome but spaces are limited. The event link below will be activated from 9am on Wednesday 20 September and spaces will be allocated on a first-come-first-served basis. Please note that this month’s meeting will take place a week earlier than usual. Feel free to send us an email if you have any questions.