Fall 2021: Round table on the translations of Shuggie Bain

*** Thursday, September 23rd, 2021, 5pm-6.30pm (Paris time), hybrid format (Sorbonne Nouvelle, Paris / Zoom) 

Translating class and place in Shuggie Bain

A roundtable with author Douglas Stuart and four of his translators : Inger Limburg (Dutch), Charles Bonnot (French), Shai Sendik (Hebrew), et Hilde Stubhaug (Norwegian).

This event is organised by Charles Bonnot (Sorbonne Nouvelle) and Tiffane Levick (Toulouse Jean-Jaurès) : charles.bonnot@sorbonne-nouvelle.fr, tiffane.levick@gmail.com 

Detailed presentation:

Initially published in the US by Grove Atlantic in February 2020, Douglas Stuart’s novel Shuggie Bain made its journey across the Atlantic in August 2020 where it was published by Picador in the UK. It has now been translated or is being translated in 37 countries, receiving the 2020 Booker Prize among countless other awards and nominations.  

Shuggie Bain explores the depths of the bond between alcoholic Glaswegian Agnes Bain and her youngest son across eleven years of their life. It has enchanted readers worldwide with its insightful and poignant examination of class dynamics, addiction, and sexuality, as well as its creative manipulation of dialect. In both the dialogue and the narration, Stuart offers his readers an array of colourful voices, giving life to women, men, and children doing what they can to get by in a city grappling with unemployment and poverty.

Join us on September 23rd for a discussion between author Douglas Stuart and four of his translators as they explore the role of language in communicating class and place, presenting contrasting solutions to the challenges posed by a powerful text anchored in the public housing schemes of 1980s Glasgow.

The event will be held at the Sorbonne Nouvelle, at the Maison de la recherche (4 rue des Irlandais 75005 Paris) and streamed live via a link sent to registered attendees.  

Audio recording

Book covers and passage discussed during the roundtable available in this document