Conversation with Nir Baram
Following the success of his previous novel ‘Good people’ (Alfaguara), which according to A.B. Yehoshua established “a new standard for our literature”, the Israeli writer Nir Baram will present ‘World Shadow’ (Alfaguara), his second novel published in Spain, at the Three Cultures Foundation headquarters. Baram will talk with Isabel Marín, translator of this novel into Spanish.
‘World Shadow’ (Alfaguara)
Gabriel Mantzur, a young businessman, endeavours to seize the golden opportunities that emerged in the 90’s, an era of peace and globalization in Israel. Mantzur earns the trust of influential figures and gradually becomes part of Israel’s upper echelons of power, but the higher he climbs the less he understands the intrigues in which he is involved.
In London, a group of young, homeless, unemployed, disillusioned idealists and dejected outcasts decides to carry out a planetary strike. Meanwhile, an American corporation specialized in global political consulting gets involved in Bolivia, Congo and the US elections. These are the three forces at the heart of Nir Baram’s novel ‘World Shadow’, which are masterfully intertwined to the point of inescapable collision.
Nir Baram (Jerusalem, 1976)
Baram published his first novel ‘Purple Love Story’ at the age of twenty-two. In 2000, he wrote his second novel, ‘The Mask-Ball Children’. In 2006 his third novel ‘The Remaker of Dreams’ achieved public acclaim, appearing in ‘Yedioth’ and ‘Haaretz’ newspapers’s best seller lists. This novel was also shortlisted for the ‘Sapir Prize’ (the Israeli booker).
In 2010 Baram published his fourth novel ‘Good People’. The book is the first historical novel by an Israeli author dealing with the Second World War from the perspective of collaborators. ‘Good people’ was shortlisted for the ‘Sapir Prize’ and Baram was granted the Prime Minister Award for Hebrew literature.
In 2013 Nir Baram published ‘World Shadow’ which became an immediate best-seller and received raving reviews. Some critics consider this Nir Baram’s best novel so far. Only a month after it was published the novel was chosen Book of the Year by ‘TimeOut’ and ‘SufSahvua’ magazines.
Isabel Marín (Granada, 1984)
PhD in Hebrew Philology from the University of Granada, where she has taught History of the Bible and Modern Hebrew language. In addition to ‘World Shadow’ by Nir Baram, Marín has co-translated into Hebrew ‘Mediators. A new horizon in the resolution of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict’ (Arráez Ed., 2013), by Israel Shimoni. She currently lives in Amsterdam.
Free admission subject to availability.
The first chapter of the book is available in this link courtesy of Alfaguara.
This book presentation will be part of the side cultural activities organised within the CUDEMA 2 project, coinciding with the Cultural Diversity Month.
