Told in a rhythmic and propulsive prose that weaves seamlessly from one consciousness to the next over the course of a day, Laurent Mauvignier’s The Birthday Party is a deft unravelling of the stories we hide from others and from ourselves, a gripping tale of the violent irruptions of the past into the present. Laurent Mauvignier, a major contemporary French writer, is in conversation with author and translator Lauren Elkin.
As part of Beyond Words Literature Festival 2023