Misinterpretation by Ledia Xhoga

I think I’ve mentioned previously that I often work with interpreters (in counselling) and that I find their work fascinating. When you’re having to translate something that is emotionally loaded, nuance is important. Tone of voice and turn-of-phrase can change the meaning. Equally, there’s an interesting ethical layer to the work. For example –

• I often talk with clients about things that are culturally challenging (for example suicide).
• Some cultural communities are relatively small (so the chances of the interpreter and client moving in the same circles increases).
• Sometimes the client (or I) speak for a longer or shorter time than what I feel is translated (I don’t actually have an issue with this because I think the benefit from therapy is relational, and if a person feels they can speak freely, in their own language, then there’s benefit, but nevertheless, it’s a strange experience).
• And I’ve had times where, because of what has been discussed, I’ve been concerned about the welfare of the interpreter – although I always specify that it’s a counselling session when I book the interpreter, the service doesn’t necessarily pass this information on.

So that’s a long introduction to why I was interested in this novel, which begins with a female Albanian interpreter meeting a new (male) client, and attending a therapy appointment with him. Things don’t go well at the appointment, and the story unfolds from there. Perhaps because of my personal experience in this very specific situation, the story never convinced me. Ultimately, I found there were too many disparate elements that stretched plausibility and weren’t resolved in a satisfying way.

2/5

Chosen Family by Madeleine Gray

There seems to be a lot of noise around this book – perhaps I simply keep noticing the striking cover? Anyway, it’s popping up in lots of places.

So is it just me who found the main character, Eve, totally unbearable? I’m not adverse to unlikeable characters, but I cannot believe that anyone’s long-game is as long as Eve’s. I simply don’t buy that a teenager, deeply hurt by her ‘best friend’, would be consciously in pay-back mode for the following twenty years. And the zig-zagging between timelines only emphasised all of the characters complete lack of emotional maturity, growth or ability to reflect.

Forgive me – there’s one ’emotional’ element of this story that is really well done: selfishness.

2/5

The Night Interns by Austin Duffy

A gentle (yet surprisingly engaging in its detail) novella about doctors working night shift. In some ways, not much happens – things tick along as the nights unfold, although the sense of vigilance and anticipation is perfectly captured by the author. There are bursts of action, consistent with medical emergencies, but what is more compelling is how these scenes are used to illustrate the hospital hierarchies, power imbalances, and the emotional grit of each of the main characters.

If you enjoyed Adam Kay’s This is Going to Hurt or Garth Greenwell’s Small Rain, then I reckon this will resonate.

3.5/5