The first ever European Literature Day will be hosted in Hanoi on Friday and Saturday (May 27 and 28, 2011), featuring offerings from Italy, Germany, Belgium, France and Denmark.
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The book Die Vermessung der Welt (Measuring the World) by writer Daniel Kehlmann |
A book fair will also be held, with both adults and children’s literature presented in their original language as well as a Vietnamese translation.
From 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. on Friday, the Goethe Institute, 54-58 Nguyen Thai Hoc Street will host an evening of Italian and German literature. Italian embassy officials will introduce new translations of the classic Se questo è un Uom†(If This is a Man) by Primo Levi and two children’s books Lo stralisco (Glowworm Flowers) and Mattia e il nonno (Mattino and his grandfather) by Roberto Piumini.
Four German books will be launched in the Vietnamese market during the fair, including Schweigeminute (Moment of Silence), a love story by Siegfried Lenz; fantasy novel Nijura. Das Erbe der Elfenkrone (Nijura. The Heritage of the Elf Queen) by the successful young Vietnamese-German author Jenny Mai Nguyen; Daniel Kehlmann’s Die Vermessung der Welt (Measuring the World); and David Safier’s Mieses Karma (Lousy Karma).
The following day, from 8:45 a.m. to 10:30 a.m., the French Cultural Institute, L’ Espace, 24 Trang Tien Street will present Encyclopédie Larousse des 6/9 ans (Larousse Encyclopedia for 6-9 year olds) and new children’s books by Claude Roy.
From 2 p.m. to 4:30 p.m., Vietnamese readers will have a chance to access a new series of Belgian novels by Amelie Nothomb such as Stupeur et tremblements (Fear and Trembling), Hygiene de l’Assassin (Hygiene and the Assassin), Journal de lâ€Hirondelle (Diary of Swallow) and Ni d’Eve Ni d’Adam (Tokyo Fiancée).
In addition, the children’s book ‘A journey’ will be presented as the result of a Vietnamese-Danish co-production, in two languages. The work has received much positive publicity in Denmark. The Vietnamese version is published by Kim Dong Publishing House. Admission to both days, the first such event in Vietnam, is free.