In Concrete

CLAIRE'S PICK

This book is totally brilliant, and totally bonkers. Its plays of language are so specific, so smooth and smart, that it’s mind-blowing to me that it was written in another language. But translator Emma Ramadan reminds us in her afterword that the original French text was entirely different, that it relied on different linguistic, sonic, and comedic elements than her English; she also reminds us that this is an exciting difference, and that to understand the role of the translator as one who merely translates a text word-for-word is to underestimate how liberating and innovative the very best (and funniest!) translations can be. -CF

Translated from the French by Emma Ramadan

Garréta’s first novel in a decade follows the mania that descends upon a family when the father finds himself in possession of a concrete mixer. As he seeks to modernize every aspect of their lives, disaster strikes when the younger sister is subsumed by concrete.

Through puns, wordplay, and dizzying verbal effect, Garréta reinvents the novel form and blurs the line between spoken and written language in an attempt to confront the elasticity of communication.

Paperback || 152 pages || 5.00" x 8.00" || Deep Vellum Publishing