Summer Readings

WEEK 1
Tuesday, 2 July at 12:30
Belgian author Lize Spit will read from her novel “The Honest Finder.”

‘The honest finder’ is set in Flemish Kempen in the late 1990s. Jimmy, who is going through a difficult time at home, completely revives when the son of a family of Kosovar refugees comes to sit next to him in class. Jimmy is the smartest but also loneliest in his class. He sees it as his mission to help Tristan Ibrahimi through the school year. All the time he doesn't spend collecting flippos, he spends with the Kosovar family. When the Ibrahimis are suddenly deported after a year, Tristan comes up with a plan that will demand a lot from Jimmy.
Reading in Dutch, translation of text into French
Moderated by: TBC

Thursday, 4 July at 12:30 (IN FRENCH)
National Poet in Belgium, Lisette Lombé, will read from her novel ‘Eunice.’

Eunice, nineteen years old, an athlete and a psychology student, has just been dumped by her boyfriend. Using alcohol and dancing to try to numb the sadness. Waking up with a severe hangover, the young woman thinks she has hit rock bottom but the numerous missed calls left on her cell phone by her father foreshadow the worst. Her mother, Jane, has died after falling into a river after leaving a nightclub. The investigation quickly concludes that it was a simple accident but Eunice refuses to believe it. What if a red diary found in a hair salon proved her right? What if the initials written on several pages were a clue? For Eunice, it is the beginning of a quest for truth in order to understand who her mother truly was, about whom she realizes she did not know that well. The shock of mourning reminds us that every family is a place of buried secrets. The meeting with the serene and superb Jennah marks a turning point towards appeasement. Eunice is a story of love, sisterhood, transmission and remission. It is also an awakening to tenderness and forgiveness.

Reading in French, translation of text into English
Moderated by: Alison Mooney, Poet and speech writer at the European Parliament

WEEK 2
Tuesday, 9 July at 12:30

Maltese author Alex Farrugia will read an extract from his European Literature Prize 2024 nominated novel Ir-Re Borg (The King of Malta)

The ‘King of Malta’ is a socio-political satirical novel. The story is not only inspired by Malta’s political crisis in 2019, but also reflects political events and phenomena in other countries. Mikiel Borg, a small business owner known as ‘Ic-Chopper’, is struggling with a deep depression caused by his trivial fight with the incredible Maltese bureaucracy. Until finally the idea sparks to launch ‘The Monarchical Party of Malta’. Against all odds he wins the elections challenging the established two-party system. Fuelled by his success he develops a populist megalomania. A viral media release initiates the abrupt demise of his political career. “

Reading in Maltese, translation of text into English
Moderated by: Denise Chircop, Policy Analyst at European Parliament research service (EPRS)

This reading is presented to you in cooperation with the European Union Literature Prize.
The European Union Prize for Literature (EUPL), launched in 2009, celebrates emerging fiction writers from over 40 European countries. EUPL brings visibility to diverse literary talents and promote cross-border circulation of literature within Europe. It is organised by the Federation of European Publishers and the European and International Booksellers Federation.

Thursday, 11 July at 12:30

Jayrôme C Robinet will read from his novel ‘My way from a white woman to a young man with a migration background.’

The novel tells a very personal story that takes the reader on a journey between two genders. As a white French woman living in Berlin, the slow transition into a man begins. The physical changes bring along the experience of a second puberty. His new outward appearance does not only give him a new gender identity, but also makes him appear as a foreigner. In the many small things and encounters of everyday life, he becomes aware of how perception and behaviour of his environment suddenly change. Through his own life experience, first as a woman and then as a man, a direct comparison of both worlds becomes obvious. It is an exciting discovery that with the transition of gender, origin and age also appear to change.

In addition to excerpts from this novel, other literary works by the author will be presented, to widen the insight into his queer everyday life and the incredible social reactions it brings along.


Reading in German, French and Spanish, translation of text into English, German and French

Moderated by: Klara Boghaert, Assistant, press and public relations, German Embassy Brussels and Alfonso de Alba, Embassy of Mexico to the Kingdom of Belgium and the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg
This reading is presented to you in cooperation with the German Embassy in Brussels in the framework of the Co- Chairing of the Equal Rights Coalition (ERC).