Book lovers can look forward to a new event in the schedule of this year’s European Days, with European Literature Days at the EU National Institutes for Culture (EUNIC) in Ha Noi on May 27-28.

The Goethe Institute, the French cultural centre L‘Espace, and the Wallonie-Bruxelles Delegation, together with the embassies of Italy and Denmark, will present new books that have recently been translated into Vietnamese, many focused on young readers. Admission is free.

All books will be presented by experts who will give an entertaining introduction to each literary scene in their respective languages and in Vietnamese. Several publishing houses will be represented, with stalls by Edibooks, Alpha Books, Nha Nam, Kim Dong, Thuong Huyen and Phu Nu.

Italian Ambassador to Viet Nam Lorenzo Angeloni will speak about Italian literature and introduce Se questo e un Uomo (If This is a Man) by Primo Levi, published in Vietnamse last year by Nha Nam Publishing House, and two children’s books – Lo stralisco (Glowworm Flowers) and Mattia e il nonno (Mattia and His Grandfather) by Roberto Piumini.

German literature will be presented through four titles, including the love story Schweigeminute (Moment of Silence) by Siegfried Lenz, Die Vermessung der Welt (Measuring the World) by Daniel Kehlmann, Mieses Karma (Lousy Karma) by David Safier, and the fantasy novel Nijura – Das Erbe der Elfenkrone (Nijura – The Heritage of the Elf Queen) by Vietnamese-German author Jenny Mai Nguyen.

The Italian and German literature night will take place at the Goethe Institute, 56-58 Nguyen Thai Hoc Street, on May 27.

For young readers, L’Espace will present 11 titles of Larousse Encyclopaedia for 6-9-Year-Olds by Claude Roy, published by Alpha Books, along with a conference, games and a book stall. The Wallonie-Bruxelles Delegation, meanwhile, will offer the young a chance to discover novels by Amelie Nothomb, a series of children’s books, and a presentation entitled The Legends of Belgian Comics.

The Danish Embassy will present a children’s book entitled A Journey that was produced in a co-operative project between Vietnamese and Danish writers and published in two languages. Little readers will hear stories and have a chance to interact with writers from this unique project.

The French, Danish and Belgian literary displays will be held on May 28 at L’Espace, 24 Trang Tien Street.

Source: VNS