englishpen
Authorising History
Around the world, novelists are constantly rewriting history. Juan Gabriel Vasquez has questioned received versions of the history of Colombia in both The Informers and The Secret History of Costaguana, each time prompting a national re-examination of his country’s identity. Elif Shafak’s work blends both Western and Eastern traditions of storytelling to give voice to those who are often unheard in official narratives, whilst Hisham Matar’s own childhood in Libya has shaped the way in which he approaches his fiction. They talk to writer and translator Amanda Hopkinson about the peculiar ways in which writers can make and unmake history.
Authorising History
Around the world, novelists are constantly rewriting history. Juan Gabriel Vasquez has questioned received versions of the history of Colombia in both The Informers and The Secret History of Costaguana, each time prompting a national re-examination of his country’s identity. Elif Shafak’s work blends both Western and Eastern traditions of storytelling to give voice to those who are often unheard in official narratives, whilst Hisham Matar’s own childhood in Libya has shaped the way in which he approaches his fiction. They talk to writer and translator Amanda Hopkinson about the peculiar ways in which writers can make and unmake history.