Join us in welcoming author Julia von Lucadou and translator Sharmila Cohen as they discuss their recent project, The High-Rise Diver (German: Die Hochhausspringerin, 2018).
What happens when a society values productivity and performance above all else? In her debut novel, German author Julia von Lucadou paints a grim picture of capitalism’s impact on human liberty, well-being, and self-worth. This dystopian novel follows two women: Riva, the titular high rise diver who rebels against expectations, and Hitomi, a psychiatrist tasked with convincing the celebrated athlete to return to her duties.
Newly released in its English translation,
The High-Rise Diver has received critical acclaim from the
Kirkus Review,
Midwest Book Review, and the
Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, among others. It was nominated for the Swiss Book Prize in 2018.
We are delighted to present a conversation between Julia von Lucadou and Sharmila Cohen about the book, the process of literary translation, and the delicate balance that must be maintained between authenticity and readability. The talk will be moderated by Tanya Kelley, the host of our book club and a talented translator in her own right.
The author talk will take place on Saturday, May 21st, at 11:00 AM CT. Please register to receive Zoom access info.
Registration
Get to know the book before the author talk! Join us for our book club on May 10, when we will discuss
The High Rise Diver. Find more information
here.
About the speakers:
Julian von Lucadou was born in Heidelberg in 1982. She studied film and theater at Johannes Gutenberg University of Mainz and Victoria University of Wellington and earned her PhD in Film Studies in 2015. Von Lucadou worked as both an assistant director and a television editor prior to writing
The High-Rise Diver, her debut novel. She lives between Biel, New York, and Cologne.
Sharmila Cohen is an award-winning writer and German-to-English translator who has translated the works of several leading German-language authors. Her work has been featured in publications such as
BOMB and
Harpers, and her projects span from poetry and literary fiction to crime and children’s stories. Originally from New York, Cohen came to Berlin in 2011 as a Fulbright Scholar to complete an experimental translation project with local poets. She now divides her time between both cities.
Tanya Kelley is a linguist and scholar of comparative literature specializing fin de siècle English, German, and Spanish literature. She teaches German at universities in Kansas City, including the University of Missouri in Kansas City, where she also received her doctorate in linguistics and the history of science. Her current literary translation project is
Canfranc: El oro y los nazis from Spanish into English and German.
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