The Fig Tree translated by Olivia Hellewell
A gripping novel of family and national division that spans three generations, changing borders and the Balkan wars of the 1990s.
There comes a time when the stage of your life appears to be set: you know the characters, the plot is seemingly sketched out ahead of you, and you’ve been cast in your role. But what if we had made other choices? Who would we have been, and where would the plot have taken us?
A story told over three generations, from 1955 to the present day, The Fig Tree is the third novel from Slovenian author Goran Vojnović. This prize-winning story of how we pull threads of the past to make sense of our selves in the present was translated into English by Olivia Hellewell, and published by Istros Books in 2020.
Full book details
September 2020
Istros Books
For months I had the privilege of being immersed in Goran Vojnović’s mesmerising writing, and having the company of his characters as I read, researched, drafted and redrafted, edited and re-read my translation of The Fig Tree. It was challenging, moving, and the most rewarding piece of translation work I have completed to date.
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