Fortunate Slaves
2017 Longlist

Fortunate Slaves

Translated from the original Dutch by Michele Hutchison
artwork-image

ABOUT
THE BOOK

Two doppelgänger exiles-both, curiously, named Tony Hanssen-are on the run from the lies and deceit that have defined their lives. When they accidentally meet up, they realise that each could hold the solution to the other’s problems. An allegory of the global economic crisis and of the identity conflict of modern man, Fortunate Slaves is a moral and picaresque novel that is both entertaining and thought-provoking. Just how low will desperate men sink to achieve their aims?

 

ABOUT
THE AUTHOR Tom
Lanoye

Tom Lanoye is an award-winning, highly acclaimed Belgian novelist, poet and playwright. He is a best-selling author and makes regular appearances at major European festivals.

His novel Fortunate Slaves sold over 50,000 copies and was shortlisted for both the Libris Literature Prize and the AKO Literature Prize 2014. His bestseller Speechless was awarded several major prizes and has been voted one of the most popular ‘new classics’ in Flemish literature. He lives in Antwerp and Capetown.

 

Tom Lanoye is an award-winning, highly acclaimed Belgian novelist, poet and playwright. He is a best-selling author and makes regular appearances at major European festivals.

His novel Fortunate Slaves sold over 50,000 copies and was shortlisted for both the Libris Literature Prize and the AKO Literature Prize 2014. His bestseller Speechless was awarded several major prizes and has been voted one of the most popular ‘new classics’ in Flemish literature. He lives in Antwerp and Capetown.

 

ABOUT
THE TRANSLATOR Michele
Hutchison

Michele Hutchison studied at UEA, Cambridge, and Lyon universities and worked in publishing for a number of years. In 2004, she moved to Amsterdam. Among the many works she has translated are La Superba by Ilja Leonard Pfeijffer, Slaves to Fortune by Tom Lanoye, both Craving and Roxy by Esther Gerritsen, and Stadium IV by Sander Kollaard, for which she received the Vondel Translation Prize 2020. In the same year, her translation of Lucas Rijneveld’s novel The Discomfort of Evening was awarded the International Booker Prize. She also co-authored the successful parenting book, The Happiest Kids in the World.

Michele Hutchison studied at UEA, Cambridge, and Lyon universities and worked in publishing for a number of years. In 2004, she moved to Amsterdam. Among the many works she has translated are La Superba by Ilja Leonard Pfeijffer, Slaves to Fortune by Tom Lanoye, both Craving and Roxy by Esther Gerritsen, and Stadium IV by Sander Kollaard, for which she received the Vondel Translation Prize 2020. In the same year, her translation of Lucas Rijneveld’s novel The Discomfort of Evening was awarded the International Booker Prize. She also co-authored the successful parenting book, The Happiest Kids in the World.

NOMINATING LIBRARY COMMENTS

Two individuals with the same name (Doppelganger in fact) have adventures in their strive for money and recognition. A tragic but also comical novel with a twist. Lanoye writes beautiful prose, the story is amusing, thrilling (with real cliffhangers!) and informative. It takes place in South America, Africa and China and is a story about the modern world in an economic crisis and individual choices.

With its seeming paradoxes and moral complications, this is a picaresque novel that immerses the reader in its sparkling language.

Chosen by our readers.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

Date published
17/09/2015
Country
Belgium
Original Language
Dutch
Author
Publisher
World Editions
Translator
Michele Hutchison
Translation
Translated from the original Dutch by Michele Hutchison

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