Fortunate Slaves
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 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.