The Ghetto Within
ABOUT
THE BOOK
The Ghetto Within re-imagines the life of its author’s Jewish grandfather whose guilt provokes an enduring silence to span generations. 1928. Vicente Rosenberg is a European émigré starting a new life in Buenos Aires. Despite success, Vicente still misses his mother, who stayed behind in Poland. For years, she writes him. Yet, as unnerving rumors mount from abroad, her letters become increasingly sporadic, and Vicente begins to construct the reality of a tragedy that already occurred. Then, one day, the letters cease. Racked with guilt, Vicente lapses into a longstanding silence. With his new novel, Amigorena finds the language to retrieve his voice from the oblivion of familial trauma.
The original French title of the book The Ghetto Within by Santiago H. Amigorena is Le Ghetto Intérieur, which was originally published in 2019.
ABOUT
THE TRANSLATOR Frank
Wynne
Frank Wynne is a literary translator. Born in Ireland, he moved to France in 1984 where he discovered a passion for language. He began translating literature in the 1990s. He has translated works by, among others, Michel Houellebecq, Frédéric Beigbeder, Ahmadou Kourouma, Boualem Sansal, Claude Lanzmann, Tómas Eloy Martínez and Almudena Grandes. His work has earned him a number of awards, including the Scott Moncrieff Prize and the Premio Valle Inclán. Most recently, his translation of Vernon Subutex was shortlisted for the Man Booker International 2018. Wynne translatedThe Art of Losing by Alice Zeniter which won the Dublin Literary Award 2022.
Frank Wynne is a literary translator. Born in Ireland, he moved to France in 1984 where he discovered a passion for language. He began translating literature in the 1990s. He has translated works by, among others, Michel Houellebecq, Frédéric Beigbeder, Ahmadou Kourouma, Boualem Sansal, Claude Lanzmann, Tómas Eloy Martínez and Almudena Grandes. His work has earned him a number of awards, including the Scott Moncrieff Prize and the Premio Valle Inclán. Most recently, his translation of Vernon Subutex was shortlisted for the Man Booker International 2018. Wynne translatedThe Art of Losing by Alice Zeniter which won the Dublin Literary Award 2022.
NOMINATING LIBRARY COMMENTS
Based on the history of his own grandfather, who left his family to emigrate in Argentina, this touching novel tells about the guilt to be helpless for those who stayed, and the impossibiliy to reach happiness when one’s family is in danger. The writing is very sensitive and the telling is heartbreaking.