Misinterpretation by Ledia Xhoga
- Sale Date
- ISBN
- 9781959030881
- Page Count
- 304
- Language
- English
- Imprint
- Tin House
Meet the Author
Ledia Xhoga
Longlisted for the 2025 Booker Prize
Winner of the 2024 New York City Book Award
Finalist for the 2024 Center for Fiction First Novel Prize
“Absolutely gorgeous. Taut as a thriller, lovely as a watercolor.”—Jennifer Croft
In present-day New York City, an Albanian interpreter reluctantly agrees to work with Alfred, a Kosovar torture survivor, during his therapy sessions. Despite her husband’s cautions, she soon becomes entangled in her clients’ struggles: Alfred’s nightmares stir up her own buried memories, and an impulsive attempt to help a Kurdish poet leads to a risky encounter and a reckless plan.
As ill-fated decisions stack up, jeopardizing the nameless narrator’s marriage and mental health, she takes a spontaneous trip to reunite with her mother in Albania, where her life in the United States is put into stark relief. When she returns to face the consequences of her actions, she must question what is real and what is not. Ruminative and propulsive, Ledia Xhoga’s debut novel, Misinterpretation, interrogates the darker legacies of family and country, and the boundary between compassion and self-preservation.
Winner of the 2024 New York City Book Award
Finalist for the 2024 Center for Fiction First Novel Prize
“Absolutely gorgeous. Taut as a thriller, lovely as a watercolor.”—Jennifer Croft
In present-day New York City, an Albanian interpreter reluctantly agrees to work with Alfred, a Kosovar torture survivor, during his therapy sessions. Despite her husband’s cautions, she soon becomes entangled in her clients’ struggles: Alfred’s nightmares stir up her own buried memories, and an impulsive attempt to help a Kurdish poet leads to a risky encounter and a reckless plan.
As ill-fated decisions stack up, jeopardizing the nameless narrator’s marriage and mental health, she takes a spontaneous trip to reunite with her mother in Albania, where her life in the United States is put into stark relief. When she returns to face the consequences of her actions, she must question what is real and what is not. Ruminative and propulsive, Ledia Xhoga’s debut novel, Misinterpretation, interrogates the darker legacies of family and country, and the boundary between compassion and self-preservation.
Praise for Misinterpretation
-
“Misinterpretation lays bare the viscerality and muscle of language and words, their propensity to fly off the page, or off the lips, and act on our world.”
Agni -
“A nuanced exploration of communication failures, blurred boundaries and the emotional cost of unchecked altruism.”
Observer (UK) -
“Thrilling. . . . This debut novel explores the ways traumas of the past can impact how we experience the present.”
Kirkus Reviews
About the Imprint
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