news | Thursday April 2, 2020

Frédérick Lavoie reads from Orwell in Cuba, translated by Donald Winkler

Orwell in Cuba, translated by Donald Winkler, chronicles journalist Frédérick Lavoie’s attempts to unravel the motives behind the mysterious appearance of a new translation of George Orwell’s 1984, formerly taboo in Cuba, just ahead of the country’s twenty-fifth International Book Fair. Lavoie works to make sense of how Cubans feel about the past, present, and future of their island – and how the political regime is adapting, or not, to life in the twenty-first century. His intertwined quests give readers the unique experience of following a suspenseful trail while at the same time becoming increasingly familiar with Cubans’ relationship to the regime and their strategies for coping with the island’s often challenging living conditions.

Avant l’Après, the original French edition of the book, won the Governor General’s Award for French-Language Non-Fiction.

Today, we are sharing a video of Frédérick Lavoie reading an excerpt from the section of the book that he wrote to be read aloud at the twenty-sixth edition of the Havana International Book Fair, in 2017.

Order your copy of Orwell in Cuba today!