The Age of Reinvention by Karine Tuil review – lost in translation?

A high-concept drama that shuttles between Paris, New York and Afghanistan is let down by repetition, melodrama and cliche

You often hear sighs about the lack of translated literature in the UK, but if translation can be a bridge between cultures, it can also show up the gulf between them. For every Elena Ferrante, whose books have met the same rapturous welcome here as in Italy, there is a Truth About the Harry Quebert Affair, the Swiss-French phenomenon that left many here and in the US scratching their heads.

This novel falls into the latter camp. An international bestseller, shortlisted for the Prix Goncourt, on paper The Age of Reinvention has a lot going for it. It is a high-concept drama that shuttles between Paris, New York and Afghanistan, playing with notions of religion, terrorism and identity – Arab and Jewish – sex and literature. On the page, however, it is repetitive, melodramatic and ridden with cliches.

Continue reading...