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Misinterpretation
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Misinterpretation

By: Ledia Xhoga
Narrated by: Alix Dunmore
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About this listen

Albania was a country that made you uneasy and tense, but alert and alive. It infuriated, exasperated, without apology or retribution, and yet one felt seen here, often even loved. The urge to escape its stifling confinement was tinged with unexpected melancholy – for foreigners and natives alike.

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, jeopardising 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.

©2024 Ledia Xhoga (P)2025 Bolinda Publishing Genre Fiction Literary Fiction

Critic Reviews

'Misinterpretation subtly blurs the distinction between help and harm. We found it propulsive, unsettling and strangely human.' (Judges' comments, Booker Prize 2025)
'A heart-stopping, emotional thriller ... Violence hovers in the book's borders. I loved it.' (Rita Bullwinkel, author of Headshot)
'A nuanced exploration of communication failures, blurred boundaries and the emotional cost of unchecked altruism.' (Observer)
'Xhoga’s portrait of her [protagonist's] ambivalence evokes a cubist painting: full of perspectives that resist resolution into a clear or unitary image.' (TLS)
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