My Sister’s Red Shirt with Translator Annelise Finegan

Join us this August to celebrate Women in Translation Month and the launch of Tie Ning's new book in English My Sister's Red Shirt, translated by Annelise Finegan from Chinese.

We are delighted to be part of the London leg of Annelise’s book tour and hope you will join us for an evening or conversation with Annelise and China specialist Paul French.

About the book:

Bestselling 1984 novella by China’s premier female author.

See a rapidly changing nation through the lens of a pair of sisters whose lives have taken diametrically different paths. My Sister’s Red Shirt is one of Tie Ning's earliest successes. It's a semi-autobiographical novella drawing on the relationship between the author and her sister, set in a small city in northern China during the early 1980s at the start of the reform period. Told from the perspective of Anjing, the story revolves around her attempts to protect her outspoken younger sister, Anran, who is targeted by her teacher for her refusal to conform to authority. A poignant coming-of-age story, My Sister’s Red Shirt depicts the loss of innocence and the challenges of being true to yourself, but never losing hold of the vitality of youthful rebellion.

Tie Ning (b.1957) is a novelist and previously the first female chair of the China Writers Association. Her leadership has seen modernisation and a much-needed diversification of its membership. She is known for The Bathing Women, which was longlisted for the Man Asian Literary Prize. She has won numerous prestigious awards, including the Lu Xun Literary Prize and the Lao She Literary Prize.

About the speakers:

The Translator: Annelise Finegan is the Academic Director of Translation & Interpreting and Clinical Associate Professor of Translation at the NYU School of Professional Studies Center for Applied Liberal Arts. She has translated works by authors such as Lu Min, Hsu Yen Ling and Can Xue, including the novels The Last Lover and Love in the New Millennium, for which her translation was long-listed for the 2019 Man Booker Prize.

Paul French is a British author and China specialist, primarily focusing on China in the first half of the 20th century. He is known for his books like Midnight in Peking and City of Devils: A Shanghai Noir. He lived and worked in Shanghai for many years and is now based in London. He is also a commentator and analyst on China, and his work is widely published.

Please note that this event will be recorded and streamed.

Doors will open at 5.00pm Talk starts 5.30pm

Please register for this free event.

Special offer - 15% off any book purchased on the evening.

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Author talks are held in our shop on the lower ground floor of The Battersea Power Station, which is fully accessible via a nearby lift.

Please ensure we have an up-to-date contact email address or telephone number when booking your ticket so that we can contact you with any updates.