Venue: Online
Date: Tuesday, 12th May 2020
Time: 18:00-19:30

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, at the Dialogue Society, we are turning our events into an online format. Therefore, we are pleased to announce that The Dialogue Society Book Group will also be moved onto the online platform Zoom. The first Dialogue Society Book Group in this new format will explore Pigeon English by Stephen Kelman on Tuesday, 12th May at 6pm.

Publisher's synopsis of Pigeon English by Stephen Kelman

Eleven-year-old Harrison Opoku, the second-best runner in Year 7, races through his new life in England with his personalised trainers - the Adidas stripes drawn on with marker pen - blissfully unaware of the very real threat around him. Newly-arrived from Ghana with his mother and older sister Lydia, Harri absorbs the many strange elements of city life, from the bewildering array of Haribo sweets, to the frightening, fascinating gang of older boys from his school. But his life is changed forever when one of his friends is murdered. As the victim's nearly new football boots hang in tribute on railings behind fluorescent tape and a police appeal draws only silence, Harri decides to act, unwittingly endangering the fragile web his mother has spun around her family to keep them safe.

About the Dialogue Society Book Group

The Dialogue Society Book Group explores the capacity of books to provide windows into different cultural and intercultural worlds. We will be choosing a series of quality novels to read and then to discuss together at relaxed, sociable gatherings at the Dialogue Society. Participants are welcome to suggest books for future sessions.

Participants will need to find a copy of the book chosen for each meeting and will need to read it prior to the meeting.

We will have a conversation about the book and our responses to it. Discussion may cover:

• the quality of the storytelling
• the authenticity and accuracy with which a historical/cultural situation is portrayed
• our personal responses to it

You do not need to be an expert on literature or anything else to join in. The group should be enjoyable for anyone who enjoys a good book and likes discovering new ones.

Prospective books for future sessions (NB we are open to suggestions)

• Arab in America, by Toufic El Rassi
• Buddha in the Attic, Julie Otsuka
• Independent People, Halldor Laxness
• Nervous Conditions, Tsitsi Dangarembga
• Yokohama, California, Toshio Mori