Days Come and Go: Hemley Boum with John McMurtrie

Sponsored by Center for the Art of Translation, Villa Albertine San Francisco

Chronicling the beauty and turmoil of a rapidly changing Cameroon, Days Come and Go is the remarkable story of three generations of women both within and beyond its borders. Through the voices of Anna, a matriarch living out her final days in Paris; Abi, Anna’s thoroughly European daughter (at least in her mother’s eyes); and Tina, a teenager who comes under the sway of a militant terrorist faction, Boum’s epic is generous and all-seeing. A page-turner by way of Frantz Fanon and V. S. Naipaul, this stirring English-language debut (translated by Nchanji Njamnsi) offers a discerning portrait of a nation that never once diminishes the power of everyday human connection. Hemley Boum will discuss her work with editor John McMurtrie. FREE, $5-10 suggested donation

“One of the most powerful books I’ve read this year.” —Jennifer Martin, Tattered Cover bookstore

Hemley Boum is the author of four novels, including Les Maquisards, which received the Grand prix littéraire de l’Afrique Noire, and Days Come and Go (Les jours viennent et passent), winner of the Prix Amadou Kourouma, which has been translated into German, Dutch, and now English. Hemley was born in Cameroon, where she studied anthropology before relocating to Lille, France, to study international trade. She currently lives in Paris, France.

Former San Francisco Chronicle books editor John McMurtrie is a freelance writer and editor, for everyone from McSweeney’s Publishing to the literary travel magazine Stranger’s Guide. His writing has appeared in The New York Times, The Los Angeles Times, The Boston Globe, Literary Hub, the quarterly magazine Alta, and the literary journal ZYZZYVA. He lives in the Bay Area.

Event Venue

The Drawing Room: Annex, 780 Valencia Street, San Francisco, United States