How to Be Book Club - "Season of Migration to the North" by Tayeb Salih

Existential crises are like a persistent rash. There's no cure, but if you're suffering from the Big Questions, maybe the How To Be Book Club can be a salve. Come hang out in Book Club Bar's back garden one Saturday each month, and join us in discussing works of philosophical fiction from across different eras and parts of the globe. We'll read the book beforehand (and do us a solid, if you can—get your book from our store), and then gather for casual conversation over drinks. Our usual fanfare will be available—coffee, beer, wine, and cocktails, plus some special brunch offerings! No preparation needed; just bring your book, your sweet self, and your curious mind!

This March we'll be discussing decolonial theory through our reading of Season of Migration to the North by Tayeb Salih, with an optional companion text of Salvage: Readings from the Wreck by Dionne Brand. A counternarrative to Joseph Conrad's Heart of Darkness, Season of Migration to the North follows a young academic who returns to his native Sudan after seven years of study in London. It strives to make visible the personal calamities of colonialism: fractured identities, disturbed senses of belonging, irreconcilable differences between cultures and traditions. Dionne Brand—poet, novelist, theorist—is also concerned with making truths visible, especially when those truths have been buried under centuries of fabrications. In Salvage: Readings from the Wreck, she examines 17th - 19th century English literature to reveal how many classics—from Defoe to Austen—avoided, trivialized, or erased the colonial realities of their times.

This month's pick: by Tayeb Salih
Optional companion text: by Dionne Brand

What your ticket includes:

• $8 off any drink at the bar

Grab a brunch cocktail at the bar and tell us what you thought of the book! Our informal discussion will be led by BCB bookseller Keri Kelly.

Registration is capped, so please register early if you are planning on attending. Please note: gratuity for the bartenders is not included. Please use your tickets at the beginning of the event.

Event Venue & Nearby Stays

Book Club Bar, 197 East 3rd Street, New York, United States