Our writers bring you news this week from France, Hong Kong, and Sri Lanka. In France, a government official’s attempt to silence Pauline Harmange’s defence of misandry has turned her book Moi les hommes, je les déteste (I Hate Men) into an overnight bestseller; in Hong Kong, Chenxin Jiang was one of four winners of the Words Without Borders Poems in Translation Contest for her translation of poet Yau Ching; and in Sri Lanka, the Colombo International Book Fair is taking place, with the announcement of major literary awards such as the Svarna Pustaka Award. Read on to find out more!
Barbara Halla, Assistant Editor, reporting from France
In the beginning there were only 400. That was the initial print run that the French indie publisher Monstrograph had planned for Pauline Harmange’s Moi les hommes, je les déteste (I Hate Men) when it was released in late August. As its provocative title belies, this ninety-six-page volume is essentially a defence of misandry, of women’s right not to like men. Harmange purportedly argues that in the face of thousands of years of subjugation and violence, women have not simply the right to hate men, but should also focus on building a life that decentres them. I say purportedly because I have not read the book yet. By the time I tried to get my hands on a copy, it wasn’t simply out of stock: the publisher had stopped publishing it altogether, unable to keep up with demand.
From those who have read it, I Hate Men has received mostly positive reviews, but it became a phenomenon thanks to a failed attempt to silence it. In a perfect example of situational irony, Ralph Zurmély, a French government official working, funnily enough, for the French ministry of gender equality, requested that the book be banned for inciting violence. He even threatened the publisher with legal action. Alas, thanks to him, the book has now become an overnight success, drawing plenty of international attention and depleting the original publisher’s resources. A few days ago, I Hate Men was acquired by Éditions du Seuil, a more established publishing house, whose head, Hugues Jallon, will be following the project personally. No word yet as to how long readers will have to wait for their copies. READ MORE…