Jeanne

When Jean, a young translator of French and Russian, receives a mysterious commission, she leaps at the chance to escape her current life—and husband—and relocate to Montréal. Marriage has destroyed her sense of self, but work offers a way to rebuild it, as Jean slowly rediscovers her identity via a series of literary encounters (as well as lots of sex, drugs, and rock 'n' roll). With nods to the Situationists and Oulipo, JEANNE is an experimental yet intensely engaging novel about gender, alterity, and linguistic insecurity. Will translation always be seen as an act of betrayal? Or does one's willingness to speak through and with the other yield its own rewards? Arielle Burgdorf is a writer and literary translator from French. Their novella, Prétend (sections of which also appear in JEANNE) was published by End of the Line Press in Canada. Prior to this they were a Lambda Literary Emerging Writer Fellow, nominated for two Pushcart Prizes, and have been widely published in Lambda Literary, Electric Literature, Worms, Amsterdam Review, and Full Stop.