When and where?

7th of September, 21st of September and 5th of October - 5-7pm

In Badger Badger - 543 Norwood Road, London, SE27 9DL (accessible entry from Chestnut Road)

Venue Note: We will be hosted in Badger Badger's game section which can be accessed via the accessible entrance from Chestnut Road for those who prefer not to walk past the bar.

Please note: This event is over-18's only.

What will we be reading?

We will be reading Against the Loveless World by Susan Abulhawa

“Nahr has been confined to the Cube: nine square metres of glossy grey cinderblock, devoid of time, its patterns of light and dark nothing to do with day and night. Journalists visit her, but get nowhere; because Nahr is not going to share her story with them. The world outside calls Nahr a terrorist, and a whore; some might call her a revolutionary, or a hero. But the truth is, Nahr has always been many things, and had many names. She was a girl who learned, early and painfully, that when you are a second-class citizen love is a kind of desperation; she learned, above all else, to survive.

She was a girl who went to Palestine in the wrong shoes, and without looking for it found what she had always lacked in the basement of a battered beauty parlour: purpose, politics, friends. She found a dark-eyed man called Bilal, who taught her to resist; who tried to save her when it was already too late. Nahr sits in the Cube, and tells her story to Bilal. Bilal, who isn't there; Bilal, who may not even be alive, but who is her only reason to get out.”

Content warning: gender and sexual violence, explicit scenes of a sexual nature, imprisonment.

This is our first book group meeting, and we’d like for the space to be as safe and accessible for everyone who wants to come as possible. As such, the discussion will be informal, and there’s no wrong thing to say, and no such thing as a silly question. If there’s anything you need to make it accessible and safer for you, please let us know

Where can I get this book?

If you are thinking of purchasing a paperback copy, we recommend doing so through Bookshop.org - https://uk.bookshop.org/lists/wn4pal-book-club?&new-list-page=true, or in your local independent book shop.

If you'd like to borrow one, we recommend looking into your local library. The Lambeth Libraries catalogue can be found here - http://bit.ly/41horP5. You can also check the London Consortium (which covers Croydon and Bromley).

For an ebook, you can use the Libby app - http://bit.ly/479z2iO (local Lambeth libraries use this app as well).

For an audiobook, you can try Kobo - http://bit.ly/45vvTsn.

We are looking forward to seeing you at our first meeting!