The compelling and original debut novel from the Costa Prize-shortlisted author of Confession with Blue Horses. Swimming for his life towards traffickers on the Italian shore, Selim enters a world where Kurdish refugees disguise themselves as tomatoes, dates of birth are a matter of opinion, and a residency permit is a ticket to paradise. When he ends up in a small town in Germany, Selim believes he is finally safe, until the law catches up with him and the clock starts ticking. Selim realises there is only one way to avoid deportation... Fifteen years later, in a town hall in Paris, a Registrar receives an unsettling book: 'The Registrar's Manual for Detecting Forced Marriages' fuels her suspicions surrounding an impending Kurdish wedding. She embarks on an investigation that will bring her uncomfortably close to an old acquaintance. Written with real imaginative flair, heart and humour, The Registrar's Manual for Detecting Forced Marriages introduces an unlikely hero who'll prove impossible to forget, and a prodigious new talent in Sophie Hardach.

London, 1939 As war breaks out in Europe, two families face their own conflicts. Two Quaker brothers, Paul and Charlie Lamb, sign a pledge of peace. Jewish crystallographer Mrs Morningstar sleeps restlessly, unable to bear the guilt of her work. And her daughter, Miriam, comes home with her stockings inside out but can't confess where she has been. By the end of the war, they will each have to make impossible choices. Lines will be crossed, secrets will out, and lives will be lost. 'Poignant without ever being sentimental, morally complex and deftly woven – this is a book that gets better and better with every chapter' Gavin Extence 'Tender and absorbing. An intriguing glimpse into the pacifist's world' Esther Freud

We tend to consider translation as something good, virtuous and bright, but it can also function as an instrument of concealment, silencing and misdirection—as something that darkens and obscures. Propaganda, misinformation, narratives of trauma and imagery of the enemy—to mention just a few of the negative phenomena that shape our lives—show patterns of communication in which translation either functions as a weapon or constitutes a space of conflict. But what does this dark side of translation look like? How does it work? Ground-breaking in its theoretical conception and pioneering in its thematic approach, this book unites international scholars from a range of disciplines including philosophy, translation studies, literary theory, ecocriticism, game studies, history and political science. With examples that illustrate complex theoretical and philosophical issues, this book also has a major focus on the translational dimension of ecology and climate change. Transdisciplinary and topical, this book is key reading for researchers, scholars and advanced students of translation studies, literature and related areas. Chapter 8 of this book is freely available as a downloadable Open Access PDF under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 license available at http://www.taylorfrancis.com/books/e/9780429321528

This is a book about languages and the people who love them. Sophie Hardach is here to guide us through the strange and wonderful ways that humans have used languages throughout history. She takes us from the earliest Mesopotamian clay tablets and the 'book cemeteries' of medieval synagogues to the first sounds a child hears in their mother's womb and their incredible capacity for language learning. Along the way, Hardach explores the role of trade in transmitting words across cultures and untangles riddles of hieroglyphics, cuneiform and the ancient scripts of Crete and Cyprus. This is a book about languages, the people who love them and the linguistic threads that connect us all. 'Impeccably researched and engagingly presented... Sophie Hardach tells wonderful stories about words that have travelled vast distances in space and time to make English what it is' David Bellos, author of Is That a Fish in Your Ear? Translation and the Meaning of Everything

Swimming for his life towards traffickers on the Italian shore, Selim enters a world where Kurdish refugees disguise themselves as tomatoes, dates of birth are a matter of opinion, and a residency permit is a ticket to paradise. When he ends up in a small town in Germany, Selim believes he is finally safe, until the law catches up with him and the clock starts ticking. Selim realises there is only one way to avoid deportation, if he dare try … Fifteen years later, in a town hall in Paris, a Registrar receives an unsettling book in the post. The Registrar's Manual for Detecting Forced Marriages only fuels her suspicions surrounding an impending Kurdish wedding. Unsure how to intervene, she embarks on an investigation that brings her uncomfortably close to an old acquaintance: Selim. Written with real imaginative flair, heart and humour, The Registrar's Manual for Detecting Forced Marriages introducesan unlikely hero who'll prove impossible to forget, and a prodigious new talent in Sophie Hardach.