Author Talk: Hemley Boum (Camerun)

This week, Hemley Boum joins moderator Harald Hultqvist for an English-language conversation at International Writers’ Stage. Boum, a Cameroonian author from Douala who lives in Paris, is being introduced to Swedish readers through her novel The Fisherman’s Dream, translated into Swedish by Sara Gordan. The novel follows Zacharias, a fisherman in 1970s Cameroon whose family is split apart before he disappears at sea. Decades later, his grandchild returns from Paris to understand their roots. Boum’s story brings family history into contact with colonialism, migration and globalisation, and follows a difficult route towards reconciliation. Visit Stockholm describes Boum as an award-winning author acclaimed for her depictions of family and history; her event page says she has received nine literary prizes in France. The conversation is for readers interested in contemporary African literature and the stories behind a family’s past.