Author(s): Anne Garreta; Emma Ramadan (Translator)

Novel | Translated fiction

Garr ta's first novel in a decade follows the mania that descends upon a family when the father finds himself in possession of a concrete mixer. As he seeks to modernize every aspect of their lives, disaster strikes when the younger sibling is subsumed by concrete.

Through puns, wordplay, and dizzying verbal effect, Garr ta reinvents the novel form and blurs the line between spoken and written language in an attempt to confront the elasticity of communication.

Recipient of the 2020 Hemingway Grant by the Cultural Services of the French Embassy 

"Through a unique writing style where spelling mistakes coexist with onomatopoeias and saucy allusions, the border between spoken and written language gradually ceases to exist." —The Cultural Services of the French Embassy

"In Concrete is Anne Garréta’s greatest narrative accomplishment to date. Translator Emma Ramadan has skillfully managed to recreate lewd jokes, playful puns, and linguistic puzzles resulting in an utterly delightful read." — Deep Vellum Books, Cristina Rodriguez

“Garréta and Ramadan continue to redefine the limits of language—these are not words to read but words to bite, chew, choke on.  Consuming In Concrete, with all its pleasures and surprises, feels like learning a new game, ruled by Garréta's definitive and mystifying blend of folklore and testimony.” — Kyle Alderdice from Book Culture

Praise for Sphinx:

One of Flavorwire’s Top 50 Independent Books of 2015

One of Entropy Magazine‘s Best Fiction Books of 2015

One of Bookriot's 100 Must-Read Books Translated From French

Sphinx is one of FSG editor Jackson Howard’s favorite books of 2018 on the FSG Work in Progress blog

“The set-up is such a classic, relatable tale of falling in — and out — of love that one wonders why gender has always been such a huge factor in how we discuss relationships, in fiction and otherwise. . . . So, the author, and the translator, created their own language, championing love and desire over power and difference.” —Huffington Post, Maddie Crum 

 “Garréta’s aim was to overthrow gender binaries carried by language, and in light of recent demands by transgender groups to use gender neutral pronouns, Sphinx seems curiously prescient.” — The Times Literary Supplement (TLS), Catherine Humble

“…Sphinx highlights the already limiting nature of language when it comes to matters of gender, and of love.” — The Atlantic, Stephanie Hayes 

“The strength of [Sphinx] lies in its philosophical eloquence . . . Take away gender and race from the book, and what’s left? Love, viewed as a nihilistic transcendence . . . considerably more than a language game.” — London Review of Books, Adam Mars-Jones