Connect with us

NEWS

Oxford Bookstore Connaught Place and Instituto Cervantes Organizes a Talk Show with Acclaimed Spanish Novelist Gabriela Ybarra

Img2014349503Oxford Bookstore and Instituto Cervantes organized a talk session with acclaimed novelist, Gabriela Ybarra of El COMMENSAL (The Dinner Guest) fame and writer-translator, Mohini Gupta. The duo discussed the plot of author’s debut novel which recreates near death experiences in an extraordinary manner. The novel has received critical acclamation and rave reviews across media and is already in its fourth edition, published by Caballo de Troya .

Oxford Bookstore aims to spread awareness about the literary and cultural relevance of regional as well as mainstream languages in India. Oxford Bookstore Connaught Place offers a carefully curated list of titles for book lovers to browse through and buy and perhaps the world’s largest assortment of teas in the hip Cha Bar, to create a holistic experience for book lovers. The entrance leading to the bookstore houses a big Neon Wall, a cloud of words in English-Hindi-Latin that envelopes book lovers in a universe of emotions linked to reading.030816_Bookstores4

Inside, in the tranquil space, hands-on staff, knowledgeable and highly trained book specialists, offer suggestions of handpicked titles from major, independent and indie publishers: A great selection of books, some exclusive to Oxford Bookstore. The selection features both emerging and established authors from India and the world. Shelves stocked with the best in Indian Writing, International Fiction, and Translations take one into a spacious, elongated Reading Room which opens onto a dedicated Events Space. Well-researched sections on Languages and New Age books address issues of addiction, relationships, unexplained phenomena, and showcase the best of thinkers and Indian gurus. A wide range of titles in Travel Writing, books that showcase the very essence of New Delhi and a specially curated section of books on tea are other highlights.

Children have an exclusive space for browsing, activities and reading and parents can look forward to the Top 10 Gift Books in each age group for a quick and easy pick. Among the best in books for different age groups are ones that help the young ones deal with experiences relevant to their age.

Gabriela Ybarra
Dsc_0768Gabriela Ybarra was born in Bilbao in 1983. She studied business administration and management at the University Pontificia de Comillas, got a master degree in marketing at the New York University, she has spent three years there. Now she is living in Madrid, works with analyzing social networks and preparing marketing studies.

Gabriela has made an eye-catching début with “El Commensal” (The Dinner Guest) a fascinating first novel about two life-changing events: the murder of her grandfather, a businessman and former mayor of Bilbao, Javier Ybarra, by the terrorist group ETA in 1977, and the illness and death of her mother from cancer 4 years ago. The author recreates these experiences in a high-quality first-person narrative that presents a brave reflection on death. The literary treatment of the grief of the victims of ETA and the effect of daily death threats is particularly notable. With a clear, direct style, the author powerfully communicates the reality and contexts of these two deaths without succumbing to victimhood, including a reflection on her grandfather’s killers and the memory of sessions at the hospital with her mother during her final days.  The book had attracted a lot of media and critical attention and is already in its fourth edition. Published by Caballo de Troya (Penguin Random House).

Mohini Gupta
Mohini Gupta is the Programme Lead at the Vedica Scholars Programme for Women, a higher education initiative aimed at empowering young women professionals, based in New Delhi. After an MA in Cultural Studies from SOAS, University of London, she was selected for the Sangam House international writers’ residency in Bangalore for her Hindi translations of Vikram Seth’s poetry, as well as awarded a Research Fellowship at Sarai, Centre for the Study of Developing Studies for their academic project in Hinglish. A former Young India Fellow, she has translated various books and poems for children into Hindi and written for publications such as Caravan, Scroll.in and thewire.in. She has moderated events and panel discussions around language, culture and translation at the Jaipur Literature Festival as well as on DD’s show on book – Kitaabnama.