Intimacies

A New York Times Top 10 Book of 2021

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Summary

**AS HEARD ON BBC RADIO 4**

An interpreter has come to The Hague to escape New York and work at the International Court. A woman of many languages and identities, she is looking for a place to finally call home.

She's drawn into simmering personal dramas. Her lover, Adriaan, is separated from his wife but still entangled in his marriage.

Her friend Jana witnesses a seemingly random act of violence, a crime the interpreter becomes increasingly obsessed with as she befriends the victim's sister.

And she's pulled into an explosive political controversy when she's asked to interpret for a former president accused of war crimes.

She is soon pushed to the precipice, where betrayal and heartbreak threaten to overwhelm her, forcing her to decide what she wants from her life.

One of Barack Obama's Favourite 2021 Reads
A New York Times Top 10 Book of 2021

'One of my favourite novels of the past few years' Caleb Azumah Nelson

'Captivating' Elif Shafak

'Charged with tension and power' Avni Doshi

'Simply stunning' Brandon Taylor

'Gorgeous' Raven Leilani

Reviews

Intimacies is a novel about the ruthlessness of power, the check of virtue, and the purportedly neutral bureaucracy meant to mediate between them. Katie Kitamura is among the most brilliant and profound writers at work today; she reminds me how high the moral stakes of fiction can be.
Garth Greenwell

About the author

Katie Kitamura

Katie Kitamura's most recent novel is Intimacies. One of the New York Times' 10 Best Books of 2021, it was longlisted for the National Book Award, the PEN/Faulkner Award and was a finalist for the Joyce Carol Oates Prize. It was also one of Barack Obama’s favourite books of 2021. In France, it won the Prix Litteraire Lucien Barriere, was a finalist for the Grand Prix de l’Heroine, and was nominated for the Prix Fragonard. Her previous novel, A Separation, was a finalist for the Premio von Rezzori and a New York Times Notable Book. A recipient of the Rome Prize in Literature, her work has been translated into over 20 languages and is being adapted for film and television.

Her work has been translated into 21 languages and is being adapted for film and television. She is a recipient of the Rome Prize in Literature, as well as fellowships from the Lannan, Santa Maddalena and Jan Michalski foundations. Kitamura has written for publications including the New York Times Book Review, the Guardian, Granta, frieze and others. She teaches in the creative writing program at New York University.

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