A new edition of Doina Ruști’s novel Friday’s Cat has recently been released, both in Romanian and in English.
The English edition appears under the title The Book of Perilous Dishes, published by Neem Tree Press (London). Throughout July, the novel has been featured across international literary blogs.
The English translation was completed by Professor James Ch. Brown, with the support of the Romanian Cultural Institute, as part of the TPS project.
Set in 1798, the novel unfolds in Bucharest against the backdrop of political turmoil following Napoleon’s campaign in Egypt. French diplomats in the Ottoman Empire are arrested and imprisoned in Istanbul, some of them sold into galley slavery. The city itself is shaken by arrests, violence, and intense passions.
At the center of the story stands a slave cook, coveted for his extraordinary culinary talent, capable of satisfying even the most demanding princely tastes. Unknown to most, he possesses a magical manuscript entitled The Book of Perilous Dishes, a collection of recipes whose dishes can induce destructive honesty, oblivion, prophetic visions, or uncontrollable laughter. The novel features 21 magical recipes.
Hovering over this historical and fantastical Bucharest is the superstition surrounding Friday’s Cat, a legendary witch believed to bring misfortune upon the city.
Originally published in Romania by Polirom in 2017, Friday’s Cat has since been translated into Spanish, Hungarian, Chinese, and German, and received the Hungarian Writers’ Union Award (Budapest) for best translation.
🎧 English reading by Rosie Goldsmith:
https://youtu.be/KTYFtuvmFuE
