The novel Mâţa Vinerii/The Book of Perilous Dishes by Romanian author Doina Ruşti will be presented at the London Book Fair this week, between April 5 and April 8.

The novel, published in Romanian in 2017 at Polirom, was released in English translation this March at Neem Tree Press. It was translated by James Christian Brown and published by Neem Tree Press with the support of the Romanian Cultural Institute's Translation and Publication Support program.

We are so excited to announce that @doinarusti, author of #TheBookOfPerilousDishes will be joining us at #LondonBookFair next week! On the @ipghq stand 6E70! 🎉🎉🎉

@Artellus @RCILondon @TripFiction @Read_WIT @bookblast @GlobalLitin @eurolitnet @wwborders @translated_lit pic.twitter.com/pOjnXt6oxa

— Neem Tree Press (@NeemTreePress) April 1, 2022

Ruşti will also meet the public at an event hosted by the Romanian Cultural Institute in London on April 6. More on the event here.

The book is described by the publisher as a "fantastical novel mixing elements of magic and folklore to create a dark and playful tale that traverses Europe at the turn of the 18th century." It follows 14-year-old Patca, who comes to Bucharest to recover a witch's recipe book: the Book of Perilous Dishes. "The recipes in this magical book can bring about damaging earnestness, forgetfulness, the gift of prediction, hysterical laughter...And the rightful owner of this book is 14-year-old Patca, initiated in the occult arts."

Doina Ruşti has written ten novels, including The Phantom in the Mill (2008), The Phanariot Manuscript (2015), Lizoanca (2009), Zogru (2006), and The Book of Perilous Dishes (2017). She lives in Bucharest and is a professor and screenwriter.

James Christian Brown, originally from Scotland, has lived in Romania since 1993 and teaches in the English Department of the University of Bucharest.

(Photo: Romanian Cultural Institute in London Facebook Page)

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