Algiers, Jerusalem, Mexico Panel at Blue Met

Hosted by Ian Thomas Shaw

At the upcoming Blue Metropolis Festival in Montreal on April 26, I have the honour of hosting the Algiers, Jerusalem, Mexico panel with three remarkable writers: Claire Messud, author of This Strange Eventful History, Sivan Slapak, Here is Still Here, and Mateo García Elizondo, Last Date in El Zapotal. Here is a preview of what to expect.

All the three writers explore the theme of displacement, though in very different ways. Claire Messud’s novel follows a family’s voluntary and involuntary migrations across three generations. Sivan Slapak’s collection of related short stories focuses on a single individual, Isabel, as she moves between Montreal and Jerusalem, navigating cultural and linguistic shifts. The protagonist in Mateo García Elizondo’s novel undergoes a displacement that is not just geographical—leaving the city for a remote Mexican lumber town—but existential, as he prepares for his own death.

In This Strange Eventful History, Claire Messud traces the journey of a Franco-Algerian family across Algeria, Beirut, Salonica, France, and ultimately North America. Her characters often inhabit spaces where national identities are ambiguous or fractured—Pied-Noirs in Algeria, French but never fully at home in France, later immigrants in North America. The novel is remarkably compelling, underpinned by an exceptionally eloquent prose.

I was intrigued by how Sivan Slapak framed language as both a bridge and a barrier in Here is Still Here. Isabel strengthens her bond with her Yiddish-speaking grandmother in Montreal, then in Jerusalem, she finds that Yiddish unlocks an unexpected world of intense, physical encounters—despite its marginal status in Israeli society. Later, in learning Palestinian Arabic, Isabel reaches beyond her Jewish identity to connect with those often seen as the ‘other.’ Upon returning to Montreal, Yiddish again serves as a bridge—this time allowing her to express maternal affection for her Hasidic students, despite her own leading of a largely secular life.

Last Date in El Zapotal was, at times, an emotionally difficult read, with its unflinching meditation on mortality. Displacement in literature often involves a search for identity. The author’s grandfather, Gabriel García Márquez, also frequently explored themes of migration, belonging, and exile. Yet, Mateo’s novel moves in the opposite direction—his protagonist’s physical displacement is minor, perhaps only a few hundred kilometres, but emotionally, he undergoes a profound unravelling. He strips himself of identity, relinquishes his name, possessions, and ties to the world.

All three books will be available at the Blue Metropolis Festival book stand. And if you are interested in attending the panel discussion at Blue Metropolis, just click here for the event page. Admission is $8, and you may wish to book a ticket early, as the panel will likely be sold out.