what will it take for me to leave — Loranne vella

Shortlisted for the Society of Authors TA First Translation Prize 2022

In Loranne Vella’s what will it take for me to leave, shortlisted for the 2021 National Book Prize of Malta, everyone is a player in a game. A multitude of figures and disembodied voices barter the terms of relationships, solve puzzles, set riddles, play hide-and-seek – they will do anything to come out on top, even cheat themselves of the truth . . .

An enigmatic, dark, and at times humorous collection of short stories that makes us question our terms of engagement with the past, the present and the future, in a deft translation by Kat Storace. With photographs by Zvezdan Reljić.