The Last Crossing: a discussion with Katherine Van de Vate and Dr Helen Blatherwick

In the steps of Sisyphus: The challenges of translating contemporary Arabic fiction

The Last Crossing by novelist Badriya al-Badri tells the story of an Egyptian architect called Mukhtar, who travels to Oman to oversee a building project but finds he’s been lured into a bait-and-switch. Instead of drawing up architectural plans, Mukhtar is trapped into back-breaking manual labour. Forced from one demeaning job to the next, he pines for Houria, the love he was forced to leave behind. As Mukhtar navigates the underbelly of the Omani economy, he and Houria exchange increasingly passionate messages. But ashamed of his failure, Mukhtar refuses to return home until an unexpected turn of events makes the decision for him.

Weaving together stories of migrant labourers in Oman with those of their loved ones back home, The Last Crossing beautifully articulates its principal theme: the hard realities that face migrants in Oman. The first Omani novel to deal with this topic, al-Badri’s tale of one man’s migration for love is a searing portrait of the realities beneath the surface of Oman’s prosperous society.

Join Katherine Van de Vate and Dr Helen Blatherwick to discuss Katherine's translation of The Last Crossing and the practical challenges of literary translation, including such questions as what does it mean to translate a novel, how does translation theory help when translating fiction, what is the contemporary landscape for literary translation, and how hard is it to get your work into print?

About the speakers

Katherine Van de Vate translates modern Arabic fiction into English. Her work has appeared in Words without Borders, Asymptote, Arablit Quarterly, Ellipse, Y’allah, and Sekka. Her translation of Badriyah Al Badri’s novel The Last Crossing was published by Dar Arab in 2024. Formerly, she worked as a US diplomat and a curator at the British Library.

Dr Helen Blatherwick is a Teaching Fellow on the SOAS Translation MA and a member of the Centre for Translation Studies.