Longlisted for the Booker Prize 2025
Albania was a country that made you uneasy and tense, but alert and alive. It infuriated, exasperated, without apology or retribution, and yet one felt seen here, often even loved. The urge to escape its stifling confinement was tinged with unexpected melancholy – for foreigners and natives alike.
In present-day New York City, an Albanian interpreter reluctantly agrees to work with Alfred, a Kosovar torture survivor, during his therapy sessions. Despite her husband’s cautions, she soon becomes entangled in her clients’ struggles: Alfred’s nightmares stir up her own buried memories, and an impulsive attempt to help a Kurdish poet leads to a risky encounter and a reckless plan.
As ill-fated decisions stack up, jeopardising the nameless narrator’s marriage and mental health, she takes a spontaneous trip to reunite with her mother in Albania, where her life in the United States is put into stark relief. When she returns to face the consequences of her actions, she must question what is real and what is not.
Ruminative and propulsive, Ledia Xhoga’s debut novel Misinterpretation interrogates the darker legacies of family and country, and the boundary between compassion and self-preservation.
‘It explores the way that language is kept in our bodies, how it can reveal truths we aren’t ready to hear. Misinterpretation subtly blurs the distinction between help and harm. We found it propulsive, unsettling, and strangely human.’ Booker Prize 2025 judges
‘Intriguing and impressive.’ Sunday Times
‘Xhoga’s portrait of her [protagonist’s] ambivalence evokes a cubist painting: full of perspectives that resist resolution into a clear or unitary image.’ TLS
‘A nuanced exploration of communication failures, blurred boundaries and the emotional cost of unchecked altruism.’ Observer
‘Interrogates the darker legacies of family and country . . The perfect debut.’ SERVICE95
‘A fascinating story that looks at family, home and the legacy of trauma.’ The Gloss
‘Compelling . . . tightly woven . . . with an emotional heart at the centre of a tumultuous world.’ nb.
‘Compelling, startling, original. . . A gorgeous debut that conveys what it is to live in the quick sand between worlds and languages, where all is constantly shifting and subject to misinterpretation.’ Priscilla Morris
‘A heart-stopping, emotional thriller. I loved it.’ Rita Bullwinkel
‘Hauntingly realistic . . . it’s been a long time since I’ve read a text that touches me so viscerally.’ Elisa Shua Dusapin
‘Absolutely gorgeous. Taut as a thriller, lovely as a watercolor.’ Jennifer Croft
‘Deft and insightful . . . exceptional.’ Idra Novey
‘Xhoga interprets our brave, new multicultural world with a sly, benign wit. Read her novel. You’ll be glad you did.’ Tom Grimes