Found in the Mediterranean – 6 June 2025

BS8 may be beset by storms but I am sipping a brandy sour, curling my toes about delicate shells, toying with Reggie Kray’s cigarette lighter, and shaking sand from my hair. My nose is sunburnt. My vision hazy. The sky is the unlikely colour of Fanta and beneath it the sea invites all without the promise of release.

This from the safety of the shop of course – whilst wearing two jumpers and indulging in nothing stronger than tea* – as I prepare for Independent Bookshop Week and our partnership with the publisher Foundry Editions.

All of Foundry’s books are set around the Mediterranean and translate works previously unpublished in English. They are on a mission to bring you untold stories, infused with the scents, tastes and heat of the area and the concerns of those living there – from those wrapped up in a heady noir to those searching for freedom, answers and a good cup of coffee.

Independent Bookshop Week kicks off on Saturday 14 June when our window will be adorned with a tribute to their stunning book covers – all of them navy and white with patterns inspired by Mediterranean art and architecture.

Throughout the week we will be celebrating each of their books, the highlight being our event with Chiara Valerio, author of The Little I Knew at 6pm on 18 June.

The Little I Knew, translated by Ailsa Wood, is set in the small Italian town of Scauri. Here, the narrator Lea tells us, “We all did the same things, always. We all knew everything about everyone. We all settled for what was under our noses.” Yet when an admired and eccentric resident dies suddenly, Lea will not accept the report which the town does.

Lea had known Vittoria since the latter arrived twenty years earlier, causing some stir among an unchanging community. The two have shared conversations and crème de cassis. Vittoria’s house has become a central point for everyone – a place to gather and a marker used when giving anyone directions. Only on reading the notice of Vittoria’s death in the local paper does Lea realise that she has never known her surname. Nor does she know where Vittoria came from, how she can afford her lifestyle or the identities of the people who attend her funeral.

The novel is rich with the characters in this small but perhaps not intimate community. Within pages, one feels one knows the town, senses its preoccupations and understands its limits but Vittoria’s attraction pulls at its seams even after her death.

Chiara Valerio will be in conversation with Richard Village, Foundry’s founder, and we would love you to join us in the shop to hear more about the book over a glass of wine.

Remaining in Italy, our next Ruthless Book Club will be discussing Your Little Matter by Maria Grazia Calandrone, a captivating investigation into why the author’s mother abandoned her when she was just eight months old and how the laws and prejudices in 1960s Italy led to a tragedy.

The book pieces together the scant evidence remaining about her mother, logical and ethical arguments, a daughter’s feeling and a poet’s responses to form a picture of Lucia and, through her, a social history that demands future change.

Foundry’s first publication is a favourite of mine: Brandy Sour by Constantia Soteriou, in which each chapter can be read as a short story set in the Ledra Palace Hotel in Cyprus, followed by a (not always potable) drink recipe. Together they combine to tell the story of the Cypriot Civil War. From mayors to photographers to film stars to the cleaning lady, the people who visit the hotel and the drinks they sip come together in this conflict-ridden yet witty cocktail.

Meanwhile if you need a good heist, a police officer who loathes anyone who calls the police, burning-hot beachfront bars and a fight for the iconic cigarette lighter once belonging to Reggie Kray, then I highly recommend Spanish Beauty by Esther Garcia Llovet, translated by Richard Village himself, and smoking with Chandler-esque lines and vermouth fumes.

I am turning next to The Palace on the Higher Hill by Karim Kattan. The novel opens with a confession, though one lacking in guilt. The man speaking is Faysal, addressing an ex-lover and wondering how to begin the story of an ending. From the confines of the deserted house in which he was born in Palestine, Faysal tries to reconstruct the story of his family and with it the story of his people.

We so look forward to sharing all of Foundry Editions’ superb books with you and to celebrating Independent Bookshop Week. Revels commence at 5pm on 14^th June with a gig in the shop, played by Blind Justice Page (known to some of us as Steve). Steve will be playing songs inspired by his favourite authors. There may be a prize if you can identify all of the literary references…**

Do let us know if you are coming to the events on 14 June and 18 June so that we can ensure enough seating and drinks.

May your weekend taste of Cypriot lemons and Mediterranean salt,
Lizzie  

*Claims to the contrary have not been verified.
** Likely to take the form of an extra-large glass of something.