Conway Hall Book Club – Julia and the Bazooka by Anna Kavan

With two independent publishers – Istros Books and Peter Owen – and a wonderful library on our premises, we thought it a good time for a new literary initiative: a monthly book club for members and friends, where we discuss some of the titles produced by our resident publishers, as well as the occasional guest sessions hosted by staff and other residents.

This month we will be reading Julia and the Bazooka by Anna Kavan – with Victoria Walker, head of the Anna Kavan Society.

Anna Kavan now stands alongside Virginia Woolf as one of Britain’s great twentieth-century modernists. This edition of Julia and the Bazooka marks the first paperback publication of this posthumous collection of Kavan’s short stories. It contains some of her most compelling writing which owes much to her personal experiences – especially her nearly lifelong addiction to heroine. An important literary work, these stories highlight the shadowed world of the incurable drug addict and probe the psychological aspects of addiction.

“One of the most mysterious of modern writers, Anna Kavan created a uniquely fascinating fictional world. Few contemporary novelists could match the intensity of her vision.” – J.G. Ballard

The next book club event will be held in the library on Friday 25th May:
(see website for details)

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We are committed to promoting inclusive practice at Conway Hall. Due to the constraints of our building, the Library is not currently accessible to wheelchair users or those with limited mobility, we are happy to discuss with you how we can make the contents and materials accessible to you. We carefully monitor which events are held in the Library, and will use your comments to enable us to develop ways to ensure that everyone should be able to attend events in the future.