‘He sets down his weapon, then with difficulty takes off his boots, their smell (excrement, musty sweat) adds even more to his exhaustion. His fingers on the frayed laces are dry matchsticks, slightly burned in places; the nails are the same colour as the boots’
Charlotte Mandell
Born in Connecticut, Charlotte Mandell has translated over 50 books of fiction, poetry and philosophy from French
Her translations include works by Marcel Proust, Maurice Blanchot, Abdelwahab Meddeb and Jean-Luc Nancy.
Her translation of Compass by Mathias Énard was shortlisted for the International Booker Prize 2017 and was the recipient of the 2018 ALTA National Translation Award in Prose.
She was named a Chevalier de l’Ordre des Arts et des Lettres by the French government and has received the Thornton Wilder Translation Prize from the American Academy of Arts and Letters.
Her translation of Mathias Énard’s The Deserters was longlisted for the International Booker Prize 2026.
Author photo © Robert Kelly
The Deserters weaves together two stories, told in very contrasting voices, exploring themes of commitment and betrayal, hope and survival, during times of war
The International Booker Prize 2026 judges on The Deserters
All nominated books
Mathias Énard’s immersive, nocturnal, musical journey is a declaration of admiration, a hand reaching out, a bridge of words between West and East
Translated by Charlotte Mandell
A mesmerising and inventive novel that lays bare the devastations of war on the most intimate aspects of our lives
Translated by Charlotte Mandell
