Type: Book Reading
Event: World Book Fair
Author and Reader: Edna O'Brien
Location: London, England
Year: 2011

Plunder is an emotionally searing piece from Edna O'Brien's book of short stories, "Saint and Sinner". An author known for writing with intimacy and universality about difficult subjects, she considers personal, cultural and historical trauma. The story is inspired by real Balkan conflict narratives and lives uprooted by war. It explores forced displacement and the shattering of innocence. The whole collection revolves around moral ambiguity, with characters who are terrified but brave.