In 1966 Suriname, the Vanta family, an intricate blend of Creole, Maroon, French, Indian, Indigenous, British, and Jewish heritage, is led by Grandma Bee, a proud, cigar-smoking matriarch facing her final days. As she reflects on her scattered family and the loss of her favourite granddaughter, Heli, exiled to the Netherlands for an affair with her white teacher, Bee grapples with one question: What truly binds a family? Off-White offers a moving exploration of Bee’s legacy amid themes of male violence, colonialism, and the dismantling of racial identity, marking the return of a celebrated Surinamese author after two decades.
OFF-WHITE is co-translated by David McKay and Lucy Scott.
‘Off-White…echoes [Roemer’s] earlier themes—the racial and sexual dynamics of Suriname’s multiethnic society—but with a larger scope, examining several generations of a Surinamese family in the years between World War II and the 1960s.’ —Anderson Tepper, The New York Times
‘Emotionally cool; the narrative ripples with the feeling of history and ill-advised decisions slowly insinuating themselves into lives rather than dramatically transforming them.’ —Kirkus Reviews
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Translator bios
Lucy Scott is a translator of Caribbean literature written in Dutch and French. Her short story and essay translations thus far have appeared in Shenandoah: The Washington and Lee Review and in Wilderness House Literary Review. She is the translator of Astrid Roemer’s On a Woman’s Madness, shortlisted for the National Book Award and longlisted for the International Booker Prize. Her recent work also includes Self Portrait by Ludwig Volbeda.
David McKay, a literary translator based in The Hague area, is best known for translating Stefan Hertmans's novels, including The Ascent. He won the Vondel Prize for Hertmans’s War and Turpentine. Other recent publications include The Remembered Soldier by Anjet Daanje, which has been shortlisted the National Book Award, the PEN Translation Prize, and the Republic of Consciousness Prize and longlisted for the International Booker Prize.
Author bio
In 1966, at the age of nineteen, Astrid Roemer emigrated from Suriname to the Netherlands. She identified herself as a cosmopolitan writer. Exploring themes of race, gender, family and identity, her poetic, unconventional prose stands in the tradition of authors such as Toni Morrison and Alice Walker. She was awarded the P.C. Hooft Prize in 2016, and the three-yearly Dutch Literature Prize (Prijs der Nederlandse Letteren) in 2021. In 2026, Astrid Roemer passed away at the age of 78.
Translators Aloud is a YouTube channel devoted to sharing the work of literary translators, for both published and unpublished works.![In 1966 Suriname, the Vanta family, an intricate blend of Creole, Maroon, French, Indian, Indigenous, British, and Jewish heritage, is led by Grandma Bee, a proud, cigar-smoking matriarch facing her final days. As she reflects on her scattered family and the loss of her favourite granddaughter, Heli, exiled to the Netherlands for an affair with her white teacher, Bee grapples with one question: What truly binds a family? Off-White offers a moving exploration of Bee’s legacy amid themes of male violence, colonialism, and the dismantling of racial identity, marking the return of a celebrated Surinamese author after two decades. OFF-WHITE is co-translated by David McKay and Lucy Scott. ‘Off-White…echoes [Roemer’s] earlier themes—the racial and sexual dynamics of Suriname’s multiethnic society—but with a larger scope, examining several generations of a Surinamese family in the years between World War II and the 1960s.’ —Anderson Tepper, The New York Times ‘Emotionally cool; the narrative ripples with the feeling of history and ill-advised decisions slowly insinuating themselves into lives rather than dramatically transforming them.’ —Kirkus Reviews BUY THE BOOK: https://www.tiltedaxispress.com/offwhite https://www.twolinespress.com/shop/books/off-white Translator bios Lucy Scott is a translator of Caribbean literature written in Dutch and French. Her short story and essay translations thus far have appeared in Shenandoah: The Washington and Lee Review and in Wilderness House Literary Review. She is the translator of Astrid Roemer’s On a Woman’s Madness, shortlisted for the National Book Award and longlisted for the International Booker Prize. Her recent work also includes Self Portrait by Ludwig Volbeda. David McKay, a literary translator based in The Hague area, is best known for translating Stefan Hertmans's novels, including The Ascent. He won the Vondel Prize for Hertmans’s War and Turpentine. Other recent publications include The Remembered Soldier by Anjet Daanje, which has been shortlisted the National Book Award, the PEN Translation Prize, and the Republic of Consciousness Prize and longlisted for the International Booker Prize. Author bio In 1966, at the age of nineteen, Astrid Roemer emigrated from Suriname to the Netherlands. She identified herself as a cosmopolitan writer. Exploring themes of race, gender, family and identity, her poetic, unconventional prose stands in the tradition of authors such as Toni Morrison and Alice Walker. She was awarded the P.C. Hooft Prize in 2016, and the three-yearly Dutch Literature Prize (Prijs der Nederlandse Letteren) in 2021. In 2026, Astrid Roemer passed away at the age of 78.](https://translatorsaloud.com/wp-content/plugins/youtube-feed-pro/img/placeholder.png)