Miriam Toews: On Film and Literature

Miriam Toews is the award-winning author of nine books, including 'Women Talking', which won the Oscar for best adapted screenplay at the 2023 Academy Awards, and 'All My Puny Sorrows' . Known for her light, oftentimes humorous touch, Toews finds moments of brightness and humanity in even the darkest of narratives. Her latest novel, 'Fight Night', is a tribute to perseverance and love in an intergenerational family of headstrong women.
Her authorial credits are bolstered by recent film adaptations of her work, chief among them 'Women Talking', directed by Sarah Polley. The Oscar-winning film follows the lives of women in a remote English-speaking Mennonite community in Bolivia as they contemplate their futures amidst the horrors of their surroundings, and atrocities committed against them by the men who would control them.
Toews spoke at the John Adams on her latest work, her literary career, and what it’s like to have her novels adapted for the big screen.
This event was recorded at De Brakke Grond on Nov 28, 2023 by Laurens Geerlings