# Intimacies
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> Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Intimacies.md
> Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Intimacies
> Source revision: 1356456181
> License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/)
{{Short description|2021 novel by Katie Kitamura}}
{{Distinguish|Intimacy}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=March 2025}}
{{Infobox book
| name = Intimacies
| image = Intimacies.jpg
| author = [Katie Kitamura](/source/Katie_Kitamura)
| isbn = 978-0-39957-616-4
| pages = 240
| language = English
| pub_date = {{Start date|2021|07|20}}
| publisher = [Riverhead Books](/source/Riverhead_Books)
}}
'''''Intimacies''''' is the fourth [novel](/source/novel) by [Katie Kitamura](/source/Katie_Kitamura), published on July 20, 2021.
== Plot ==
An unnamed woman leaves [New York City](/source/New_York_City), where her father recently died, and moves to [The Hague](/source/The_Hague), [Netherlands](/source/Netherlands) to work as an interpreter at the [International Criminal Court](/source/International_Criminal_Court). The woman is assigned to interpret for the former president of a [West Africa](/source/West_Africa)n country on trial for [war crime](/source/war_crime)s.
== Creation ==
Kitamura attended the International Criminal Court trial of [Laurent Gbagbo](/source/Laurent_Gbagbo), a fictionalized account of which appears in ''Intimacies''.[{{Cite news|last=Young|first=Molly|date=July 12, 2021|title=Katie Kitamura's hypnotic new novel asks, What happens when your main character is a passive witness to her own life?|work=[Vulture](/source/Vulture.com)|url=https://www.vulture.com/article/katie-kitamura-intimacies-profile.html|access-date=July 15, 2021|archive-date=July 13, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210713142458/https://www.vulture.com/article/katie-kitamura-intimacies-profile.html|url-status=live}}] The publishing rights were acquired by [Jonathan Cape](/source/Jonathan_Cape) in February 2021.[{{Cite news|last=Cowdrey|first=Katherine|date=February 9, 2021|title=Kitamura's Intimacies to Jonathan Cape|work=[The Bookseller](/source/The_Bookseller)|url=https://www.thebookseller.com/news/kitamura-s-intimacies-jonathan-cape-1236191|access-date=July 15, 2021|archive-date=February 9, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210209110011/https://www.thebookseller.com/news/kitamura-s-intimacies-jonathan-cape-1236191|url-status=live}}]
== Reception ==
''Intimacies'' featured on a list of book recommendations by [Barack Obama](/source/Barack_Obama) for the [summer](/source/summer) of 2021.[{{Cite news|last=Bayley|first=Sian|date=July 12, 2021|title=Obama shares summer reading list featuring Diop and Ishiguro|work=[The Bookseller](/source/The_Bookseller)|url=https://www.thebookseller.com/news/obama-shares-summer-reading-recommendations-1268911|access-date=July 15, 2021|archive-date=July 12, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210712105823/https://www.thebookseller.com/news/obama-shares-summer-reading-recommendations-1268911|url-status=live}}] [Dwight Garner](/source/Dwight_Garner) described the book as "a taut, moody novel that moves purposefully between worlds" in his review for ''[The New York Times](/source/The_New_York_Times)''.[{{Cite news|last=Garner|first=Dwight|author-link=Dwight Garner|date=July 14, 2021|title='Intimacies,' a Coolly Written Novel About the Arts of Translation and Power|work=[The New York Times](/source/The_New_York_Times)|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2021/07/14/books/review-intimacies-katie-kitamura.html|access-date=July 15, 2021|issn=1553-8095|oclc=1645522|archive-date=July 15, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210715011552/https://www.nytimes.com/2021/07/14/books/review-intimacies-katie-kitamura.html|url-status=live}}] [Ron Charles](/source/Ron_Charles_(critic)) reviewed the book for the [''Washington Post''](/source/The_Washington_Post).[{{Cite news|last=Charles|first=Ron|author-link=Ron Charles (critic)|date=July 13, 2021|title=Barack Obama's summer reading pick 'Intimacies' is an unsettling novel about moral dilemmas|newspaper=[The Washington Post](/source/The_Washington_Post)|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/entertainment/books/katie-kitamura-intimacies-book-review/2021/07/13/1fcf2b46-e37e-11eb-8aa5-5662858b696e_story.html|access-date=July 15, 2021|archive-date=July 15, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210715073908/https://www.washingtonpost.com/entertainment/books/katie-kitamura-intimacies-book-review/2021/07/13/1fcf2b46-e37e-11eb-8aa5-5662858b696e_story.html|url-status=live}}] Brandon Yu compared the work favourably to Kitamura's third novel ''A Separation.''[{{Cite news|last=Yu|first=Brandon|date=July 11, 2021|title=Katie Kitamura and the Cognitive Dissonance of Being Alive Right Now|work=[The New York Times](/source/The_New_York_Times)|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2021/07/11/books/katie-kitamura-intimacies.html|access-date=July 15, 2021|issn=1553-8095|oclc=1645522|archive-date=July 15, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210715070044/https://www.nytimes.com/2021/07/11/books/katie-kitamura-intimacies.html|url-status=live}}] In 2021, ''Intimacies'' was longlisted for the [National Book Award for Fiction](/source/National_Book_Award_for_Fiction).[{{cite magazine| title=The 2021 National Book Awards Longlist: Fiction| url=https://www.newyorker.com/books/page-turner/the-2021-national-book-awards-longlist-fiction|magazine=[The New Yorker](/source/The_New_Yorker)|date=2021-09-17}}] It was selected for the ''[New York Times Book Review](/source/New_York_Times_Book_Review)''{{'}}s "10 Best Books of 2021" list.[{{Cite news |date=November 30, 2021 |title=The 10 Best Books of 2021 |work=[The New York Times](/source/The_New_York_Times) |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2021/11/30/books/review/best-books-2021.html |access-date=December 18, 2021}}] The novel won the 2023 [Prix Litteraire Lucien Barriere](/source/Prix_Litteraire_Lucien_Barriere).[{{Cite web |title=Katie Kitamura remporte le prix Lucien Barrière 2023|url=https://www.livreshebdo.fr/article/katie-kitamura-remporte-le-prix-lucien-barriere-2023 |website=livreshebdo.fr}} Retrieved May 22, 2026.] It was a finalist for the [Joyce Carol Oates Prize](/source/Joyce_Carol_Oates_Prize) and the [Grand Prix de l’Heroine](/source/Grand_Prix_de_l%E2%80%99Heroine).[{{Cite web |title=Katie Kitamura |url=https://brooklynbookfestival.org/authors/katie-kitamura/ |website=Brooklyn Book Festival}} Retrieved May 22, 2026.]
== References ==
{{Reflist}}
{{Authority control}}
Category:2021 American novels
Category:2021 English-language novels
Category:Jonathan Cape books
Category:Novels set in the Netherlands
Category:Fiction about interpreting and translation
{{2020s-novel-stub}}
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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Intimacies](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Intimacies) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Intimacies?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.