Violet Hour Book Club Toronto Edition: What I Know About You

Join us for inaugural meeting of the Toronto edition of the Violet Hour Book Club (VHBC), a reading and discussion group dedicated to exploring classic and contemporary 2S/LGBTQ+ literature.

Our first selection is Éric Chacour’s What I Know About You (translated into English by Pablo Strauss), a heartbreaking tale of a family and an impossible love, torn apart by secrets and traditions in late-twentieth-century Cairo.

Founded in Montreal in 2019, VHBC has become an important gathering space for queer book lovers in the city, fostering meaningful connections through a shared appreciation of foundational classics and bold, contemporary voices. The club provides an inclusive environment for lively, thought-provoking conversations on books, literary culture, and the craft of storytelling – cultivating dialogue that is both intellectually stimulating and deeply personal.

Everyone is welcome.

About What I Know About You

As a boy in 1960s Cairo, Tarek knows that his entire life is written in advance. He’ll be a doctor like his father, marry, and have children. Under the watchful eyes of his mother and his sister, he starts to do just that – until Ali enters his life and turns it upside down. The two men, from very different worlds, embark on an unsayable relationship that threatens to tear apart Tarek’s family.Years later, as Tarek is living a solitary life in Montreal, someone starts writing about him and to him, piecing together a past he wants only to forget. But who is the writer of this tale? And will he figure it out in time?

A bestseller in its original Quebec edition, and the recipient of several awards, including the Prix Femina des Lycéens, What I Know About You has become an international sensation.

About the author

Born in Montreal to Egyptian parents, Éric Chacour has shared his life between France and Quebec. A graduate in applied economics and international relations, he now works in the financial sector in Montreal. What I Know About You is his first novel.

About the host

Christopher DiRaddo is the author of The Family Way, which was shortlisted for the F.G. Bressani Literary Prize, and The Geography of Pluto. His writing has appeared in First Person Queer, The Globe and Mail, and in both volumes of Here & Now: An Anthology of Queer Italian-Canadian Writing, among other publications. In 2014, he founded the Violet Hour Literary Series & Book Club, an initiative that has to date supported over 300 LGBTQ writers across Canada.

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