📘 "Women Without Men" by Shahrnush Parsipur, translated from Persian into English by Faridoun Farrokh
This is a book set in Iran in which we follow a variety of women, all with different backgrounds and circumstances, but who are all suffering due to the misogyny that has deeply shaped their lives. With alternating perspectives and a wonderful tinge of magical realism, these characters start moving towards each other. It becomes a tale of women changing their lives for the better with the cards they've been dealt, within the strict confines of their society.
I think it's so skillful to be able to create a story that is serious enough to tackle topics like femicide, sexual violence, suicide and patriarchal oppression well, but that's also funny enough to almost make me snort my drink out of my nose. I loved the dialogues. And I really came to appreciate the character Munis. Her thirst for knowledge, her silent outrage at having been fooled, her frustration slowly warping into despair at some way of knowing and existing being forever out of reach... I loved being part of her transformation.
I think this is a book for people who believe that the best revenge is a life lived well. Even then, it might be hard. Not everyone is or becomes a good person. Some women don't change much. Some women pick lives not many would envy. But I still found it comforting to have seen them come together, to experience their influence on each other and to see them depart again on their own paths. Truly a great read.
#AmReading #WomenInTranslation #InternationalBooker2026
📘 "She Who Remains" by Rene Karabash, translated from Bulgarian into English by Izidora Angel
IBP season continues! But unfortunately I didn't like this longlist entry.
This is about a young woman in Albania living in a patriarchal culture according to the laws of the Kanun. She becomes the patriarch of her family by committing to be a sworn virgin: women who are regarded as men after they've renounced their womanhood and pledged to remain 'pure'. With this action they gain the rights and freedom men have as well. However, for this main character, things didn't go as planned.
Sadly I thought the story remained shallow compared to what it could have been. If there was a lot of research put into it, it doesn't come across that way. The gender dynamics are the highlight of the novel, but they were mostly explored in obvious, expected ways. A lot of potential hiding in a story that was too simplistic in my eyes.
The most interesting part of the book was the experimental writing style combining prose, poetry and letters. I liked it for what it was, but still, I thought that it could have been utilized more effectively to really strengthen the story and put some different perspectives on things, but it didn't go that far.
I wasn't too happy with the book so far, but it was still a so-so experience for me. Then I entered part two, where the book really tumbled down the mountain and fell on its face. The personality change in the protagonist was jarring, the love story was superficial, the letter we got to read was full of cliches, I hated the reason given for the protagonist's stomach cramps, and the ending was so desperately Hollywood that I felt punished for finishing the book.
I looked forward to reading this title the most from all of the titles on the IBP longlist, so it was extra disappointing. I'm still very much interested in the topic itself though, and when I was looking around for other related reads I stumbled upon 'Sworn Virgin' written by Elvira Dones, which is now on my to-read list. I also came across an online article about a photographer who made pictures of some of the last sworn virgins. Very cool project, the link is here:
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