Part of the motivation for Women in Translation Month is redressing the gender inequality in the world of translated fiction. However, as we all know, literature isn't the only area where the numbers don't quite add up. Today's book, instead of pushing for equality of the sexes, takes a rather different approach to the issue, though - it seems like a good example of the old saying "if you can't beat them, join them"...
*****
Elvira Dones' Sworn Virgin (translated by Clarissa Botsford, e-copy courtesy of And Other Stories) begins on an aeroplane headed for the USA as Mark Duda, a prospective immigrant from Albania, prepares to land, looking forward to starting a new life in the states. Cousins are there to welcome Mark to the new country, and the welcomes are warm, greeting the new addition to the expatriate community.
Once back at the home of Lila, Mark's cousin, things get a little more serious. It's time to make a start on an ambitious project, one which has brought the Albanian from the mountains to the outskirts of the American capital. You see, Mark's real name is actually Hana - and it's time for the self-sufficient mountain man to blossom into the young woman who has been trapped inside for so long...
Sworn Virgin isn't a transgender tale in the usual sense. Instead, it's a thought-provoking story based on a real-life phenomenon, that of the sworn virgins of the mountainous northern regions of Albania. A woman who, for whatever reason, decides not to accept the subservient life of a woman, can legally become a man, taking on the responsibilities (and privileges) of the gender. While this involves guns, cigarettes and lots of raki, there's also one major sacrifice to be made. Taking this step is also tantamount to making a vow of chastity.
The story jumps back and forth between Albania and the States, exploring the reasons for Hana's decision to become Mark and the long, arduous process of shedding her male persona:
"I've been a man for fourteen years." Lila tries to drown her gaze in the oily dregs of the coffee. "It's not going to be easy," she says finally. "Not for any of us."
(And Other Stories, 2014)
Hana isn't the only one who's going to struggle with the change. For example, Shtjefën, her brother-in-law, has seen Hana as a man all his life...
To understand why Hana became Mark, we need to see the background, where the young student is caught between two worlds. While the communist era pledges equality, things are very different in the deeply conservative mountain regions. With a sick uncle to care for (her parents having died many years earlier), there's a need for Hana to observe tradition, and (as a fellow student remarks) freedom of action is fairly thin on the ground:
"Free from what, Hana?" he mutters, while she pulls away from him. "Free from where? We're just like horses, going round and round in circles."
This is as true for the people in Tirana, under a communist regime, as it is for those in the mountains.
Once in America, Hana adapts well in some ways to life as a woman in a new country. She's used to solitude, and she's a hard worker with good language skills. However, in others she struggles somewhat - she's not really one for dresses, make-up and talking about her feelings. The final challenge is the most daunting, though, as her goal is to have a real relationship (the 'sworn virgin' is exactly that). As she begins to meet men, will she be able to alter her mindset and let someone in?
The focus of the book is, naturally, Hana, but Dones also spends time looking at the problems of some of the other characters. While Hana's niece, Jonida, has thrived in the States, her parents aren't quite as happy. Shtjefën is working like a dog to make a living, and Lila is, in many ways, more trapped by her gender role than Hana. A housewife, a cleaner, a fading beauty - her dreams are buried beneath her family responsibilities:
"Because I'd have to go back to school for years and I have a home to run and a daughter to take care of. I can't afford to pay for another course. It's too late now."
Despite her attempt to mould Hana in her own image, life as a woman in America isn't as wonderful as Lila would have her cousin believe...
Sworn Virgin works very well, and Dones is especially good at showing the struggles Hana faces in dropping the Mark persona, with Hana having to deal with much more than just superficial, cosmetic changes:
"On the outside she looks almost like a woman. What's missing is her vision, the point of view from which she is supposed to read the world."
A vital part of her transformation is adopting a female philosophy, a different way of seeing the world - which is not to say that her thinking is completely masculine. In fact, she often gets caught between two modes of thought. Despite this, one criticism I'd make of Sworn Virgin is that the novel focuses too much on Hana, and Mark doesn't get a look in. We see a lot of what caused the change, and a lot of the difficulties of changing back. It would have been great to see more of how Mark fitted into his community and the practicalities of life as a 'man'.
It's still a great story though, one in which, as Ismail Kadare notes in his (brief) introduction, while it may seem that Hana is gaining something by becoming Mark, in fact, she's losing a lot more. Hers is a life of many sacrifices, not all of which are willingly made - you see, becoming a man isn't all it's cracked up to be...
Today's book introduces the blog to a new country and a very famous writer I really should already have tried. While the writer and country are new though, the topic is very familiar: once again, we're heading back to the Second World War. Let's see if this book can find a new angle...
*****
The Fall of the Stone City by Ismail Kadare (translated by John Hodgson - from Canongate)
What's it all about?
We begin in Albania, in 1943, where the colonising Italians have abandoned the country and the Germans are about to fill the Imperial void. A bilingual leaflet drop promises that the Wehrmacht will merely be passing through, and that Germany respects Albanian independence. Of course, that all changes when shots are fired outside the stone city of Gjirokastër...
After the unprovoked attack on his troops, Colonel Fritz von Schwabe plans to raze the town to the ground in revenge - until, that is, he realises that an old university friend, Dr. Gurameto lives here. In a bizarre twist, the good doctor holds a dinner party for his old friend, all to uphold the tradition of Albanian hospitality, and not only is the town saved from destruction, but all the hostages taken (including a Jew) are released. It's an amazing story, and one which comes back to haunt the doctor ten years later. You see, the Communist authorities are very keen to find out exactly what happened on that night...
The Fall of the Stone City is a superb book, short but packed with intrigue and interest. It's divided into three sections: the first looks at the events of the fateful dinner in 1943; the second takes us quickly through the happenings, political and otherwise, of the following decade; the third part takes place in 1953, when the past catches up with Big Doctor Gurameto (so-called to distinguish him from his colleague, the shadowy Little Doctor Gurameto). Despite its brevity, the novel provides the reader with an excellent overview of the situation in Albania at the time.
The story takes a look at how people had trouble walking the political tightrope in areas with successive rulers, and the discussions before the arrival of the Germans show the decisions the locals had to make:
"Nonsense," said
others. "This visiting card business is precisely the worst possible
insult to any country, especially a brave country like ours. 'Albania,
I'm coming tomorrow morning. Come out to welcome me at ten o'clock.
Never mind what people say about me. Take no notice of my artillery and
tanks, because Germany is good, and brings culture and bouquets of
flowers.' Are you witless enough to believe this twaddle?"
"At least visiting cards are preferable to bombs," said the others in self-defence."
p.7 (Text Publishing, 2012)
The problem with appeasing an invading force is that if they eventually leave (as the Germans will), the people who take over next may not look kindly upon your behaviour. When the communists take over, it is inevitable that those who were pro-German will have a few questions to answer.
As the quotation above shows, while the subject matter may be a little heavy, the language used to discuss it can be as light as a feather. I loved Kadare's witty, sarcastic, flowing style (it's not often you have demonstrators in the streets crying 'Down with soil erosion'!), and parts of The Fall of the Stone City reminded of something Kundera or García Márquez might have written. There is a superb cast of fascinating characters in addition to the two doctors: a blind poet, several foreign investigators and a mad, drunk gambler, Remzi Kadare (a cheeky cameo, perhaps...) - and that's not including all the characters who show up for just one scene:
"Meanwhile, taking advantage of the turbulent times, the Romany guard at the Hygiene Institute known as 'Dan the TB Man' produced a song in memory of his girlfriend, who had been run over that April by the night-soil cart.
I'm the gypsy of the institute
In an awful plight
Since the girl I loved
Fell under a load of shite." (pp.83/4)
Ah, poetry...
While there's a broad streak of humour running through the book though, when we get to the third section (where the doctor has to account for the events of the dinner party), matters turn a little darker. It is here that Kadare's mastery of the plot becomes evident, as details which may have been overlooked at first glance are unearthed and re-examined, forcing characters and readers alike to rethink their version of what actually happened. There's even a hint of a ghost story, an old wives' tale which becomes eerily relevant.
Yep, there's a lot more to this book than meets the eye ;)
Did it deserve to make the shortlist?
Absolutely. I loved this, even if I got the feeling that this might not be his best work. Kadare is definitely a writer I need to read more by.
Why did it make the shortlist?
Well-known, successful writer - tick.
Excellent translation - tick.
Fascinating story - tick.
Familiar, popular topic - tick.
That is all :)
*****
For the next leg of our journey, we'll be heading north, to Finland via Russia. I've learnt a fair few languages in my time, but I'm not sure any of them are going to help me this time around...
