The first novel by a Turkish woman to ever be nominated for the Nobel Prize, but it took 50 years fo
The first novel by a Turkish woman to ever be nominated for the Nobel Prize, but it took 50 years for it to be available in English translation. A Strange Woman by Leylâ Erbil, translated by Nermin Menemencioglu and Amy Marie Spangler, is a modern classic of feminist fiction, a novel about a woman trying to access an independent, radical life in the quagmire of institutionalized patriarchy. The novel features Nermin, a young woman trying to break into the political, intellectual world but discovering that the world of poets and writers itself is rife with sexism. She struggles with her objectification, with the way society, her mother, men, friends all see her as something to be married off or slept with, the way all of her independence is morphed through rumor into sexual promiscuity and shamelessness. All she wants is to break free of the casing she’s in. Herself privileged, she romanticizes “the people” and the poor in her own problematic ways. She wants to make change. She wants to be a real human being in the world. The novel also narrated by her father, a man who worked hard for years as a sailor, who is torn apart by the political pain and turmoil he’s seen, by the death of communist leader Suphi and its mystery. He struggles over her daughter’s choices, her inability to see all that she’s been given—a classic tale of “ungrateful” children, of children who just don’t understand the world. His past and present unspool as he slowly dies. All together, it’s a vivid, experimental story about generational difference, deep-seated trauma, sharp disillusionment, the pain of throwing yourself against the world and not making a visible dent. This book is finally out now and available, and was published on April 26 by Deep Vellum. I received a copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. CW sexism, torture, imprisonment, suicidal ideation & self-harm, trauma, domestic abuse, sexual harassment & assault, incest, ethnic prejudice. -- source link
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