books
BOOK
OF THE
MONTH
SWORN VIRGIN
Elvira Dones (And Other Stories)
Hana Doda, ambitious literature student in cosmopolitan Tirana, and Mark
Doda, raki-drinking, chain-smoking shepherd, have more than a thing or two in
common – not least because they are the same person.
After Hana is called home by her dying uncle, she is asked to wed a local boy
in order to run the household when her uncle passes. Unwilling to accept the
arranged marriage but also staunchly independent, Hana vows, in accordance
with Albanian tradition, to live the rest of her life in chastity as a man: Mark.
When Mark receives an invitation to join his cousin in Washington DC, he knows
it is his chance to escape to a better life. As if such a journey would not be
daunting enough to begin with, Mark must make the transition knowing he may never return.
Sworn Virgin is the poignant tale of one women’s journey from the traditional values of her native
Albanian mountain village to the hustle and bustle of modern, capitalist United States. Although
a uniquely Albanian custom, this moving account of such a frightening transition resonates on a
number of levels when considering issues such as gender equality and migrant identity. It’s a lovely
study on human nature, portraying the conflict between the unbridled love a family can have for one
of their own versus the pressure of trying to integrate into a society with all it’s customs and values
that so wildly differs to what they know.
These conflicts are somewhat intensified when reading of them from the simplistic viewpoint of a
curious child who is not aware of the delicate nature of the situation. Her hunch that all is not as it
seems and the probing questions that stem from that serve to magnify the strange ways that adults
tend to deal with situations of such gravity. Elvira Dones’ eye-opening fictional story sheds light on a
practice largely unreported in the West and gives a voice to Albanian women whose femininity was
denied so that they may be counted as equal in society. WH
Price: £10/£5 eBook. Info: www.andotherstories.org
SORROW BOUND
David Mark (Quercus)
Judging by this startling novel, there
aren’t enough crime stories set in Hull.
David Mark weaves together several
strands of plot into a compelling
jackhammer of a story. Someone has
killed a popular mother and bastion of
the community in the most gruesome
way possible and no-one can think of
why such a model citizen has been
murdered. DS Aector McAvoy has to
solve the case, even as his wife becomes involved in a botched
drug-trafficking operation and he himself bares his soul to a
therapist.
Every inhabitant of the novel is a fleshed-out person, even the
victims who would normally serve as meat on the butcher’s
block and McAvoy is a protagonist with more dimensions than
most fictional detectives.
The edgy prose and sense of place, meanwhile, make the novel
consistently readable without ever being a smooth ride. LW
Price: £14.99/£10.99 eBook. Info: www.quercusbooks.co.uk
Let’s make Hay! Like, literally. The Hay
Festival, once again, brings us a plethora
of poets, including such luscious luminaries
as Michael Rosen, Owen Sheers, and Poet
Laureate Carol Ann Duffy (aka ‘the Duffster’).
A special event in honour of the late Nigel
Jenkins takes place on Thurs 29 at 7pm
featuring, amongst others, Peter Finch,
author of the popular Real Cardiff series.
Before that final weekend, there are plenty
of other poet-y events to take yourself to
– we begin the month with the first Dylan
Weekend in Laugharne, for example, with
a host of literary lovelies there to entertain
you. Simon Armitage (‘the Arm’) – check.
John Cooper Clarke (‘Coop’) – check again.
I will be hosting Back Of The Pub Poetry
Club on the Friday, too, just after Rhian
Edwards and Patrick Jones, who are very
much worth the see/hear as well.
Hope you can make it! Poetry *rocks*! Mab xxx
Meeting Her Lover
I cannot talk to him about football
because I don’t know enough. The game
roars on the television like a floundering
ship. I try books but he doesn’t respond.
With his fat eyes he looks so dumb.
We try weather it’s exciting as
tyre pressures and motorway routes.
Outside the sun is enormous.
His car is shit fast he tells me I
couldn’t give a damn. On the
screen the goals mount like fever,
men embracing on the green sward.
You take her then, I say, as
if this woman is still something I
have a hold on. But he’s not looking,
the game’s being played again,
on and on.
1000 TATTOOS
Henk Schiffmacher + Burkhard Riemschneider (Taschen)
When photos of Cheryl Cole’s enormous
floral bottom tattoo surfaced the media
started staring at it, asking why? But
Cheryl’s arty arse pales in comparison
to the both beautiful and sometimes
mind-bending tattooed people captured
in Taschen’s new book.
1000 Tattoos captures all types of body
art, from illustrations of tribal tattoos
from the 18th century to a tattoo of
a fry-up on a bald man’s head in the
modern day.
The book also starts off with a wonderfully insightful introduction
into th