Rene Karabash is the literary pseudonym of the Bulgarian author Irene Ivanova, whose novel Stay shortlisted for the Booker International Prize. Whether it will be chosen will be known on May 19, when the best literary work translated into English will be announced.
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Rene Karabash is a poet, writer, screenwriter, actress and playwright. Her work is created at the intersection of literature, film and theater, and is characterized by rhythmic, suggestive language and a strong focus on the themes of identity, body, memory and social coercion.
Stay is her first novel. It begins with the explanation that the widow is "a sworn virgin, who takes an oath of virginity according to the Canon of Leka Dukađin and begins to live as a man and the head of a family in the patriarchal environments of northern Albania, Kosovo, Macedonia, Serbia, Montenegro, Croatia and Bosnia". At the end of the novel, he says the following: "This was Becky's story. About a daughter who wanted to be a son. About a woman who chose life and not death. About a woman who taught me to dream and write with my heart."
Novel Stay received the "Elias Caneti" award, was translated into 20 languages, and was recently published in Serbian by "Helix" translated by Jasmine Jovanović. Renee Karabaš spoke about this and other works of hers at the beginning of April in Belgrade, during the first edition of the European literary festival "Book at (s)ceni".
"WEATHER" Does Becky exist?, Do you know her??
RENE KARABAS: Becky is a fictional creation, she is actually my story dressed as a virgin. I grew up in a village in the north of Bulgaria where patriarchal laws were almost tangible. Becky became the embodiment of my own hypersensitivity, my childhood memories and the masculine energy I was forced to confront. I wanted to tell my story, the way I see this world - my family, the environment that gave me so much, but at the same time traumatized me. So - yes, I know Becky as well as I know myself.
The fact at the beginning of your book that there are regions in Europe where women get the rights that men have only after legal sex change is surprising. Please comment.
In the world of virgins, it is a social, not a physical, change. It is a radical survival strategy in a society where a woman was historically worth 20 oxen and had no rights. By taking a vow of virginity and dressing in men's clothes, a woman gains the freedom to bear arms, own property and make her own decisions, even though the price of this is the renunciation of female identity and the right to love. But is that real freedom - to give up yourself in order to survive? Women all over the world are experiencing this phenomenon from the inside; due to the (still) prevailing gender inequality, they must somehow survive in this male world, manifesting male energy and repressing female energy in order to resist and survive in a hostile environment. That is why I would be glad if the reader not only reads my book literally, but also as a metaphor, as a guiding thread.
The canon of Leka Dukađin is not a valid law, and yet, there are people who still follow his rules today. Is it an example of the negative influence of patriarchal views?
Yes, I chose Kanun precisely because it is a radical manifestation of patriarchal laws. He shows how destructive these ancient norms can be when taken to extremes, creating a world where violence is routine and sensitivity is seen as weakness. A patriarchal society is, by its very nature, violent. How to find balance in a world of superior male and inferior female power? We in the Balkans still have that patriarchal way of thinking, but I think it's time to get out of that stone age and face reality. We live in the 21st century and it is absurd to divide people according to their physical characteristics and differences. It's time to start behaving like intelligent human beings and finally accept that we are all human and equal, regardless of whether you are a woman or a man. There are so many ways for men to show their strength - by protecting, understanding and listening to women. To me, patriarchal behavior is actually a reflection of weakness.
In your novel, Muraš was killed because of a blood feud. He was killed by Nemanja.. Everything is happening in Albania.. That murder implies that there will be another, as revenge. Until then?
I explore the violence of blood feud as a direct consequence of the exaggerated male ego. In these remote regions, vendettas even became a kind of primitive business where "blood taxes" were paid for murders. Today we must strive to live as civilized beings who care for one another instead of remaining trapped in those ancient cycles of revenge. Do you know what human civilization is? It's that moment in the distant past when someone broke their leg, and instead of being left to die (as happens in the animal kingdom), someone else decided to take care of that person and help them heal the wound. That's civilization. And we must strive for that, not wars and violence.
According to the Kanun, if the bride is not pure, the groom has the right to kill her with the bullet given to her by her father as a dowry. This is just one example of the patriarchal representation of a woman as her husband's property. Forwards, even today it is customary for the husband to make decisions on behalf of the wife.
Although modern Bulgaria does not have written laws like the Kanun, gender inequality still exists on many levels - from the wage gap to domestic violence. Patriarchal attitudes are often hidden in big cities, but remain very visible in smaller towns. I believe that real strength is not found in "macho" power but in empathy; to me, a truly masculine man is actually a feminist.
This unfortunatly Stay as if it were one sentence, like a story told in one breath, which is an extremely strong effect and heightens the already high emotional tension of the book. At the same time, you ran the risk of disrespecting spelling being off-putting to readers. Why is there no period or capital letter in your book, means beginning and end?
That "voice" appeared suddenly and told the story in one breath. It dug into my wounds, defied the rules (no formal sentence structure, no capital letters, no quotation marks) and flowed out of me like a river, without subsequent corrections, as a pure transcript of an entire world entrusted to me to discover. Thus, memories and traumas surface as a stream of consciousness. Writing in this way allowed me to move seamlessly between past, present and future. It was a painful, but also very healing process for me.
Your novel has been translated into 20 languages. How does the reader from e.g.. Western Europe receives Becky's story? Does she distance him from the Balkans??
Translated literature has the role of court jester in the room, it tells the truth through stories to help readers see beyond geographical boundaries and stereotypes. Even if Western readers focus on the "exotic" nature of virgins, I hope they will find a common human emotional basis. My goal is for the reader to find himself in the book in the end. If you read my book superficially, it will be a local story, something that cannot happen to us because we do not have such laws and Kanun. However, if you dive deep into the story, you will find that it is your own story. The story of the human race, filled with pain, guilt, love and forgiveness. This is where this Balkan story touches the Western world.
Have you seen Srđan Karanović's film? Virgin, who revealed to the local public women living as if they were men?
No, I haven't watched it, but I would really like to.
You were a guest of the European Literature Festival in Belgrade, together with more than 20 authors from Europe. It is said that culture is the best ambassador. Can culture cope with politics??
I believe that art is a weapon that can save lives. While a politician speaks to the masses, a book can inspire an entire nation and instigate political or social change by giving a voice to the voiceless. Literature is the truest evidence of "the other" and has the power to connect our collective souls. Also, when people get tired of lies from politicians, they start to believe more fiction in books. And then it's our turn. It is the most dangerous and effective weapon - the weapon of the WORD.
