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A review by _dunno_
Bottled Goods by Sophie van Llewyn
3.0
Read my interview with Sophie here
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Romanian readers might feel that Sophie ticked all the necessary boxes in terms of life under communism, and it might sound like yet another book about the old regime, however—and this is tricky and innovative, hats off to Sophie—once the magical realism kicks in, the book is not what you expect anymore.
What made the book interesting for me, as someone who lived under the regime and is not surprised by the actual facts, was the form—the novella reads like a series of flash fiction stories— mixed with whimsical, folky elements.
How this book is going to compete against the other longlisted books for Women’s Prize for Fiction is yet to be seen, but I’m glad it’s there. Standing among so many talented and established writers is an accomplishment in itself, great job!
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Romanian readers might feel that Sophie ticked all the necessary boxes in terms of life under communism, and it might sound like yet another book about the old regime, however—and this is tricky and innovative, hats off to Sophie—once the magical realism kicks in, the book is not what you expect anymore.
What made the book interesting for me, as someone who lived under the regime and is not surprised by the actual facts, was the form—the novella reads like a series of flash fiction stories— mixed with whimsical, folky elements.
How this book is going to compete against the other longlisted books for Women’s Prize for Fiction is yet to be seen, but I’m glad it’s there. Standing among so many talented and established writers is an accomplishment in itself, great job!