Meike’s review of She Who Remains > Likes and Comments
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Sofia wrote: "I think the “man kills animal = man extra manly” metaphors were exactly to show how dumb the toxic masculinity is in that culture.
But yeah I also would have loved to know more about their lives as..."
I'm aware that that's the message, and it's depicted in a very unoriginal, blatant way, and that's annoying to me.
The review I was looking for - it was very cliché tbh. As an Albanian myself I was curious about how a Bulgarian author tells a story about the burrneshat, but it lacked depth. It felt like that she picked one aspect of it as a frame to tell a story that is told too many times, but there is so much more to tell about the sworn virgins.
I honestly cannot understand how this book has received so much acclaim. I was recommended it by a bookstore owner who mistakenly thought the writer was Albanian, like myself. I read it, and I am appalled.
As an Albanian, I find the portrayal of our culture deeply troubling. The burrnesha tradition is about family honour, the land, the Kanun, history and the enormous sacrifices women made within a patriarchal society. Reducing this centuries-old Albanian tradition to a story about queerness completely misses the cultural context.
And the fact that the author is Bulgarian and has never even bothered to visit Albania makes this even more appalling to me. Even the names in the book don't sound Albanian! How can you claim to portray a people's history and customs without having experienced their homeland?
I am a new author myself, and I find it deeply disheartening that a small, historically marginalized nation like Albania can have its traditions portrayed this way, while the world celebrates the book. Our stories deserve to be told with understanding, respect and cultural accuracy. I am genuinely angry and disappointed.
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Sofia wrote: "I think the “man kills animal = man extra manly” metaphors were exactly to show how dumb the toxic masculinity is in that culture.But yeah I also would have loved to know more about their lives as..."
I'm aware that that's the message, and it's depicted in a very unoriginal, blatant way, and that's annoying to me.
The review I was looking for - it was very cliché tbh. As an Albanian myself I was curious about how a Bulgarian author tells a story about the burrneshat, but it lacked depth. It felt like that she picked one aspect of it as a frame to tell a story that is told too many times, but there is so much more to tell about the sworn virgins.
I honestly cannot understand how this book has received so much acclaim. I was recommended it by a bookstore owner who mistakenly thought the writer was Albanian, like myself. I read it, and I am appalled.As an Albanian, I find the portrayal of our culture deeply troubling. The burrnesha tradition is about family honour, the land, the Kanun, history and the enormous sacrifices women made within a patriarchal society. Reducing this centuries-old Albanian tradition to a story about queerness completely misses the cultural context.
And the fact that the author is Bulgarian and has never even bothered to visit Albania makes this even more appalling to me. Even the names in the book don't sound Albanian! How can you claim to portray a people's history and customs without having experienced their homeland?
I am a new author myself, and I find it deeply disheartening that a small, historically marginalized nation like Albania can have its traditions portrayed this way, while the world celebrates the book. Our stories deserve to be told with understanding, respect and cultural accuracy. I am genuinely angry and disappointed.
But yeah I also would have loved to know more about their lives as sworn virgins (at least the narrator’s).