Translated from the German by Grashina Gabelmann
With thanks to the publisher for my copy of the book
In the Belly of the Queen by Karosh Taha will be published on April 1st by V&Q books. I actually read it in February – far too keen to get reading after it arrived on my book pile.
(My review appearing now due to the erratic nature of my blogging at the moment.)
In one of the essays that accompany this well written, intelligent novel, Karosh Taha discusses how readers are conditioned to the way to read a book, from the beginning to the end. That seems reasonable, but Taha wanted to challenge that conditioning, allowing her story to be told in either direction. Therefore the reader can start at either end of the book – it is a brilliant, physical reminder that there are always two sides to every story.
The novel takes us to a Kurdish community in Germany, a community in which Amal, Younes and Raffiq grow up in a neighbourhood where everyone seems to know what everyone else is doing, and judge accordingly.
One perspective of the story is that of Amal. While still very young, Amal shocks this neighbourhood by beating up Younes, a classmate. Confusing them and her own mother with her insistence on short hair and volatile behaviour. She is encouraged to be herself, to be assertive, by her father, but this doesn’t make her popular at school. Suddenly her father leaves – Amal, her mother and a much younger brother left behind to the curiosity of others. Amal can’t understand this leaving, and needing some kind of explanation, she eventually, and surprisingly finds herself more and more at home in the company of Younes and his mother Shahira, both of whom are outsiders in this community too.
“Shahira’s not a neighbour, she’s not a woman, she’s not a person – she’s an idea, and everyone in the neighbourhood sees Shahira, everyone creates their own stories about Shahira when she walks past.”
Younes’s father also left, Amal sees him sitting on the side of the road, waiting, waiting for his father’s return. Shahira is at the heart of this novel – she defies expectations, she is subject to the many judgements and gossip of others – it seems everyone thinks they know who or what she is. When Amal, Younes and gang leader Raffiq are in their late teens, relationships become more charged as conflicts with Raffiq and his gang threaten to erupt. Amal decides she wants to go to Kurdistan to see her father, where she will meet his second family, who he appears to have replaced her with.
The other side of the story is told from the perspective of Raffiq. Having reached the brink of adulthood, the battles of primary school are in the past. Raffiq is seeing Amal, his best friend is Younes. Now they are older no one wants to fight Younes, he has grown into a mountain, a boxer who is less and less happy in this place where they live. Raffiq sees that Younes is the centre of the neighbourhood, whether he wants to be or not, thanks to his mother. Shahira breaks all the rules, she’s a free spirit and Raffiq thinks about her all the time. Initially, Raffiq is completely repulsed by her, but also fascinated. Raffiq believes Younes is who his mother is. However, he is unable to ignore Shahira.
“Shahira spreads in my mouth like oil. When I think of her as Shahira, I have to pull myself together. I can only talk about her when I think of her as Younes’ mother.”
The situation is getting to Younes more and more and now he knows where his father is – living in another part of Germany, he plans to go and see him, leaving behind his mother and the neighbourhood where he grew up. With Amal also talking of leaving – Raffiq’s world begins to fall apart – what is it after all he actually wants?
This is such an excellent novel, Taha explores ideas of class, race, gender and the role of the outsider within a community in this novel. Having read a few other novels published by V&Q books I continue to be impressed by the variety and quality of the voices they are giving us.
Very much like the sound of this. Michelle de Kretser does something similar with Scary Monsters, leaving it to the reader to decide which side of her story to read first but I felt it didn’t quite work. This sounds better.
I think this works well. The two halves are easily differentiated, but are it’s very much a cohesive whole.
Carole Shields has a novel with two sides of a story…you can turn the book and choose whether to read the man’s viewpoint first — or the woman’s. I think it’s called Happenstance.
I haven’t read much Carol Shields, but I believe Ali Smith did something similar, too. It’s a really interesting way to tell a story.
Sounds intriguing… and as Susan points out in an earlier comment, Michelle de Kretser did something similar with her last novel.
It’s a good read and an interesting wat of structuring a narrative.
I’m intrigued by the idea of a novel that can be read in two different ways, reversing the order of the two perspectives, It reminds me of Ali Smith’s How to Be Both, which I think was produced in two different versions, some copies starting with character A and others with character B.
Difficult to tell, I know, but do you think it would have changed your perspective of this story (or the characters) if you’d read it in the opposite order?
Yes, I heard that Ali Smith had done that. With this one, the reader can physically turn the book over, starting at whichever end. If that makes sense.
That’s an interesting idea about whether my perspective would have changed had I read from the other end. I really don’t know, I suppose it could have, but overall, my attitudes to the characters and situations would have remained the same.
Yes, makes total sense. It sounds very cleverly put together. I read (and enjoyed) the Ali Smith, starting with the contemporary section, as that’s how it was presented in my copy. But I remember seeing other, less positive responses, especially from people with the other version.
Ah, OK. It’s interesting that readers’ experience might have been affected by the way the text in that novel was positioned.
I’m just skimming your review, Ali, as I have this one on the TBR myself, but I’m glad you think so highly of it!
I really hope you enjoy it too, I will look forward to your thoughts.
Thanks to Karen, I found your review and read the book. Thanks so much for the introduction. If you are interested, here is my review.
So glad you enjoyed it.
I really did. Thanks again.
This sounds very intriguing indeed, and I love the idea of how it plays with structure.
Yes, the structure was interesting, but it thought it worked well.
This does sound good, the structure sounds like it really integrates to the story and isn’t gimmicky. I read Carol Shields Happenstance many years ago that uses a similar structure, it can work really well.
I’m glad you like the sound of this. You’re the second person to mention Happenstance, I should read more Carol Shields. I definitely don’t think the structure is gimmicky, and the overall story is a good one.
[…] You can read Ali’s thoughts on the book here. […]