Thank you for writing about the book in such an irresistible way, Jerry. I've read "A Spare Life" in English, same translator, and I know what a powerful author Lidija Dimkovska is. I'm tempted to try the Bulgarian translation of "Grandma Non-Oui" now and luckily, the electronic book is available in ozone.bg. Thank you for bringing my attention to it.
I finished reading it, Jerry. For me, "A Spare Life" raised the bar very high and "Grandma Non-Oui" sounds more like an earlier work by Lidija Dimkovska. Yet - I was moved and not only because (ironically) my great-grandmother's name was Neda and that's the first time I was reading her name as a Ne-Da. But in me, the book provoked different type of reactions. I am a migrant, so the character I most strongly identified with was Grandma Non-Oui, and my questions would be: What would I tell my grandchildren, if I had any? And how would I make sure my history would reach them, because they might need it at one point? And what if I lost my English language for good (yes - I have this imaginary anxiety, and now I've seen it happen in a literary character). Grandma Non-Oui untangles some of these questions. It makes me sad to think that transportation and life of the past made a trip from Croatia to Sicily such a rare thing. It is so common to cross a whole ocean these days. But still - some of the migrant experiences relate. P.S. - I was tempted to look for that "Splitska Torta" recipe. ;-)
Thank you for writing about the book in such an irresistible way, Jerry. I've read "A Spare Life" in English, same translator, and I know what a powerful author Lidija Dimkovska is. I'm tempted to try the Bulgarian translation of "Grandma Non-Oui" now and luckily, the electronic book is available in ozone.bg. Thank you for bringing my attention to it.
So glad it piqued your interest. If you like let me know what you think! And thanks for writing. Jerry
I finished reading it, Jerry. For me, "A Spare Life" raised the bar very high and "Grandma Non-Oui" sounds more like an earlier work by Lidija Dimkovska. Yet - I was moved and not only because (ironically) my great-grandmother's name was Neda and that's the first time I was reading her name as a Ne-Da. But in me, the book provoked different type of reactions. I am a migrant, so the character I most strongly identified with was Grandma Non-Oui, and my questions would be: What would I tell my grandchildren, if I had any? And how would I make sure my history would reach them, because they might need it at one point? And what if I lost my English language for good (yes - I have this imaginary anxiety, and now I've seen it happen in a literary character). Grandma Non-Oui untangles some of these questions. It makes me sad to think that transportation and life of the past made a trip from Croatia to Sicily such a rare thing. It is so common to cross a whole ocean these days. But still - some of the migrant experiences relate. P.S. - I was tempted to look for that "Splitska Torta" recipe. ;-)