On va me marier et ce n´est pas une bonne nouvelle.
Je suis une fille et ce n´est pas une bonne nouvelle´.
I am 14 and this is not a good news (J´ai quatorze ans et ce n´est pas une bonne nouvelle) by Jo Witek is a relatively short book but done with a very strong and inspiring writing. It is the story of an innocent 14 yo girl, Efi, living in a remote, men ruled world, in a non-named country. She is back home from the city for the vacation time when suddenly her world is not more as it used to be. She is no more a child. Her body is an instrument of control. Her world is not as it used to be. She is only 14 but it seems that her life is in shreds.
Soon, she is announced of her upcoming wedding with a man who is more than double her age. She is well guarded by her brother and not left outside the house inattended. Her mother, whose life started similarly, is overwhelmed by her new pregnancy.
Efi is decided to not accept this life setting of a life who does not belong to her. First, she is refugiating in her own mind, inspired by the verses of Emily Dickinson. From her remote island of the mind, she is planning her escape out of this forced destiny. Her first attempt fails and, in shame, she is brought back by the men of the village and forced to be married. The second time though she will succeed and I was so transposed by her story that I was almost breathless until I´ve found out what happened to her.
Fortunately, Efi is not alone. Her brother helped her and there is an NGO in the city which - at least the second time - will come to her rescue. Thus, she is able to have a normal life: continuing her studies, pursuing her own career and being in charge with her own life. Not the life that her village people assume for the women who are escaping: either death or prostitution. Not only women bodies are under control, but they - mostly the men, but the complacent women as well - are fighting even harder to control the minds. The bodies are easier to be freed, while the minds can remain enslaved for ever.
The book has a very strong message, which is convened in a very diplomatic, smooth way, progressively, describing in a literary style the many ways in which women can be turned into slaves, from a very early age. The picture is accurate while maintaining a literary mindset which makes the contribution valuable for more than an educational reason.
Rating: 4 stars
Disclaimer: Book offered by the publisher in exchange for an honest review
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