Eve Out of Her Ruins

Ève de ses décombres
Bok av Ananda Devi
Winner of the 2017 CLMP Firecracker Award for Fiction "Devi writes about terrible and bitter events with a soft, delicate voice." -- Le Figaro Included in World Literature Today's "75 Notable Translations of 2016" With brutal honesty and poetic urgency, Ananda Devi relates the tale of four young Mauritians trapped in their country's endless cycle of fear and violence: Eve, whose body is her only weapon and source of power; Savita, Eve's best friend, the only one who loves Eve without self-interest, who has plans to leave but will not go alone; Saadiq, gifted would-be poet, inspired by Rimbaud, in love with Eve; Cl lio, belligerent rebel, waiting without hope for his brother to send for him from France. Eve out of Her Ruins is a heartbreaking look at the dark corners of the island nation of Mauritius that tourists never see, and a poignant exploration of the construction of personhood at the margins of society. Awarded the prestigious Prix des cinq continents upon publication as the best book written in French outside of France, Eve Out of her Ruins is a harrowing account of the violent reality of life in her native country by the figurehead of Mauritian literature. The book featurues an original introduction by Nobel Prize winner J.M.G. Le Cl zio, who declares Devi "a truly great writer." Ananda Devi (b. 1957, Trois-Boutiques, Mauritius) is a novelist and scholar. She has published eleven novels as well as short stories and poetry, and was featured at the PEN World Voices Festival in New York in 2015. She was made a Chevalier des Arts et des Lettres by the French Government in 2010.
Boken utspelar sig i Troumaron, en fiktiv fattig förort till Mauritius huvudstad Port Louis. Vi följer växelvis fyra ungdomar men fokus ligger på Eva. Det handlar om vilka förutsättningar som finns för ungdomarna på ön där det på andra orter kryllar av västerländska turister. Våld, fattigdom, kriminalitet, maktlöshet. Eva byter sin kropp som en handelsvara. Sad drömmer om att bli poet. Clélio känner sig sviken av sin bror som rest till Frankrike och tar sin tillflykt till våldet. Savita som blir Evas viktigaste person. Det är en vackert skriven bok, nästan poetisk. Ämnena är mörka men Sads hopp och kärlek finns hela tiden där som motvikt. Åh, vad jag gillar att läsa böcker från andra delar av världen. De få möjligheterna, mörkret och våldet utgör en stor kontrast gentemot det land Mauritius utgör för de flesta svenskar; en turist- och paradisö.