The Equestrienne - Libroj.org

Bitlibro, 95 paĝoj

Lingvo: English

Eldonita je 30-a de junio 2016 de Parrhian Books.

ISBN:: 978-1-910901-84-7

(1 recenzo)

First published in Slovak as Krasojazdkyna in 2013.

I lived several lives in the brief instant before my feet touched the ground. The music stopped. I landed on the hard surface like an accomplished equestrienne. The equestrienne bowed. The audience applauded.

It is 1984 and a small town somewhere in the east of the Czechoslovak Socialist Republic is in the firm grip of totalitarianism. Unruly teenager Karolína is growing up in an unconventional all-female household including her hot-blooded, knife-wielding grandmother.

Repelled by her Mum’s serial love affairs, Karolína runs away and stumbles upon a riding school on the edge of town. There, she befriends Romana, a girl with one leg shorter than the other and Matilda, a rider and trainer who helps the two girls overcome their physical limitations. Together they found a successful trick riding team and soon it seems that half flags, mills and scales are not the …

First published in Slovak as Krasojazdkyna in 2013.

I lived several lives in the brief instant before my feet touched the ground. The music stopped. I landed on the hard surface like an accomplished equestrienne. The equestrienne bowed. The audience applauded.

It is 1984 and a small town somewhere in the east of the Czechoslovak Socialist Republic is in the firm grip of totalitarianism. Unruly teenager Karolína is growing up in an unconventional all-female household including her hot-blooded, knife-wielding grandmother.

Repelled by her Mum’s serial love affairs, Karolína runs away and stumbles upon a riding school on the edge of town. There, she befriends Romana, a girl with one leg shorter than the other and Matilda, a rider and trainer who helps the two girls overcome their physical limitations. Together they found a successful trick riding team and soon it seems that half flags, mills and scales are not the only tricks flashing like blades up her sequinned sleeve as Karolína explores Pink Floyd and smoking, and discovers her knack for seeing deep into others’ souls.

The fall of the Iron Curtain in 1989 and the subsequent arrival of capitalism threatens to destroy the riding school. The team has to turn professional. But in a sport of perfect scores is there still room for Romana and Karolína…?

The Equestrienne is a poetic, caustic coming-of-age novel about the desire of one young girl to realise her dreams before and after Velvet Revolution; it is a celebration of friendship between women and also a bitter acknowledgement that greed the desire for power can destroy any relationship.

1 eldono

Stephanie Jane recenzis The Equestrienne de Uršula Kovalyk

Nostalgic

4 steloj

There's a strong sense of nostalgia running through Uršula Kovalyk's acclaimed novel, The Equestrienne, one which not only encompasses Karolina's longing to relive her equestrian triumphs, but also her desire to return to her country's socialist past when opportunities were open to girls like here - girls who weren't the physically perfect and beautiful people that capitalism rewards. The atmosphere of this book was strongly reminiscent for me of Dancing Bears by Witold Szablowski, a fictional complement to that survey, and I could empathise completely with Karolina's predicament. The Equestrienne starts with one of the most bizarre attempted suicides I have ever read and the remembered life flashing before Karolina's eyes makes up the rest of the story. This is a life that, despite us knowing early on that she does live into old age, effectively ends for Karolina while she is still in her teens. The sporting triumph and …

There's a strong sense of nostalgia running through Uršula Kovalyk's acclaimed novel, The Equestrienne, one which not only encompasses Karolina's longing to relive her equestrian triumphs, but also her desire to return to her country's socialist past when opportunities were open to girls like here - girls who weren't the physically perfect and beautiful people that capitalism rewards. The atmosphere of this book was strongly reminiscent for me of Dancing Bears by Witold Szablowski, a fictional complement to that survey, and I could empathise completely with Karolina's predicament. The Equestrienne starts with one of the most bizarre attempted suicides I have ever read and the remembered life flashing before Karolina's eyes makes up the rest of the story. This is a life that, despite us knowing early on that she does live into old age, effectively ends for Karolina while she is still in her teens. The sporting triumph and fame which should have been hers is abruptly curtailed by the Velvet Revolution leaving her bereft of everything she and her best friend Romana had strived so hard to achieve.

The Equestrienne is a melancholic novel overall, but far from a depressing read because of Karolina's wicked sense of humour which keeps her story light. There are shocking scenes, but also a very relatable tale of a teenage obsession that is first fostered and then snatched away. Personally I can't fully imagine how difficult it must be to realise that the best years of ones life have already passed after less than a quarter of ones lifespan. Continuing regardless must be such a daunting prospect especially, as Karolina and Romana discover, in a nation which no longer values ones talents because ones appearance isn't financially profitable. The Equestrienne is a powerfully though-provoking novel which I have frequently found myself thinking about in the days since I finished reading it. The story is entertaining and Karolina herself is an engaging narrator, but the book also has a lot to say about what we as a society choose to value.

Temoj

Coming of age
Eastern Europe
Slovakia
Historical fiction