Albanian Burrnes Respected for Their Sacrifice
(9 years ago)French writer Emmanuele Favier thus published her first book, the novel about Manusen a man who vows to live forever as a male. French media are highly esteeming the book, which seems to have aroused interest in the French reader, especially when talking about such a phenomenon [...]
French writer Emmanuele Favier thus published her first book, the novel about Manusen a man who vows to live forever as a male.
French media are highly esteeming the book, which seems to have awakened interest in the French reader, especially when talking about such a special phenomenon in Albania.
Favier, born in 1980, has answered some questions about Culturebox, the popular French magazine, about her book “Le courage queil faut aux revières”.
What is the concrete subject of your novel?
It's complicated. It is an evident focus on sworn Albanian virgins, while there are even deeper themes, such as identity. How these women create their own identity, how we impose identities on people. I'm interested in something like that because I grew up in a simple, free environment to do whatever I want, without a high-end implant, so I grew up with many privileges. And when I started the book, I wanted to leave a society with limits, a system of egos and restrictions. Roman has three characters, each as a version of the idea “I decide what I am”, always returning to myself.
How did it get to the birth of this book?
At a museum in Marseilles, France, I went to a photograph that wrote “The unspoiled virgin”. There is something like that in various parts of the world, but this is a unique phenomenon for me in the Balkans. These are women who convert to men and are normally accepted into societies throughout Europe. Not marginalized, very respectable. The community in Albania, for example, respects the fact that they were sacrificed for the welfare of others. The sacrifice is known for being stronger than men.
Why the very title?
The title “When the rivers need” actually refers to the courage and courage that humans sometimes need to follow a path that can often be dangerous. The river follows his bed, but often it must cross the mountains. I like the title, actually, it talks a lot about the courage somebody must have to be themselves.