Author: Dóra Elekes
Original title: A muter meg a dzsinnek
Title in English: Mother and the Ginns
Publisher: Csimota
Year of publication: 2015
Number of pages: 40
Illustrations: Fruzsina Kun
Dóra Elekes’ book, Mother and the Ginns, brings us face to face with a deeply-rooted social taboo: that mums cannot be alcoholics. Whoever is, is not a mum. She’s Mother; and we don’t talk about her, so she cannot be the subject of literature, either. This taboo is not sacred, but merely represents the borders of what is forbidden, of sharp conflicts: between child and adult, sober and drunk, playfulness and shame, understanding and chaos.
The narrator of this text nonetheless navigates these borderlands with the most natural ease, avoiding all sense of pathos. But a lump appears in the reader’s throat: discomfort, rather than pain, but one not followed by catharsis.
This is a literary language that allows real problems to be discussed. It’s funny, playful, and freeing – but at the same time cold, strict, and malevolent. Just like the Ginns.
Full English translation available
