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by Sophie Van Llewyn (Author)
Longlisted for the
2019 Women's Prize, this poignant, lyrical novel is set in 1970s Romania during
Communist dictator Nicolae Ceausescu's regime--and depicts childhood, marriage,
family, and identity in the face of extreme obstacles.
Alina yearns for freedom. She and her husband Liviu
are teachers in their twenties, living under the repressive regime of Communist
dictator Nicolae Ceausescu in the Socialist Republic of Romania in the 1970s. But after her
brother-in-law defects, Alina and Liviu fall under suspicion and surveillance,
and their lives are suddenly turned upside down--just like the glasses in her
superstitious Aunt Theresa's house that are used to ward off evil spirits.
But Alina's evil spirits are more corporeal: a
suffocating, manipulative mother; a student who accuses her; and a menacing
Secret Services agent who makes one-too-many visits. As the couple continues to
be harassed, their marriage soon deteriorates. With the government watching--and
most likely listening-- escape seems impossible . . . until Alina's mystical
aunt proposes a surprising solution to reduce her problems to a manageable
size.
Weaving elements of magic realism, Romanian folklore,
and Kafkaesque paranoia into a gritty and moving depiction of one woman's
struggle for personal and political freedom, Bottled Goods is written in short bursts of "flash fiction" and explores
universal themes of empowerment, liberty, family, and loyalty.
