Stephanie Jane reviewed Bottled Goods by Sophie van Llewyn
An absolute joy to read
5 stars
Fairlight Moderns is a collection of short modern fictions from around the world. I was attracted by their interesting cover designs and chose Bottled Goods as my first Fairlight Modern because I haven't, I don't think, read any other books with a 1970s Romanian setting . Sophie Van Llewyn's style is unusual, but it works perfectly within the context of this novella. She writes flash fiction vignettes and scenes which are beautifully evocative and detailed and, here, they link together to tell Alina and Liviu's story. I understand that some of the flashes have been published as individual pieces and I can see that they would independently although I did like having the longer complete tale here.
Van Llewyn combines magical realism elements with all-too-real scenes to portray the stifling oppression and poverty experienced under Ceausescu's regime in Romania. Alina, as her mother repeatedly reminds her, has married beneath herself …
Fairlight Moderns is a collection of short modern fictions from around the world. I was attracted by their interesting cover designs and chose Bottled Goods as my first Fairlight Modern because I haven't, I don't think, read any other books with a 1970s Romanian setting . Sophie Van Llewyn's style is unusual, but it works perfectly within the context of this novella. She writes flash fiction vignettes and scenes which are beautifully evocative and detailed and, here, they link together to tell Alina and Liviu's story. I understand that some of the flashes have been published as individual pieces and I can see that they would independently although I did like having the longer complete tale here.
Van Llewyn combines magical realism elements with all-too-real scenes to portray the stifling oppression and poverty experienced under Ceausescu's regime in Romania. Alina, as her mother repeatedly reminds her, has married beneath herself but this allows us as readers to learn about ordinary lives as well as those of the former elite. The 'bottled goods' theme recurs throughout the novella both in the context of aspirations - bottles of imported perfumes or soda drinks are only available in the restricted Western shops - and emotionally - any dissent must be bottled up to avoid attracting security police attention. Bottling also occurs magically and I do encourage you to read the novella to discover this!
Bottled Goods has dark scenes of sexual assault and torture which, while brief, are distressing to read so be aware of this content. I loved the ever-present sense of menace which steadily grows after Liviu's brother defects from Romania. Despite having had no idea of his plans, Alina and Liviu find themselves effectively being punished in his stead and the psychological strain slowly begins to destroy their marriage. I empathised strongly with these characters. Van Llewyn's prose is rich with detail without having a single unnecessary word and I felt this novella, despite its unsettling moments of course, was an absolute joy to read.
