On a woman's madness
Astrid Roemer (Author), Lucy Scott (Translator)
A classic of queer literature that's as electrifying today as it was when it originally appeared in 1982, On a Woman's Madness tells the story of Noenka, a courageous Black woman trying to live a life of her choosing. When her abusive husband of just nine days refuses her request for divorce, Noenka flees her hometown in Suriname, on South America's tropical northeastern coast, for the capital city of Paramaribo. Unsettled and unsupported, her life in this new place is illuminated by the passionate romances of the present but haunted by society's expectations and her ancestral past
Fiction
265 pages ; 22 cm
9781949641431, 1949641430
1321785330
"Originally published in 1982 by Uitgeverij In de Knipscheer, Haarlem ; Since 2016 published by Uitgeverij Prometheus, Amsterdam"--Title page verso
An image-filled, fragmentary novel exploring feminism, identity, race, sexuality, and motherhood -- Translated into sensuous English for the first time by Lucy Scott, Astrid Roemer's intimate novel--with its tales of plantation-dwelling snakes, rare orchids, and star-crossed lovers--is a blistering meditation on the cruelties we inflict on those who disobey. Roemer, the first Surinamese winner of the prestigious Dutch Literature Prize, carves out postcolonial Suriname in barbed, resonant fragments. Who is Noenka? Roemer asks us. "I'm Noenka," she responds resolutely, "which means Never Again." -- Provided by publisher
In English. Translated from the Dutch