She Who Remains

She Who Remains, Rene Karabash’s landmark Bulgarian queer novel, secrets readers into a rural Albanian village where, to this day, the Kanun of Lekë Dukagjini—a collection of archaic laws—looms over the lives of villagers with the same haunting presence of the surrounding mountains. Bekija, painfully aware of why she cannot have what she most wants, chooses to become a “sworn virgin,” setting off a bloody and heartbreaking chain of events that shatters a family and destroys a cherished relationship, but also reveals how trauma can lead to vital, if uncomfortable, truths.

Karabash’s poetic stream of consciousness traces gender evolution with innovative grace. This bold exploration of what it means to be a woman in a world defined by the violence of ancient patriarchal traditions has resonated with readers across Europe and beyond, and now English-language readers won’t soon forget Izidora Angel’s award-winning translation.

She Who Remains reads like a dark fairy tale from a time when life was lived closer to the bone . . . Bold and visionary, Rene Karabash’s novel unfurls a world of blood feuds and sworn virgins—women accepted into society as men—in a dreamlike narration that burns up the page with feverish urgency. Izidora Angel’s translation from Bulgarian thrillingly captures the novel’s dense tapestry of hypnotic language.

- Katrina Dodson