At the center of Yegana Jabbarova's book is the body of a young woman, whose existence is, on the one hand, regulated by the strict rules of the patriarchal Azerbaijani family and community, and on the other, subjugated by a neurological disease that causes severe pain and robs her of speech. Methodically examining each part of the body, the author uncovers layers of memories, traditions and practices, prohibitions and prescriptions, linking them to the most personal, fundamental, and inevitable thing a person possesses—the physical shell, with all its limitations and peculiarities. Perhaps illness ultimately not only limits and deprives, but also provides the key to liberation?
The stories of several generations of women, belonging and otherness, disobedience and survival, a legacy not chosen, and how to deal with it—these are the coordinates of Yegana Jabbarova's debut prose book.