📘 "The Wildcat Behind Glass" by Alki Zei, translated from Greek into English by Karen Emmerich
Look at that cover. How could I resist reading it? To my surprise this was a middle grade book, written in the 1960s, about the Greek Metaxas dictatorship of 1936, newly translated in 2024. Wow!
I'm a little embarrassed to admit that a book for young children made me cry, but it did. The first half is still quite airy and fun. Two sisters and some of their friends live on an island, explore nature, go to school... The second half gets significantly darker, when Metaxas comes into power and fascism takes over all aspects of life.
For an adult reader, it's tough seeing all the parents freak out and the children not really understanding. The small things that happen, you know what kind of dire things are meant with them. People are using the kids for good, for bad, for survival. They get caught in the crossfire and have to grow up too quickly.
There's a scene with a book burning that got to me. There's also a slow build-up with some of the kids being recruited into the new youth movement and a revelation of what they're up to. Families get torn apart. I think it feels extra scary, reading this while most countries around me have right-wing extremists soaring in the polls and elections.
Of course, this being middle grade, most tragedies happen off page or are only hinted at. People aren't brutally killed, things can end 'well' with people surviving, fleeing and going into exile and such. But, pfff, I'm going to cry again just thinking about it, haha.
I don't know much about kids and education, but I assume that this is a book very well suited to slowly ease children into the idea of fascism and dangerous regimes existing and still being a threat today. How fucking sad.
[#]AmReading #WomenInTranslation #fiction #MiddleGrade
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