The Doll's Alphabet by Camilla Grudova

Published by Fitzcaraldo Editions, Camilla Grudova's The Doll's Alphabet introduces us to a bleak, almost dystopian world, in which she explores gender politics and capitalisation.

Survival is a common theme throughout this series of stories, with her writing often evoking elements of war literature. Her world is grey and barren, with an underlying tension and fear of persecution. Her character's repeatedly have secrets they hide from authority figures: two schoolgirls harbouring a curious piece of machinery; a couple are terrified that the birth of their child will be uncovered; unknown to those around her, a woman transforms into a wolf each night. A sense of unease runs through each of these tales, as punishment for these characters, whom we warm to, seems close at hand.

Throughout The Doll's Alphabet characters cling to their possessions with striking desperation, treasuring shards of broken belongings, hoarding cans of food and painstakingly hiding away the few possessions they can claim as their own. Here everything has a price. Even knowledge itself becomes a tool for trade in Waxy, which depicts a world where men are forced to undertake a series of exams in order to earn money, the reason for which remains unexplained. Those who are introduced as in possession of monetary wealth are regularly seen to lose the belongings that helped them secure their social position. In Hungarian Sprats, Grudova dedicates several pages to a detailed inventory of her protagonist's worldly possessions, all of which have been lost during his travels. Grudova explores the idea that ownership is of vital importance when very little is owned, while questioning who we are when stripped away from the things we own.

It is perhaps unsurprising that the human form is also viewed as a commodity across these stories. Grudova places the body centre stage. In the opening story Unstitching, female bodies are rejected entirely by the women who wear them. They become unfashionable suits, masking the true female identity that is shrouded within. When characters refer to their physical selves, they remain markedly detached. The body, particularly the female body, is not seen as an extension of themselves, but rather an object to be abused and mistreated, both by themselves and others. Returning to Waxy, here women's bodies are regularly maimed in their work. Personal trauma is deemed secondary to the concern that they will no longer be able to attract men. Bodies are seen as necessary tools in order to navigate the world, viewed alternatively as a currency or tool that can be easily disposed.

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