Shortlisted for the 2023 International Booker Prize, STILL BORN by Guadalupe Nettel (translated by Rosalind Harvey) is a novel that examines friendship and decisions around motherhood. Although it was widely praised when it was released, I was hesitant to read it, because I was worried that it would be reductive or one-sided. Instead, it’s a multilayered, nuanced, and incisive look at the pressures that women bear – truly well done. Nettel interweaves the two character’s experiences effortlessly: deftly contrasting the sheer heartbreak of Alina and the impossibility of losing a child, with the amiability of Laura’s newfound relationship with neighbour and boy. Li is one of many children who lives in her father's compound in a village in Nigeria. He has a couple of wives, but he is of frail health following an accident at a prayer meeting several years ago, as our story opens. He has trouble controlling her brother Sule, because he is willful and goaded on by his grandma. He also has trouble with Grandma, who is his stepmother, who swears at him, and who he suspects is a witch. "But deep down in his heart, he knew grandma wasn't the only reason for his son's abnormal behavior. Other things helped to confuse his sense of moral values. Mainly the Quest for modern living coupled with a foreign culture, a thing that was sweeping the whole community like wildfire." p.25

I read this earlier this year, and it's my second Zaynab Alkali book. It follows the life of Li, a 13 years old girl and the challenges she faces in life. American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists; Society for Maternal-Fetal Medicine in collaboration with, Metz TD, Berry RS, Fretts RC, Reddy UM, Turrentine MA. Obstetric care consensus #10: management of stillbirth. (Replaces Practice Bulletin Number 102, March 2009). Am J Obstet Gynecol. 2020 Mar;222(3):B2-B20. doi:10.1016/j.ajog.2020.01.017 A different version of the novel might have cast Alina as the narrator. Instead, Laura serves as witness and interpreter, establishing a buffer between the reader and the book’s harrowing events. The prose, which appears in an elegant translation by Rosalind Harvey, retains a matter-of-factness, and in some places a synoptic quality … that is rarely freighted with sadness or despair. One result is that the tumult of a doomed pregnancy and the insufficiencies of women’s healthcare recede. It’s friendship, not crisis, that emerges as the novel’s focal point.’ This is a book which explores maternity and motherhood along a whole spectrum, from the woman who doesn't want motherhood but who still finds herself drawn to the child of a troubled neighbour, to the woman who changes her mind and gets pregnant only to be faced with far more than she ever imagined. It's one of the most nuanced treatments I've read of what has become an increasingly contentious topic and Nettel avoids simplistic positions for a variety of grey areas - and it's this nuance and the avoidance of uncomplicated attitudes and stances that made this such involving reading. National Institute of Child Health and Human Development. What are the risk factors for stillbirth?That is enough,' an elderly man cut them short. 'Without doubt, you are her father's age-mate. Are you envious that the sun has set for you?' Gradually the laughter died down amidst many protests." p. 31 Nettel is known for her psychologically complex characters. Discuss the protagonist’s emotional journey and the ways in which she navigates her internal struggles in the novel. Nettel is one of the leading lights in contemporary Latin American literature.... I envy how naturally she makes use of language; her resistance to ornamentation and artifice; and the almost stoic fortitude with which she dispenses her profound and penetrating knowledge of human nature.’ The writing is subtle, sharp, and beautifully rendered thanks to Rosalind Harvey’s smooth translation.’

For readers of Rachel Cusk and Sheila Heti, Still Born is a profound novel about motherhood, creativity, and the power of friendship and community to make caretaking easier from “one of the leading lights in contemporary Latin American literature” (Valeria Luiselli, author of Lost Children Archive).

This highly original novel, in an excellent translation by Rosalind Harvey, pursues a range of ideas connected to children, who should have them and who should take care of them…There’s a dark undertow to Still Born that reminded me of Elena Ferrante’s novels.’

In many respects the novel is a gripping and powerful exploration of motherhood, and indeed of what it means to live. Sono tracce che ricompongono le domande che ci facciamo da sempre e, forse, è tutta questione d’interpretazione.This passage is from when Laura accompanies Alina to a first scan to determine the baby's development and, incidentally, its gender, the latter immediately assigning her baby a name, Ines, when she discovers she is having a girl. Don't ignore the power of the short story, I love them between books to cleanse the palate so to speak and find them a good introduction to novels written by the same author. Not only do I recommend this little treasure but also Housebroken, a novel by the same author, that was one I could not put down! With momentum building up, the plot is enjoyable and suitably slightly on the dark side for this happy reader. Highly readable, well written with a twist that tops it off. Heart-gripping, real, and hugely thought-provoking, I find myself still staring into space trying to absorb the unexpected emotional whirlwinds that fall upon these women. Stillbirth Collaborative Research Network Writing Group. Causes of death among stillbirths. JAMA. 2011;306(22):2459-2468. doi:10.1001/jama.2011.1823

Nettel, translated by Rosalind Harvey, devotes tight prose to the complicated structure of identity around being (or not being) a mother and explores the constant negotiating women must do in the process. It’s a subject that’s well-trodden, but it’s still consistently treated as a universal experience – Nettel approaches mothering with originality and oceans of empathy.’ She was going to be a successful grade 1 teacher and Habu a famous medical doctor, like the white man in the village mission hospital. The image of a big European house full of houseboys and maids Rose before her. Li smiled to herself. The bushy stream, the thorny Hillside and the dusty Market would soon be forgotten, in the past." p.55Alina and Laura are friends, after many attempts of trying with her husband Alina is finally pregnant, while Laura moves into a new flat. Inadvertently, even Laura thinks she not really equipped for motherhood, she forms a bond with the next door neighbour’s son. Meanwhile Alina, going through the trials of pregnancy, learns that her child will have a brain defect and may die upon birth, something which changes her perspective towards life and her relationship with both her husband and Laura (as to be expected). Alina does give birth, and a successful one but I don’t think it’s right to tell the outcome as the book goes into more interesting territories after. I love a good short story. This was one of them. Cleverly balanced throughout the story grabs you from the start, keeps you rolling nicely and gives you an ending to be satisfied with. Gardosi J, Madurasinghe V, Williams M, Malik A, Francis A. Maternal and fetal risk factors for stillbirth: population based study. BMJ. 2013;346. doi: 10.1136/bmj.f108 An unflinching, compassionate meditation on mothers, daughters and sisters – both blood-related and chosen – Still Bornstirred me and consoled me, renewing my faith in the power of women’s communities. Guadalupe Nettel has managed the impossible task of writing a work of both exacting honesty and immense tenderness, on one of the most delicate topics.’