Karina Uncategorized

16 Days of Activism

As we mark the start of the international campaign, 16 Days of Activism, an initiative opposing violence against women and children, we would like to share a remarkable novel with local readers: The Memory of the Air by Caroline Lamarche.

Published in English translation by Héloïse Press in the UK in 2022, the autobiographical novel is a sophisticated and introspective narrative about a toxic relationship. As the narrator shares with us her memories of a past relationship, we discover the small details hidden behind psychological abuse until we are led to witness and understand a major traumatic event in her life.

The Memory of the Air was the book that put Héloïse Press on the literary map for me. Exquisitely written, profound and deeply empowering, the text itself is testimony to survival, and the possibility of beauty after trauma. It is a book that brings understanding and solace. It is an honour to be able to share it now with South African readers.

The headlines in my inbox this morning were devastating, as always, when we confront GBV:

16 Days of Activism: How the state continues to fail women

The story: Monday marks the start of the international campaign, 16 Days of Activism, an initiative opposing violence against women and children. 

The stats: In the first quarter of the current financial year, 93 women were killed, 212 were victims of attempted murder, and 704 reported being raped.

What’s more: An in-depth probe by the Public Protector found that the justice and social development departments, as well as the police, did not put adequate measures in place to effectively protect victims of gender-based violence.

Where so many institutions fail us, literature often offers a space for comprehension, empathy and healing. Sharing stories helps us to make sense of the unspeakable, to reimagine a future beyond hurt.

Please read Dawn Garisch’s review of: The Memory of the Air by Caroline Lamarche. Dawn’s novel, Breaking Milk, was published by Héloïse Press in the UK.

‘Héloïse Press champions world-wide female talent. Héloïse’s careful selection of books gives voice to emerging and well-established female writers from home and abroad. With a focus on intimate, visceral and powerful narratives, Héloïse Press brings together women’s stories and literary sophistication.’ — Aina Marti, Founder

In this respect, Karavan Press shares a common vision with Héloïse Press and it is a privilege to be giving a platform to the stories we are passionate about.

Last year, at the time of 16 Days of Activism, we launched a new edition of Tracy Going‘s powerful memoir, Brutal Legacy. We will continue publishing stories that expose and challenge GBV, and that empower survivors.

Thank you to all the authors, for the stories you tell, for your courage and inspiration, and for allowing us all to envisage a different future!

Karina Author, Book

“Why I Stayed” – Cathy Park Kelly writes for Primer

“His criticism of me is always dressed in psychological terms. Sometimes I wish it was about how I’d made the tea, or the steak not being tender enough. That would be easier to fix.

But our relationship has never been about tea and steak. I fell in love with the way he seemed to live his life on a deeper, more meaningful level than any other guy I’d met. I was astounded at how fluent he was – for a guy – in the language of self-growth. He listened to my tentative explorations of my childhood. His reflections back to me were perceptive, shone a light into dark corners I hadn’t considered.

As time passed, I didn’t notice that the torch light was always on me, and that most often its beam picked out only the dysfunctions; my insecurities about coming from a broken home; and losing my dad when I was young. His empathic listening, punctuated by slow understanding nods, shifted to pointed accusations: I was too needy, not spiritually conscious enough; too this, not enough that.” 

PRIMER

Read the article here: PRIMER

Karina Author, Book, Review

Joanne Hichens reviews BOILING A FROG SLOWLY by Cathy Park Kelly for the Sunday Times

‘Boiling a Frog Slowly’ is an intensely personal memoir about escaping abuse

Cathy Park Kelly’s compelling and painstakingly honest book describes the insidiousness of abuse and how hard it is to leave a toxic and violent relationship

Boiling a Frog Slowly is a courageous, emotionally sincere exposé of a romantic relationship that slides into increasingly disdainful and abusive territory, when love indeed goes wrong. It’s about how terribly difficult it is, as a woman, to extricate oneself from a toxic, manipulative relationship in which one is treated with violence and contempt.

Right from the opening scene, which describes violence so extreme that I caught my breath, I was hooked and wanted to know how this could have happened to a woman I know — albeit on the periphery — as professional, caring and compassionate. What led to the point where Cathy was held down by her partner, as he scrawled the words slut, whore and c**t across her breasts with a red Koki pen?

Continue reading: Sunday Times