Description
PROLETERKA
Book Summary
A fifteen-year-old girl and her father, who barely know each other, embark on the Proleterka, a Yugoslavian ship bound for Greece. During the voyage, the young woman tries to reach out to the man who is a stranger to her, while longing to discover real life beyond the walls of her boarding school. This brief and precise novel explores family distance, resentment, and uncertainty with a restrained yet intense style, offering a moving literary experience about the difficult bond between a father and daughter.
What is it about?
The story takes place aboard the Proleterka, a steamship sailing from Venice to Greece, carrying a group of tourists. Among the last passengers to board are a fifteen-year-old girl and her father, Johannes. The relationship between the two is marked by a profound distance and a silence that hides a dark bond from the past. Throughout the journey, the protagonist observes her father, a man she barely knows, and tries to decipher who he really is. At the same time, the voyage represents her first immersion into the adult world, an experience she had previously only imagined from her secluded life. The novel progresses with succinct and precise prose, gradually unveiling the tensions, resentments, and the complex dynamics between both characters in a story that combines internal exploration with the atmosphere of a sea voyage.
Main themes
- The father-daughter relationship marked by emotional distance and lack of communication.
- The awakening to adult life and the search for one's own identity.
- Resentment and family pain as a silent legacy.
- Uncertainty in the face of the unknown, both in human relationships and in the future.
- The journey as a metaphor for the transition toward maturity and self-knowledge.
Who is it recommended for?
This work is intended for readers interested in contemporary narrative with a restrained and profound style, who appreciate intimate stories centered on complex human relationships. It is especially suitable for those seeking brief but intense novels with a strong psychological and emotional component, and who enjoy plots that explore family silences and tensions.
What this book offers
- An intense and moving reading experience in a brief format, ideal for focused reading.
- A subtle and realistic exploration of the complexity of family ties, without sentimentality.
- Precise and careful prose that manages to convey deep emotions with restrained language.
- A reflection on the transition from adolescence to adult life and the quest to understand the other.
Technical specifications
- Author: JAEGGY, FLEUR
- Publisher: Kalandraka
- Language: glg
- Topic: MODERN AND CONTEMPORARY FICTION
- Collection: NARRATIVA K
- Binding: Paperback
- Publication date: October 2022
- Number of pages: 116
- Weight: 176 g
Editorial review
A work that stands out for its ability to condense a great emotional and psychological weight into barely a hundred pages. Fleur Jaeggy constructs an immersive atmosphere aboard a ship, where the outward journey becomes the perfect setting for an internal journey full of silences and revelations. Her style, restrained and precise, is ideal for readers looking for quality narrative, devoid of the superfluous, and who value the exploration of family dynamics from an original and moving perspective. It is a novel that, due to its brevity and depth, invites rereading and reflection.