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    The Secret Box
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    The Secret Box
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    The Secret Box
    Ebook85 pages1 hour

    The Secret Box

    By Daina Tabuna and Mark Andrew Webber

    4/5

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    Currently unavailable

    Currently unavailable

    About this ebook

    On the cusp of womanhood, Daina Tabūna's heroines are constantly confronted with the unexpected. Adult life seems just around the corner, but so are the kinds of surprise encounter which might change everything. Two siblings realise they're too old to be playing with paper dolls. A girl develops a fixation with Jesus. And a disaffected young woman stumbles into an awkward relationship with an office worker. The narrators of these three stories each try, in their own way, to make sense of how to behave in a world that doesn't give any clear answers.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherThe Emma Press
    Release dateOct 26, 2018
    ISBN9781910139899
    Unavailable
    The Secret Box
    Author

    Daina Tabuna

    Daina Tabūna (1985) is a prose writer. Daina Tabūna's short story collection Pirmā reize (The first time) was nominated for the Annual Latvian Literary Award 2014 as the best debut of the year. Pirmā reize immediately won over many readers and critics and has become a cult book of its time in Latvia. In 2010 Daina Tabūna completed her studies with a BA in Theatre, cinema and TV drama at the Latvian Academy of Culture. Her professional experience includes writing for a television soap opera, leading a photography club for 10-year-old Bulgarians, managing public relations for a closed museum, and extended periods of unemployment. She is passionate about hiking and being silly.

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    Reviews for The Secret Box

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    • 4/5
      I truly enjoyed these stories from a wider collection by Latvian writer Daina Tabuna, shortlisted in the Best Debut category of the 2015 Latvian Literary Awards.
      The stories give a glimpse of life in Post-Soviet Latvia and are unique each in its own way. They are also stories of coming-of-age in that specific context and deal with the shaping of new values and new identities.
      1) Deals with God is the story of a little girl growing up in an age where religion and spirituality find their way into society after decades of suppression and atheism. The young protagonist explores different ideas of God, from the stern God of her grandmother Baba, her own feminist idea of the Scriptures, and more conventional views. At the same time, through the innocent eyes of the protagonist, we see how spiritual messages mix with advertising messages and materialistic desires in a society embracing capitalism.
      2) The Secret Box features brother and sister moving into a new small apartment and new school after their parents' divorce. The girl starts a paper doll collection at this time and involves her brother in the play, which is a secret because of the expectations of macho culture. This is a brilliant exploration of power dynamics and gender and identity roles.
      3) The Spleen, my Favourite Organ, is a powerful exploration of the theme of coming-of-age, loneliness and alienation. It features a wonderful female character and atmospheres that are reminiscent of Gogol.
      I also loved specific details such as the interiors (and the Zenith camera!), which make the portrait even more convincing.