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A review by tomstbr
The Girls Are Good by Ilaria Bernardini
4.0
"'Now, when I train the little ones,' he said, 'I pray not to come across real talent. I never want to meet another champion in my life and have to be responsible for leading them to a terrible life.'
'Come on,' Rachele said. 'We love gymnastics.'
'I feel sorry for them. You should feel sorry too.'
To have people feel sorry for you is not that great, I guessed."
This is a book about the weight of expectations. Specifically, it is about the expectations placed on a squad of female Italian gymnasts as they compete in a climactic finale, their life's purpose. I would compare this most closely to Leïla Slimani's books Lullaby/Adele in that they are:
1) translated from a Latin language;
2) quite short;
3) headed for tragedy;
4) extremely confronting, and;
5) written with a voice that is in some ways oppressive.
This is a brutal, sharp novel about the world of gymnastics where adults have given up responsibility for a chance of greatness reflected from protege/progeny. We see this world through Martina's eyes, one of the Good Girls who is not quite cool enough for the top girls but not quite aloof enough to be relegated. This is a book about consent and bodily autonomy at its most extreme, where achieving greatness is given as an excuse. We see the ticking time bombs that are the youth as those who should know better bend them to their will.
To be fair, the style may grate, but if you are willing to accept that not all books are comforting then this may provide you with a necessary shock and a fascinating insight.
'Come on,' Rachele said. 'We love gymnastics.'
'I feel sorry for them. You should feel sorry too.'
To have people feel sorry for you is not that great, I guessed."
This is a book about the weight of expectations. Specifically, it is about the expectations placed on a squad of female Italian gymnasts as they compete in a climactic finale, their life's purpose. I would compare this most closely to Leïla Slimani's books Lullaby/Adele in that they are:
1) translated from a Latin language;
2) quite short;
3) headed for tragedy;
4) extremely confronting, and;
5) written with a voice that is in some ways oppressive.
This is a brutal, sharp novel about the world of gymnastics where adults have given up responsibility for a chance of greatness reflected from protege/progeny. We see this world through Martina's eyes, one of the Good Girls who is not quite cool enough for the top girls but not quite aloof enough to be relegated. This is a book about consent and bodily autonomy at its most extreme, where achieving greatness is given as an excuse. We see the ticking time bombs that are the youth as those who should know better bend them to their will.
To be fair, the style may grate, but if you are willing to accept that not all books are comforting then this may provide you with a necessary shock and a fascinating insight.