Women Talking

One evening, eight Mennonite women gather in a barn for a secret meeting.

For two years, demons visited them and a hundred other girls in their colony at night, punishing them for their sins. But when it turns out that bruises, scrapes, and signs of violence are the work of not infernal forces, but living men from their own community, the women are faced with a choice: stay alive in a world where they know nothing of what lies beyond it, or flee to save themselves and their daughters.

“This is completely new prose, unlike the novels the reader is used to; unlike novels about violence and unlike the well-known novels about violence against women.

The plot is based on real events: mass rapes committed against women in the Mennonite colony in Manitoba, Bolivia, from 2004 to 2009. But to tell about them, Tevyz uses completely unexpected techniques. The narration is done not by a woman, but by a man; the narration is done by a man who was not involved in the attacks; the narration is done by a man who was asked to do it by the victims themselves.

A narration led by a man shows how the abused women refuse to play the role of victims—on the contrary, they are strong; they can take control of the situation with their will; and they are able to save and forgive those who need their help.” — Olga Breininger, translator, writer

In 2022, Sarah Polley made a film adaptation. Cast: Frances McDormand; Ben Whishaw; Rooney Mara; Claire Foy, and others.