She Who Remains, Rene Karabash's probing exploration of what it means to be a woman in a world defined by the violence of ancient patriarchal traditions, traces gender evolution with innovative grace. It secrets readers into a rural Albanian village where the Kanun of Lekë Dukagjini--a collection of archaic laws--looms over the lives of the residents with the same haunting presence as the surrounding mountains. Bekija, painfully aware of why she cannot have what she most wants, chooses to become a "sworn virgin," setting off a bloodya and heartbreaking chain of events that shatters a family and destroys a cherished relationship, but also reveals how trauma can lead to vital, if uncomfortable, truths.
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