“That’s how men are: you’re all convinced that people are going to follow the rules simply because you’ve been in charge of dictating them all this time, isn’t that right? You treat us like trained dogs. It never occurred to you that the same dogs might chew up your clothes, pee where they’re not supposed to and escape. That’s right, escape.”
Cautery, by Lucia Lijtmaer (translated by Maureen Shaughnessy), tells the story of two women living four centuries apart yet whose experiences dealing with the men in their lives are more similar than some may expect. The historical figure, Deborah Moody, is based on a woman who lived in a Massachusetts Bay colony around the time in which her story is set. The contemporary woman, unnamed and outwardly successful, has had her life upended by a man she allowed to remodel her in an effort to become what he desired.
Chapters alternate between the women, each of whom is narrating her tale. The book opens in Barcelona, offering some background into the narrator’s state of mind before she moves to Madrid. We learn she has money, that she had friends, but that none of this makes her happy. The timeline shifts between ‘now’ and ‘before’, offering glimpses of the woman socialising with friends and then with her boyfriend and his associates. He is ambitious, he tells her he loves her, she desperately wants to believe this but the facade required cannot be maintained.
Deborah’s story opens with her buried underground yet aware. She is recalling her life and this is done in a mostly linear fashion with just a few reveals of what lies ahead. Deborah was an heiress but, given the time in which she lived, her assets became her husband’s when they married. From then she had no say in how they lived. She loved him at the start but this did not last. Eventually she flees to America where she starts over, rebuilding her fortune. A lone woman living amongst highly religious settlers must be careful. Her success, particularly in business matters, was not viewed positively by the church men in charge.
The author maintains a mostly light touch in the telling. The contemporary woman tries sex and drugs as temporary coping mechanisms but other than this what is being revealed, particularly around how the narrators are treated by others, is often piercing in its acuity. Events occur that could break them, mostly due to the way their lovers treat them, yet they rise and continue.
“This is a cautery. Take a look. When you heat it up in the fire it changes colour. It can be ashen, cherry red, crimson, and its purpose is to cure. It can isolate infection by burning.”
While the two protagonists show strength they are portrayed with more nuance. Happiness found in love proves temporary yet they do not shy away from a giving of themselves. The focus of their stories brings to the fore how what is loved can be a projection and that reality will eventually break through the lens created.
Short chapters and brevity of writing style maintains tension and engagement – both author and translator are to be commended. Character development is achieved without undue exposition. Supporting roles add colour and, at times, pathos.
Above all though this is an interesting and entertaining read. The playful denouement somehow works leaving the reader both amused and impressed at the imaginative drawing together of threads.
Never heavy but ultimately satisfying, this is literary fiction done to the highest standards yet without pretension.
Cautery is published by Charco Press.
