My Dreadful Body
- Author
- Egana Djabbarova
- Narrator
- TBD
- Publisher
- Blackstone Publishing
- Publish Date
- 10 November 2026
- Run Time
- 5 hours
- Format
- Audiobook
What to expect
NATIONAL BOOK AWARD FOR TRANSLATED LITERATURE LONGLIST
A dazzling debut novel about a young woman’s vexed coming of age in a traditional Azerbaijani community in Russia, grappling under the weight of Muslim patriarchal norms and a debilitating neurological condition. The mysterious affliction leaves her unable to control her muscles, plagued by pain and speech disorders, defying diagnosis. Addressing each body part with the scrupulousness of a medical researcher, the narrator explores memories, traditions, and taboos related to her physical self. In the process, a woman once destined for the role of a beautiful marriageable daughter comes to be perceived as damaged goods. With verbal elegance and poetic power, Egana Djabbarova unveils a hidden world in which illness unexpectedly facilitates her liberation. Her book stands in the proud tradition of confessional feminist writers like Sandra Cisneros, Arundhati Roy, Audre Lorde, Toni Morrison, and Jamaica Kincaid.
Reading group guide to My Dreadful Body is available for download free of charge at newvesselpress.com.
Critics Review
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“Renders you speechless, demanding recognition for its searing vulnerability and astute cultural criticism…My Dreadful Body offers a piercing feminist critique of the systemic silencing and erasure of women’s agency.”
The Common
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“Djabbarova debuts with a potent portrait of illness and gender oppression in contemporary Azerbaijan, Georgia, and Russia…This passionate and lyrical work packs a stinging punch.”
Publishers Weekly
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“A woman maps cultural expectations and desires onto her ailing body in Egana Djabbarova’s singular novel…The book blooms…An incisive novel, My Dreadful Body celebrates women’s agency, mourns physical losses, and rebels against inherited boundaries.”
Foreword Reviews (starred review)
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“Meticulously detailed and deeply reflective, My Dreadful Body is an accomplishment of both form and narrative.”
Electric Literature
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“Essential feminist, anticolonial reading…My Dreadful Body is about power. The power of one nation to colonize another, which is in turn echoed by the power of men to control women. It is about having the power to be in control of one’s own body. But it is also about having the power to fight back.”
Full Stop
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“In her debut novel, Egana Djabbarova tells the story of a young woman whose neurological disorder makes her life in a strict Muslim Azerbaijani community in Russia even more challenging, but also brings unexpected liberation.”
Ms. Magazine, Most Anticipated Feminist Books of 2026
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“In her autobiographical novel, My Dreadful Body, beautifully translated by Lisa C. Hayden, she explores different parts of herself with the ruthlessness of a physician and the care of a poet…creating a rich tapestry.”
Reading in Translation
User Reviews
No reviews yet.
Details
- Author
- Egana Djabbarova
- Narrator
- TBD
- Duration
- 5 hours
- Release Date
- 10 November 2026
- ISBN
- 9798236072274
- Format
- Audiobook
- Publisher
- Blackstone Publishing
- Genre
- Fiction: general and literary, Family life fiction, Narrative theme: Love and relationships
Synopsis
<p><strong>NATIONAL BOOK AWARD FOR TRANSLATED LITERATURE LONGLIST</strong></p><p>A dazzling debut novel about a young woman’s vexed coming of age in a traditional Azerbaijani community in Russia, grappling under the weight of Muslim patriarchal norms and a debilitating neurological condition. The mysterious affliction leaves her unable to control her muscles, plagued by pain and speech disorders, defying diagnosis. Addressing each body part with the scrupulousness of a medical researcher, the narrator explores memories, traditions, and taboos related to her physical self. In the process, a woman once destined for the role of a beautiful marriageable daughter comes to be perceived as damaged goods. With verbal elegance and poetic power, Egana Djabbarova unveils a hidden world in which illness unexpectedly facilitates her liberation. Her book stands in the proud tradition of confessional feminist writers like Sandra Cisneros, Arundhati Roy, Audre Lorde, Toni Morrison, and Jamaica Kincaid.</p><p style="text-align: start"><strong>Reading group guide to <em>My Dreadful Body </em>is available for download free of charge at newvesselpress.com. </strong></p>
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