The Fabergé Girl by Ina Christova is published by East West on 16 May.
Today I have a Q&A with Ina.
1. Tell us in your own words about The Fabergé Girl.
The Fabergé Girl is set during a time that has always fascinated me - namely the silver age of St Petersburg art and culture, just before the revolution that was to change the country forever. It is about Alma - the only female artisan in the House of Fabergé who has the gift or curse of turning her emotions into jewels.
The novel explores not only Alma's journey as an artisan in the renowned workshop but is also about her doomed love story with the peasant-turned-revolutionary Ivan. Alma needs to make a choice between two different ways of life, ways of viewing the world and art.
2. What are the main themes of the novel?
One of the main issues I wanted to explore is whether art can exist in its own right or it is always to be seen in the context of the society that produced it. For example, Fabergé's creations are beautiful artworks in themselves but can be seen as obscenely ostentatious during a time of extreme austerity.
The other important theme is about what happens to a society that loses its right to self-expression. The revolution gave rise to a highly politicized art that melted the individual into a mass. The Bolsheviks used art as a political tool and obliterated anything that was too closely tied to the previous tsarist regime or not corresponding to their views.
3. How did you become aware of the story of Alma Pihl?
I watched a documentary, Fabergé - A Life of Its Own. This was very inspirational but while it mentioned Alma as the creator of some of the most beautiful jewellery pieces, the overall film focussed on Mr Fabergé himself. He was, of course, an impressive and eccentric figure in his own right but I really wanted to shine a light on an incredible woman who achieved so much more than many women did at the time. Still, her story was the starting point for me and I invented quite a lot that did not happen in reality, similarly to the way that Jessie Burton used the story of Nella Oortman to root 'The Miniaturist' in fact but she still created an entire fictionalized world and story around her.
But I also grew up with stories about Fabergé eggs and the history & folklore of the region. While most of my family is Bulgarian and I was born in Bulgaria, my grandmother was half Ukrainian, half Russian with a parent from each of these countries. She had fled the wars at the age of 16 and found a home in Bulgaria. She told my father and grandfather all these fascinating stories that were then passed down to me, along with her family's collection of fairy tale books. I sadly never met her as she passed away just before I was born but all her stories took such a root in my imagination that she was present in my life in some ethereal way, driven by story.
4. How long have you lived in the UK, and how did you come to move here from Bulgaria?
I have spent half of my life in the UK now. It was all down to chance that I moved over here and it happened because I won a writing competition out of my whole country when I was fifteen. The prize was to study for my A levels at a boarding school in the UK. I have always been someone who is drawn to adventure and different countries hence when the opportunity presented itself, I jumped at the chance.
5. What books have you recently read and enjoyed? And who are your favourite authors, both in Bulgaria and in the UK?
I am a voracious reader hence this is always a challenging question but I love a wide-range of British and international writers. I was really inspired by Jessie Burton's 'The Miniaturist' as I loved so much about it - the writing, the plucky female lead, the setting. Novels with a speculative twist in general and works with elements of magical realism always interest me. I am a huge fan of Isabel Allende's work and I adore 'The House of the Spirits'. Marquez is another all-time favourite, especially 'One Hundred Years of Solitude'. Novels with fascinating settings always draw me in - I love Khaled Hosseini's novels and will never forget 'The Kite Runner' or 'A Thousand Splendid Suns.' And of course, Arundhati Roy's 'The God of Small Things' is divine.
In Bulgaria, we have the inimitable Georgi Gospodinov. I think that 'Time Shelter' is undoubtedly a masterpiece that shows us what it is to be human, whilst also revealing some very interesting facts about Bulgarian history, it also transcends geographical borders and speaks to the universal experience. I love his writing style and it is incredible to finally see a Bulgarian author break through in the international arena. As a Bulgarian, I am immensely proud of and hugely inspired by him. I was lucky to attend his event at Blackwell's in Oxford this year and hearing him read an excerpt of his novel there in Bulgarian literally made me cry with happiness that our words are getting traction here.
About the Book
1909, St Petersburg. Seventeen-year-old Alma longs to work at the legendary House of Fabergé, with its talented artisans, winding staircases, secret golden elevator, and glasshouse of tropical plants. But instead, Alma must sketch quietly in her room, inspired by magical visions that could have her accused of witchcraft, whilst her domineering brother presents her designs as his own.
But then comes an opportunity. With the help of a Finnish artisan Knut, she attracts the attention of Carl Fabergé himself and is given a job at the House of Fabergé. Alma's creations attract widespread acclaim, and her star is on the rise. But the world around her is increasingly divided, as the Revolution creeps ever nearer. Alma will be forced to decide what matters most to her. Can love, art and beauty survive such hatred and violence?
(Image from FMcM)
No comments:
Post a Comment