First Impression Friday will be a meme where you talk about a book that you JUST STARTED! Maybe you’re only a chapter or two in, maybe a little farther. Based on this sampling of your current read, give a few impressions and predict what you’ll think by the end.

Synopsis:

Born in Guadeloupe, Ivan and Ivana are twins with a bond so strong they become afraid of their feelings for one another. When their mother sends them off to live with their father in Mali they begin to grow apart, until, as young adults in Paris, Ivana’s youthful altruism compels her to join the police academy, while Ivan walks the path of radicalization. The twins, unable to live either with or without each other, become perpetrator and victim in a wave of violent attacks.

Happy Friday everyone! Another work week in the book! The weekend is here! I know everyone is looking forward to it. Everyone including me. HAHA. After a tedious week at the office, I really could use this brief respite to recover from a rather busy week. Thankfully, we will only be working for three days next week; April 9 and 10 are holidays here in the Philippines. That means I have two extra days to rest and do other non-work related stuff, such as writing book reviews. Anyway, that’s enough of me. How about you? How was your week? I hope that you were able to accomplish all your goals this week and that you are ending the week on a high note. I hope the work went well and that we are all diving into the weekend free of worries. If it went the other way, I hope that the weekend will provide you a badly needed respite. I hope that we all spend it pursuing the things we are passionate about.

Which reminds me, today is the first Friday of April. Wow. We are already down one quarter this year. How time flies. I hope that the first three months of the year have been kind to everyone. I hope that the rest of the year will be brimming with good news, blessings, and happiness. More importantly, I hope everyone will be healthy, physically, mentally, and spiritually. Last month, I delved into the works of female writers to commemorate Women’s History Month. It was, as always, an amazing journey that took me to different parts of the world. However, I felt it was too short. Further, I have scores of books written by female writers I wanted to read, prompting me to extend my foray into female literature this April. For this First Impression Friday update, I am featuring Maryse Condé’s The Wondrous and Tragic Life of Ivan and Ivana.

The Wondrous and Tragic Life of Ivan and Ivana is my fourth novel by the highly esteemed Guadeloupean writer. I first came across Condé in 2019 during the lead-up to the announcement of the awardee for the Nobel Prize in Literature. She was one of the names tagged by many literary pundits (and betting sites) as one of the shoo-in for the award. Unfortunately, until today, she is still to receive the award although she was awarded the “Alternative Nobel” in 2018. Nevertheless, floating her name was enough to pique my interest. I have since read three of her works: Crossing the Mangrove, Segu, and her latest novel, The Gospel According to the New World. Each work was unique in its own way but they reverberated with a common theme: the legacy of colonialism.

It was the legacy of colonialism that was once again at the fore of The Wondrous and Tragic Life of Ivan and Ivana. This was explored through the titular Ivan and Ivana, a pair of twins born to Simone in Dos d’Âne, described as a “godforsaken hole” in Guadeloupe. At the onset, they were not aware of who their father was as their mother kept his identity a secret. One might wonder where Simone got her children’s names as they sounded uncommon for a Caribbean name. Apparently, she got it from a film she watched that made a “deep impression on her”. Who would have thought that the film was Ivan the Terrible? I personally have not watched the film but I have read some not-so-favorable things about the Russian Czar. As if the name was not a hint already.

Anyway, Condé did not waste time laying out the landscape of the twins’ lives. They grew up in squalor in a countryside village detached from the comforts of the modern world; the story was set in the 21st century but why do I keep feeling that it was from the early 20th century. It does remind me a bit of Rivière au Sel, the setting of Crossing the Mangrove. Anyway, the twins were polar opposites. Ivan seems to be upholding the reputation of his namesake; the inspiration for his name was a foreshadowing of some sort. He was a semi-hoodlum who dropped out of school and resented the inequities that he experienced; he felt that he deserved more out of life, hence, his cynical view. He also found himself skirting around criminality as he was involved in petty crimes. There were also undertones of incestuous desires which weirded me out a bit.

Ivana was the antithesis of her brother. She was more timid; at least that is the impression I get because the story was dominated by Ivan, so far, and his bigger-than-life persona. Ivana was the intelligent one. She was diligent in her studies and read a lot of books. Unlike her brother, she was contented with the life they had. Then one day, they received an invitation from their father, Lansana. Lansana, a Mandingo musician in Mali, sent them a ticket for Mali. Mali was where Segu was set. It was in Mali that the twins’ life started to unravel although there were already hints about their fate there while they were still living in Guadeloupe. All throughout, vestiges of colonialism were present. A character, at one point, was asked by a politician not to be vocal about his discontent with France. Instead, they were told to be grateful to the French.

More trouble followed the twins when they went to their father’s homeland. At that time, Mali was embroiled in political and social upheaval. The country was overrun with Islamist gangs, prompting the government to impose curfews. Military personnel were ubiquitous. For a seemingly thin book, a lot was happening in The Wondrous and Tragic Life of Ivan and Ivana. It also seems that their fate was sealed; their maternal grandmother already had a vision of it and the story was moving forward to fulfilling this premonition. Still, I am hoping that this foreshadowing will not materialize. An interesting facet of the story is the radicalization of Ivan. I am looking forward to how Condé unpacks this aspect of the story and how it is integrated into the grand scale of events.

How about you fellow reader? What book or books are you going to take with you this weekend? I hope you get to enjoy whatever you are reading right now. Happy weekend!