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Vanity Unfair
Set in Slovakia, a revealing narrative about contemporary society.
An accidental pregnancy, a good-looking man who cares about no one but himself, marriage because the man “had a bit of a Christian upbringing,” divorce—that is the trajectory of Pipina’s life, leading to single motherhood and a thousand cruelties of everyday life because she is an ugly woman in a world where ugliness is worse than a death sentence. At every turn, she is reminded of her inferiority. She can’t wait for the end of each day when she can sit in the stairwell outside of her dilapidated apartment and retreat into her thoughts. Her drab life full of indignities dissolves only in her beautiful, cinematic dreams. In them, she experiences whatever she can’t do or have in real life. She creates a rich inner world, and her razor-sharp observations, interlaced with a good dose of humor, produce a revealing narrative about contemporary society. In the first English translation of her work, the brilliant Slovak author Zuzana Cigánová pulls back the veil on people’s most private thoughts—thoughts that could very much be our own.
An accidental pregnancy, a good-looking man who cares about no one but himself, marriage because the man “had a bit of a Christian upbringing,” divorce—that is the trajectory of Pipina’s life, leading to single motherhood and a thousand cruelties of everyday life because she is an ugly woman in a world where ugliness is worse than a death sentence. At every turn, she is reminded of her inferiority. She can’t wait for the end of each day when she can sit in the stairwell outside of her dilapidated apartment and retreat into her thoughts. Her drab life full of indignities dissolves only in her beautiful, cinematic dreams. In them, she experiences whatever she can’t do or have in real life. She creates a rich inner world, and her razor-sharp observations, interlaced with a good dose of humor, produce a revealing narrative about contemporary society. In the first English translation of her work, the brilliant Slovak author Zuzana Cigánová pulls back the veil on people’s most private thoughts—thoughts that could very much be our own.
168 pages, Hardcover
Published January 4, 2023
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March 7, 2025Impressionistic with some clever turns of phrase, Vanity Unfair is not without its problems. At times, I found it hard to follow.
Pipina, the protagonist, is “ugly”. That is such an objective word and Cigánová’s description of Pipina’s “ugliness” are the skin-deep, western image of ugly.
More importantly, it seems Pipina had a string of bad luck: a one-night stand, pregnancy, a child, a loveless marriage (“He had a bit of a Christian upbringing”), and them single-momhood—exhausted, no time for cleaning, self-care, in public, a burden to all.
The ending reminded me of the old schoolhouse rock video, “The Tale of Mr. Morton”. It’s that simple.
Pipina, the protagonist, is “ugly”. That is such an objective word and Cigánová’s description of Pipina’s “ugliness” are the skin-deep, western image of ugly.
More importantly, it seems Pipina had a string of bad luck: a one-night stand, pregnancy, a child, a loveless marriage (“He had a bit of a Christian upbringing”), and them single-momhood—exhausted, no time for cleaning, self-care, in public, a burden to all.
The ending reminded me of the old schoolhouse rock video, “The Tale of Mr. Morton”. It’s that simple.
July 18, 2025
A little stream of consciousness that let's you step into the world of the narrator. I'd recommend.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews