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Mona, Pola Oloixarac’s Latest Novel, Is a Complex Parody That Heals Souls
The central premise of Mona by Pola Oloixarac is that a successful yet jaded writer receives an invite to an awards ceremony, with chaos ensuing. But the book is really about much more than that. At once a biting satire, a menacing fable, and an articulate exploration of trauma, Mona is a surprisingly complex and meaty novel packed into a small but perfectly formed 192 pages.
The Premise of the Novel
The titular Mona gets a nomination for the Basske-Wortz Prize, “the most important literary award in Europe and one of the most prestigious in the world.” So, she decides to travel to Stockholm for the ceremony. What follows is a biting parody of the absurdity of literary awards and the literary scene at large.
The well-observed sneers at the other guests Mona meets clearly comes from the lived experiences of Oloixarac. The novel looks at the circle-jerking and self-satisfaction seemingly intrinsic to literary success with derision and even pity. Mona’s evident distress is obvious to the reader, yet no one at the festival seems to care or notice.
“Lena was too distracted to see anything besides her own caricature of Mona’s appearance.”
Mona – Pola Oloixarac
No one is safe from Pola’s mocking. The author depicts the awards ceremony setting as a breeding ground for the very worst of human emotions. Insecurity festers amongst those with an unattractive desire for victory, while pettiness and faux-intellectual competitiveness drive most interactions.
“It’s not that there are no more literary personalities in our era: it’s just they come to places like this thinking they’re writers and end up leaving as characters. The festivals are the real novels!”
Mona – Pola Oloixarac
Mona as a Character
Mona, as a character, is both self-objectifying and self-harming. The poor way she treats herself seems almost like a defence mechanism in response to how the (white, wealthy, male) literary scene does. She behaves poorly towards herself to prevent others from doing so first.
She’s also oddly superficial, focused pointedly on her own glamorousness. She appears vain and almost self-serving, only living in pursuit of pleasure. But this hypersexuality serves as a reflection of her own trauma. Mona claims to hate herself, but what seems even more problematic is the unappealing way she practices self-love.
The mysterious bruises Mona finds on her body signify the creeping violence at the novel’s heart. This violence is abstract but all-encompassing and inevitable. The author depicts the novel’s slow spiral into surrealism and brutality as the only way to end Basske-Wortz’s madness. In the end, total destruction is the only real solution.
“I do believe that contempt is the lingua franca of our era, and on that, I’ll bet we can both agree.”
Mona – Pola Oloixarac
You can pick up your copy of Mona by Pola Oloixarac at Waterstones here.
