Review: 'Forbidden Notebook' by by Alba de Céspedes, trans. by Ann Goldstein
Pub. Date: 1/17/2023
Publisher: Astra Publishing House
In this modern translation by acclaimed Elena Ferrante translator Ann Goldstein, Forbidden Notebook centers the inner life of a dissatisfied housewife living in postwar Rome.
Valeria Cossati never suspected how unhappy she had become with the shabby gentility of her bourgeois life—until she begins to jot down her thoughts and feelings in a little black book she keeps hidden in a closet. This new secret activity leads her to scrutinize herself and her life more closely, and she soon realizes that her individuality is being stifled by her devotion and sense of duty toward her husband, daughter, and son. As the conflicts between parents and children, husband and wife, and friends and lovers intensify, what goes on behind the Cossatis’ facade of middle-class respectability gradually comes to light, tearing the family’s fragile fabric apart.
An exquisitely crafted portrayal of domestic life, Forbidden Notebook recognizes the universality of human aspirations
'all women hide a black notebook, a forbidden diary. And they all have to destroy it." In Forbidden Notebook I found a painfully sharp and heartbreakingly tender depiction of something I have been thinking about for a while, which is the shifting expectations of what a woman should do and be, and how this impacts various generations of women. Looking at my own family, both my grandmothers were stay-at-home mothers, who were nonetheless always involved socially in various causes. My mother found herself in a different position, with new freedoms and opportunities, yet also still bound by previous expectations. I myself perhaps do not feel those old expectations as strongly, but I do see their impact and how they continue to clash with the different world we find ourselves in. Through the first-person narration in Forbidden Notebook, Alba de Céspedes develops the awareness of this, and the unbearable weight of finding yourself caught between two worlds, in Valeria and it is heartbreaking to read. It is also important, however, to get an insight into this shift in a book from the '50s and to recognise how much of its elements still ring true. Alba de Céspedes manages to create a profile of a woman who is so restricted by her upbringing and her society, who believes much of what she has been taught about women and their abilities, and who yet discovers a wellspring of thought and ability in herself.
One day, Valeria buys a notebook, even though its forbidden, and on the 26th of November, 1950, begins writing. Initially she is not sure why she is writing, or why she even bought the notebook. Valeria keeps the notebook hidden from her husband, Michele, and their two grown-up children, Riccardo and Mirella. As she begins tracking her thoughts and the things that happen, a consciousness begins to develop in Valeria, a creeping knowledge that she is not fully happy, not, perhaps, fully alive. While she loves her family, she becomes aware of how trapped she is in her life, caring for them while also working in an office to bring in more money. In her notebook, she tracks Riccardo's dissatisfaction with their family's poverty and its effect on him, Mirella's struggle with traditional expectations of women, and Michele's own quiet unhappiness. As these issues take up her life, Valeria tries to carve out a space for herself, but how can she be free of the person she has become? Forbidden Notebook is a fascinating depiction of restrained womanhood, of the burdens placed on women and the burdens they willingly carry. It is also a stunning depiction of interiority, of a person's sense of self developing across the pages. Valeria frequently holds opinions I could not agree with less, and yet she is crafted in such a way that I fully understand how she got there. Especially her relationship with her daughter, Mirella, and the tension between these two different ways of being a woman was fascinating to read. I also found Riccardo's dissatisfaction with his life, and how he lashes out as a response, really intriguing considering the current "crisis of masculinity" we are seeing. Turns out, not so current, but rather a decade-long thing.
I had never heard of Alba de Céspedes before and now I am a dedicated fan. She was a Cuban-Italian writer of fiction, who also worked as a journalist. In 1935, and again in 1943, she was even jailed in Italy for her anti-fascist activities. First published as Quaderno proibito in 1952, this book speaks directly to that after-war period and I think you can see a lot of criticism and consideration of the effects of war in this book. As a working woman herself, I also am intrigued by how she explores the balancing act required of Valeria, who on the one hand needs to work to assist the family and yet, on the other, needs to consistently deny she is gaining anything else from it. The way the drudgery of the home is explored, as well as the oppression of poverty, the loss of privilege and changing social rules, it all speaks to a very insightful author. As I mentioned in the first paragraph, Forbidden Notebook spoke directly to thoughts I had been having and I found myself aching for the women of the past few generations, who saw the change in women's rights and yet also, perhaps, saw it pass them by. I think for any reader interested in female characters with subjectivity, interiority, and the desire to judge for themselves what is true in their lives, Forbidden Notebook is a must read.
I give this book...
5 Universes!
Forbidden Notebook blew me away to an extent I had not expected. This novel made me challenge the ways I think of previous generations of women in my own family, the struggles they experienced which feed into my freedom, but also made me treasure that I have a room of my own to write in.
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