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Janet Paisley

Professor Riseley

English 2010

Fall 2006

Zdravka Evtimova: Light and Shadow

Mobs, knives, sex out of wedlock, and mass government cloning, sound like

exciting elements in a movie. But what if these elements were happening in our own

lives? What if we were part of the mob, or even the mob’s victim, what then? The only

way to know for sure is to experience the feelings involved in these circumstances and

decide what we would do should they ever really occur. But how can we possibly feel

the sensation of being cloned or of being surrounded by a knife toting mob without

actually experiencing them? The answer lies in the writings of Zdravka Evtimova.

David Morley, a literary critic from the University of Warwick, intelligently sums up her

work by explaining, “Zdravka Evtimova’s themes are that tough quartet: money, hunger,

sex, and control” (1). It’s not just Evtimova’s themes that make her writing so powerful

and important to me; it is the way she forces me to look at the truth.

Evtimova writes her stories in such a way that allows her to present issues with all

the raw emotion still intact, thereby allowing readers to feel fear, anger, guilt, and

excitement. By doing so, Evtimova encourages readers to explore and challenge their

own thoughts and opinions on important matters in our lives. In her short story “The

Violin,” a young woman lives with her mother and aunt, both beautiful women and

accomplished musicians. The story tells us that, in their youth, these women were so

beautiful that they “had so many adorers” and were sought after “by crowds of passionate

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young men” (2). The story speaks freely of these women’s affairs and that one of these

sisters had a child out of wedlock who is the narrator of the very story we are reading.

But when the young woman expresses her wish to marry the father of her own unborn

child, they passionately express their opinion that, “Nobody [gets] married these days, for

Christ’s sake” (“The Violin” 3). I was shocked (and delighted) to read about people

speaking so freely about their romances. People in my family are inclined to fear the

mention of intimacy. I am frequently told, “There are some things Janet, which we just

don’t discuss.” If I ask “why” I am told to go to my room and pray until my “thinking

improves.”

In this story, Evtimova has given an example of an issue in today’s society which

has to do with having sex with whomever a person desires. Whether or not Evtimova

agrees with this standard is not easily seen, at least not to me. However, the way in

which Evtimova brings up the subject causes the reader to not only consider the writer’s

position, but to also analyze their own feelings on the matter. Evtimova lets the reader

feel and understand feelings they may never have felt otherwise, or that they have been

discouraged from having their entire life. This allows the reader to better understand

their own feelings, and more importantly, themselves. I recommend that you read

Evtimova because she opened up a world of feelings to me that I never knew existed.

While compelling and forceful, she is not a preachy writer. Evtimova’s ability to

present issues without exposing her own opinions is apparent in all her writing. No

matter how slight it may seem at the time, there is often a shadow cast across the

situations described her stories. In “Blood of a Mole,” a woman comes to a pet shop

looking for the blood of a mole, with which she hopes to cure the sickness of her son.

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The shop’s owner, who has never sold moles, gives her some of his own blood for

reasons he cannot explain. She hesitantly takes the proffered blood and leaves. Time

passes and she returns to thank him, for her son had recovered. The next day a man

comes in to buy the blood of a mole in order to help his wife. The owner once again

gives of his blood to a customer. I love how macabre and mysterious this story is. The

tone of the whole story is dark and foreboding. The story tells us that the next day, a mob

of people await the owner. A chilling example of this writer’s gift for the ghoulish is

evident when we read, “Everyone had a sick person at home and a knife in his hand”

(“Blood of a Mole” 4). It wasn’t until the end of the story that the issue and theme of

control, or the lack thereof, emerged. Here Evtimova presents the idea that when a need

of the masses arises, the rights and safety of those that have what is needed is forfeited.

The story does not tell what happened to the shop owner, but instead leaves the reader to

wonder of the outcome when he told the crowd of knife totting individuals that their

loved ones would have to resign themselves to their individual fate because he could not

give them the blood they needed and still remain alive. Would they care if he were dead?

Once their loved ones recovered wouldn’t it all be worth it? It’s a powerful and

disturbing idea. You or I could be targeted and sacrificed by the masses should the need

arise. Evtimova brings many questions to the attention of the reader in a captivating and

paralyzing manner, which causes them to consider what they would believe if such an

event happened. Would they be the victim, part of the mob, or possibly take a stand

against such actions? Only the reader can decide.

At this point, we’ve experienced the feeling of personal issues associated with

sex, as well as the paralyzing fear of being surrounded by a sea of knives. But there are

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political, environmental, and social questions in Etimova’s stories as well. In her story

“Last Night’s Excitement,” we meet Youp, a man living in a world so polluted that

people can only live for a month at maximum. So when a person dies, their blood plasma

is used to make a clone. This process is called regeneration because the clone will

possess all the knowledge and experience of the cloned individual without having to re-

experience it. In this cycle, the person lives, dies, is regenerated and ultimately lives

forever. They have no choice. They can’t change jobs. They can’t have children.

They’re not even allowed to stay dead, as Youp finds out:

“The week after they dragged Seva away in a police van he and two

colleagues had tried to die permanently. Naturally, they had been

regenerated once more and sent back to work. Society needed their

golden hands, their invaluable experience – that’s what the television

commentator had said.” (“Last Night’s Excitement” 2)

In this world where you live simply because it’s cheaper for the government to re-

grow experienced human beings than to let new ones be born, life has no real meaning.

All self-worth is gone. After all, it doesn’t matter who you are, only who the government

says you are. And you’ll continue to live this way, with no real purpose, until the Earth

finally becomes too polluted for mankind to survive. “Last Night’s Excitement” is a

powerful story about what can happen if we, as a people, don’t take control of our

behavior. If we continue to be wasteful and irresponsible we may be fated to join Youp in

that land of the living dead.

The works of Zdravka Evtimova may not be palatable to everyone; they can be

intense and even slightly vulgar; but that’s the point. She writes in such a way that

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causes all readers to think of their stance, their opinions, and their feelings about things

that are important to understand but are not always “fun” to think about. And that’s what

I love most about her writing, the intellectual aspect. Reading the thoughts and beliefs of

people different from me helps me examine and challenge my own thoughts and beliefs

But most of all, Zdravka Evtimova writes in such a way that makes everyone remember

that with all light, there is shadow. And in the shadow our true beliefs are often brought

into the light.

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Works Cited

Evtimova, Zdravka. “Blood of a Mole.” Antioch Review 61.4 (Fall 2003): 620-623.

Research Databases. EBSCO.host.Snow College Lib., Ephraim, UT. 24 Jan.

2006 <http://weblinks1.epnet.com>.

---. “Last Night’s Excitement.” Artists without Frontiers. 26 Jan. 2006

<http://www.artistswithoutfrontiers.com/zevtimova/>.

---. “The Violin.” The Summerset Review (Fall 2003). 25 Jan. 2006

<http://www.summersetreview.org/03fall/violin.htm>.

Morley, David. Warwick Writing Programme, University of Warwick. Skrev Press. 29

Jan. 2006 <http://www.skrev-press.com/zdra.html>.