It was one of the most anticipated visits at the last Setmana del Llibre in Català. Tatiana Tibuleac, author of ‘The summer when my mother has green eyes’, stopped by Barcelona to accompany the release of the Catalan version on Les Hores of the novel, which shines on the dark and at the same time glassy theme of motherhood. An excellently accepted work in Spanish, which introduced it internationally and published by Impedimenta. Coming from a Romanian family, Moldovan – he writes in that language – there is no one better than him, with his complex flood identity, to talk about the latest ups and downs of a war that has troubled all Europeans.
Have you ever wondered why your novel is better received in Spain than in other European countries?
The book talks about a mother and a son, something absolutely universal. It’s also a story about the anger and hatred that gripped us in our youth. I think people in Spain are much more open to talking about feelings than in other countries like Germany, the Nordic countries or Great Britain.
A topic such as conflict motherhood was also not well understood in its country of origin.
It was not well understood by some sectors there. It is easy to find literature on mother-child relationships in Spain without a flavored vision. In Moldova, they were very disturbed by this contradictory approach to motherhood, which they saw as sacred. Anyway, maybe he started the sound book but didn’t finish it. If it were, they would see hatred turn into understanding.
Is it true that you wrote the book in two months?
I said it so much that it must be true (laughs).
Before my father died, he read my book and finally convinced him that I could do something right in this life.
But surely this story accompanied him much longer. Why this interest in imperfect mothers?
I’ve had a great mom who thinks everything I do is great, even if it’s not. My father was much more strict, we broke up for a while, and when he got sick, I re-established the relationship. Fortunately, he had time to read this book before he died, and it finally convinced him that I could do something right in this lifetime.
Was writing a way to resolve these conflicts?
It is difficult for me to speak, and only when I write do I take off my armor and be truly myself.
A Moldavian who writes in Romanian, speaks Russian, lives in Paris, is married to an Englishman. How is your sense of identity?
I had to write my second novel, The Glass Garden, to rediscover it. I wanted to know how many of them were Russian – the language of the oppressor – Romanian or Moldavian, and when I became a mother, I seriously thought about it. What language should I speak to my children? Should I mention the hatred that the Russians conveyed to me? The book helped me organize these ideas, and finishing it was a kind of compromise with my own history.
The dilemma is simple, either Ukraine wins or Russia wins and the next affected will be the Moldovans.
Let’s broaden the focus and talk about war. Even though you live outside your country, I guess you follow the news with apprehension.
Moldovans are watching the conflict from the front lines. And the dilemma is simple, either Ukraine wins or Russia wins and we are the next affected. From Moldova you cannot think that this is someone else’s war. Unfortunately, so do we. Those of us who are over 35 years old cannot believe that peace agreements can be achieved because Russia wants to rebuild its old empire and has not stopped using the dirtiest and most terrible methods.
Until relatively recently, it seemed that there was no gap in Putin’s popular support. But critical voices were heard, especially from the Orthodox Church, and military mobilization fueled discontent.
Don’t ask me to be objective. I don’t understand. I can admit that the Russian people were dragged along by propaganda in the first month of the war, but we’ve been at war for six months and you can’t pretend you don’t know what’s going on. Civil society in Russia did not fulfill its duty, did not do what it was supposed to do.
Until now, the Russian people acted as if nothing had happened. enough for them.
Putin is scary.
If there are opposing voices, if there is opposition, the consciousness of defeat is clear now, not because they realize that the Russian government has made a mistake, but because they feel they have lost. They acted as if nothing had happened until now. enough for them. Dissatisfaction with military mobilization is also selfish, they no longer think of Ukraine’s victims but of themselves.
Do you dare to think about the end of the war?
Europe thinks it’s about to end, but frankly, I don’t think it will. Even if a ceasefire is declared, the feeling of hatred and revenge will continue.
Can you write with this voltage?
I’m writing a novel, but I don’t know where it will take me because it’s true that all these events excite me. There is so much going on right now…
Will your new book have anything to do with this war?
It’s all about this war.