Book Review: Jinwar and Other Stories
Jinwar and Other Stories. Alex Poppe, Cune Press, March 8th, 2022, Paperback, 132 pages.
Reviewed by Charles Kuner.
Many short story collections are published every year, and these stories are usually Eurocentric and patriarchal in nature. Rarely do we get short stories written from a woman's point of view and even rarer where many of the female characters are heroines. One of these rare occasions is Alex Poppe's Jinwar and Other Stories.
The stories originate in the bleak areas of northern Iraq, northeastern Syria, and the occupied territories in Israel. One outlier is a story that occurs in the Oakland, California public library.
Unfortunately, many Americans are not very informed about the culture and history of this important part of the world, a history which goes beyond biblical history into the ancient world. It should also be noted that the United States has taken very little notice of the consequences of our own fairly recent Imperialistic ventures in this part of the world. Hopefully, this brief overview or perspective will whet the intellectual appetite of the reader for its importance in deeply understanding the stories. As Patricia Ann McNair states, “Poppe effortlessly and expertly weaves our contemporary moments and its politics with a place and culture incurred in a rich history manned by struggles brought about by patriarchy and power.”
In the title piece “Jinwar,” the narrator of the story is an American student nursing aide. She struggles to rebuild her life due to being raped by her ex-commanding officer. When she reported him to the higher-ups, they ended up protecting one of their own. They blamed the victim rather than the victimizer with one suggesting that “she was a hot little mess...Trying to destroy the Corps, and maybe I should be tested for a personality disorder."
This story all happened during the Supreme Court confirmation hearing as Brett Kavanaugh was being considered for a seat on the United States Supreme Court. Here Poppe is showing the contrast between what happens to the fictional nursing aide and the real-life testimony of Dr. Christine Blasey Ford. Blasey Ford made credible sexual assault allegations against Kavanaugh during the hearings. Also questioned was Kavanaugh's temperamental and unhinged testimony. He, in this reviewer's opinion, lied when he stated that he saw Roe v. Wade as settled law. But, again, as with the Jinwar nursing aide, it was dismissed, and Kavanaugh was confirmed.
Some other examples of life following fiction, or fiction following life, is the defamation trial of Johnny Depp and Amber Heard. Depp is a well-known celebrity and got the benefit of the doubt in not abusing his wife. And the New York Times had a major front-page article on July 10th detailing how retired military officers repeatedly prey on their teenage students such as 15-year-old Victoria Bauerher when a 45-year-old JROTC instructor pushed his hands into her pants and sexually assaulted her.
What Poppe exposes in Jinwar and Other Stories is the hypocrisy of a military system that allows and enables unfit men to remain in power with no legal or moral accountability. She also ultimately questions “what it means to care and be cared for in a world that aims to rip you apart." Poppe’s compassion and advocacy are a cure for that hypocrisy, that objectification of women.
Poppe Is also one of the few Western women who dared to go alone to Iraq to become a teacher while giving up a career as an actress. That's no small sacrifice. She knew this region from actual experience rather than from news clips or movies. It's reflected in her stories as she accurately describes the culture and politics of the region. Indeed, she illustrates the tragedy of cultures that are encumbered with sexist ideology and overt violence.
The style used in writing these stories should be noted. Women are not allowed to make mistakes. Poppe writes about this using sardonic and biting wit, sarcasm, and no holds barred language. She tells it like it is an acerbic tone of voice. In addition, it's the author's belief that for women to be collegial is a mistake. It will be interpreted as weakness by the patriarchy and used against women. An example of this is what happened to Blasey Ford when she attempted collegiality at the aforementioned Kavanaugh hearings.
Poppe is also a word painter. Her descriptions of place and people are quite detailed. In fact, it's so detailed that you can picture in your mind's eye the description of a particular character, object, or place. It's as if the reader is physically there as a disembodied observer.
The stories are also well-paced. They have a movement and rhythm akin to music. As Jeremy T. Wilson opines in Adult Teeth: “Like the characters in her stories, Poppe’s sentences move like a caged bird who wants her home to be in the sky, ducking and rolling to avoid the confines of the page, soaring like they never want to come down.” The female heroines in the stories defiantly refused to be defined by the patriarchy or to live within those limitations. The sky's the limit as to what one can do for women who want to soar free. They want to have autonomy over their bodies and their futures.
In summary, scattered through Poppe’s stories are characters that the reader can identify with. We care about these characters who range from ex-pats, ex-marines, teenage seekers, suffering mothers, and marginalized women. We have before us, as readers, a stellar cast of flawed yet fearless heroines. It would be these fearless heroines who can help us construct a woman world, a world less warlike, less violent, less predatory, and less sexist.
One last thought about Jinwar and Other Stories is that this book is not just for female readers. This is not a cheap rom-com chick book. As the author-journalist Jane Van Dyke explains, “Every man who thinks he knows the world should read this book, as well as every woman.” For which this reviewer can only say “Amen.”