I’m Not Going Anywhere

In this marvelous collection from Bužarovska (My Husband), Macedonian women yearn to escape their country’s poverty and patriarchal abuses. The discontented players are frequently isolated by their insecurities, vices, or indifferent partners, leaving many of them resentful of anyone who succeeds. At times the tension is relieved by humor, as in “The Vase,” in which a woman reluctantly attends a housewarming party, where, jealous of the host’s new child and home, she’s eager to punish her for her happiness. In “The 8th of March,” an alcoholic’s blacked-out protest speech lands her an invitation to a meeting of “powerful women” at the U.S. embassy in Skopje. In “Tsi-Tse,” a mother and her toddler travel back to Skopje after her father’s stroke, and in “Cherokee Red,” a woman sees in her young son evidence of her husband’s intolerance and foul temper. Bužarovska brings a real clarity and precision to the characters, making the stories all the more distressing and funny, sometimes at the same time. She’s a master of her craft. Agent: Jacqueline Ko, Wiley. (Feb.)