The Big Water
by Zhivko Chingo, translated by Elizabeth Kolupacev Stewart
The Big Water is the first English language translation of the prize
winning Macedonian novel, Golemata Voda, by author Zhivko Chingo.
Set in Macedonia immediately after World War 2, it tells the story
of a group of children orphaned by the war and their life in an orphanage.
Full of characters and incidents, the book presents a child's view of
life that is both humorous and bleak and, by its end, very moving.
At a metaphoric level, the novel presents a strong critique of the
authoritarianism of both institutional life and the Communist system,
and their inability to reconcile with the needs and nature of the individual.
At the human level, The Big Water is a very positive and moving story
of the emotional development of children, and of the fundamental and
irreplaceable role of the mother. Readers will remember this story and
its climax long after they have finished the book.
The translator, Sydney lawyer Elizabeth Kolupacev Stewart, has previously
translated another prize winning Macedonian novel, Black Seed (Crno
Seme) by Tashko Georgievski. Both translations are notable for being
true to the authors' direct, poetic and very readable narratives.
The Big Water is the seventh book published by Pollitecon Publications.
The book is A$15. The prices below include postage in Australia and
overseas airmail.
The Big Water, Paperback, 120 pages, Four colour celloglazed cover,
ISBN 978-0-9586789-6-4
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