Catalan / Spain
Àunia. L'anhel de llibertat d'una noia ibèrica
(Àunia. An Iberian girl’s desire for freedom)
Vera, Ivan
(text)
Barcelona: Akiara books, 2021. – 339 p.
ISBN 978-84-17440-2
Iberians <people> | Girl | Emancipation | Freedom | Self-determination | History 3rd century BC
Reading age: 12+
White Ravens issue: 2021
Little is known about the history of the Iberians, who were a tribal group inhabiting the East and South of the Iberian Peninsula in prehistoric and early historic times. Young author Ivan Vera (b. 1998) builds the foundations for his novel on established facts about the era, such as the Second Punic War between the Romans and the Carthaginians, or the Greek colonial settlements on the Mediterranean coast, as well as on his own scientific research. Enriched with elements and motifs from Greek mythology and Tolkienesque fantasy universes, this is a rewarding literary work about self-determination and heteronomy. The protagonist of this lively and gripping book is Àunia, a brave, enterprising, adventurous young huntress and bowwoman. Àunia resists the role she is expected to play as a woman and fights not only for her individual freedom, but also for the freedom of her people, who are threatened from external powers and influences. [JW]