Thoughtful threads in Russian prison novel

A prison cell is an unlikely place to gain valuable insights into life and to explore new abilities. In The Incredible Events in Women’s Cell Number 3, Russian writer Kira Yarmysh combines elements of mythology and the supernatural in a novel depicting how people are treated in an unjust society, while also exploring the idea of powers that help to mitigate the circumstances that allow intolerance to thrive.

Yarmysh was born in Russia and graduated from the Moscow State Institute of International Relations. Since 2014, she has been working for Russian opposition leader Alexey Navalny and has been arrested several times in connection with her work, once spending a month in prison. Currently, she lives abroad in exile. The Incredible Events in Women’s Cell Number 3, translated by Arch Tait, is her first novel.

The first part of the novel follows the main character, Anya Romanova, as she is introduced to the routine of the detention centre, where she has been imprisoned for attending an anti-corruption demonstration. While following the routine of going for meals, enduring the daily inspections and other aspects of her new circumstances, Anya learns about the widely varying characteristics of the women imprisoned for an array of minor offenses.

Although her cellmates seem normal at first, Anya soon begins to see visions or hallucinations of the other women in more terrifying circumstances. Soon, she comes to see her cellmates in the role of the Fates from Greek mythology, who held the threads of people’s lives and cut those threads when each person was to die.

The theme of threads becomes part of each inmate’s story. Diana’s knitting or unravelling of the scarf that she is making for her husband, for example, corresponds with the state of his health. A guard’s necklace and a woven mesh bottle holder are other examples of threads running through the book, helping to tie the different women’s experiences together.

As Anya reflects on the events she sees around her, she begins to wonder whether she also might be one of the Fates. After experiencing a major disappointment, her anger drives her to consider testing her abilities with a necklace belonging to a particularly unpleasant guard. In the end, readers must make their own decisions about the results of Anya’s test.

On one level, The Incredible Events in Women’s Cell Number 3 is a statement on marginalization and intolerance in Russia under Vladimir Putin. Running alongside this political story, however, is a highly intangible, almost mythological tale that draws on imagination and imagery to portray an attempt to gain a measure of control in a situation where people can often feel powerless.

For some readers, the story of ordinary women imprisoned for trivial offenses is important enough that the supernatural elements tend to detract from the story. Still, including the idea of the Fates is a unique way of bringing out the different characteristics of the people in the story while allowing for Anya’s final dilemma. Readers can enjoy the book on both levels.

Susan Huebert is a Winnipeg writer and pet sitter.

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