Boulder is short and punchy- a crisp little novella, fitting in at about a hundred pages. Shortlisted for the International Booker Prize in 2023, Eva Baltasar’s book is a love story, telling the tale of two women with differing perspectives on motherhood.
Boulder opens with a young flighty woman who has set foot on a merchant ship that plans to twirl across Europe, little by little.
Boulder opens with a young flighty woman who has set foot on a merchant ship that plans to twirl across Europe, little by little. The young lady is unnamed and undescribed in terms of appearance, but what we can judge is that she craves movement and freedom.
The protagonist believes that the only way to live is through extricating oneself from all the constraints that an expected conventional life holds and that the only way to live is to be solitary and live for oneself, which is why she takes up a job on a ship, working as a cook.
The formation of love
One day, she sees a woman. After months of not touching anybody, the two women lock eyes and gradually get to know each other. Boulder, is instantly unapologetically queer, and oddly enough chronicles none of the average struggles that we (conventionally) expect to read about queer characters. A passionate love affair ensues; the second lady being Scandinavian and beautiful. Her name is Samsa, and she finally gives our protagonist a nickname- the only way we can know her all throughout the book- Boulder, for all her longing for reclusiveness.
For Boulder, the relationship is everything she has never known. In her own words: ‘I cling to her, the way lunatics embrace new beliefs and dangle from a tree‘, and the couple finally decide to move away to Reykjavik, Iceland together, so Samsa can embrace a new career, one she has long looked forward to.
Boulder, unfortunately, is used to a hermit-like life, and the book is about colossal changes that come her way as the responsibility of a relationship follows. Samsa’s work as a geologist preoccupies her in the city, whilst Boulder continues to work odd jobs- bartending at a pub and eventually starting a food truck.
Boulder, unfortunately, is used to a hermit-like life, and the book is about colossal changes that come her way as the responsibility of a relationship follows.
Boulder’s entire life comes crumbling down when Samsa, aged 40, announces that she wants a baby.
Interestingly, it is Boulders’ cracks in character that allow the reader to force her to split and reveal the softness inside. The readers are caught up in the tumultuous storm of the womens’ relationship as they try to navigate their way to an area that will feel like a safe space to create a home, in a way that both women want.
The madness of motherhood in Boulder
Baltasar’s representation of motherhood is a commentary on womens’ lives- its reduction to sacrifice and selflessness and the sole purpose of existence being seeking pleasure in one’s’ own lineage. For Boulder, motherhood is a violation of privacy. She cannot fathom how motherhood is meant to give her and Samsa a shared sense of purpose and instead views the pregnancy as something foreign and almost intrusive.
As Samsa’s body and thoughts are swayed by the hormones of pregnancy, Boulder begins to resent her, her loss of self and unpredictability, leading Boulder to distance herself. She turns to alcohol to experience momentary joy and anything else she can find.
As Samsa’s body and thoughts are swayed by the hormones of pregnancy, Boulder begins to resent her, her loss of self and unpredictability, leading Boulder to distance herself.
Boulders’ feelings are raw, uncomfortable and unapologetically honest- Samsa’s body’s transformation creates an even bigger distance from Boulder, and the unfamiliarity of her changing shape, causes Boulder’s attraction towards her to dwindle.
The dissolution of a relationship
Perhaps the central question of Boulder is this: can love survive even when two people grow differently or want different things in life? How much of what we do when we are in love is a choice? Does love always mean compromise? How much of a compromise is a terrible thing? After how much compromise do we lose a sense of self?
Naturally, we get no answers. The shift in Samsa’s body is not just about sex, it is about how they each view their bond. The arrival of the baby cements the cracks: Samsa views it as a sense of purpose whilst Boulder feels a sense of erasure.
Baltasar’s novella evokes a crisis reminiscent of Kafka’s Gregor Samsa: the transformation of the characters and the sense of dread that ensues.
About the author(s)
Treya graduated with a literature degree and then did her Masters' in journalism. She is apparently free spirited but also lost in her own head. She loves the idea of photography documenting something real and the idea of trying to write or making a difference. She is just trying.
