My Dreadful Body: A Novel

**NATIONAL BOOK AWARD FOR TRANSLATED LITERATURE LONGLIST**
**CERCADOR PRIZE FINALIST—FOREWORD REVIEWS BEST 10 BOOKS OF 2026**
**"Gripping, vivid . . . plainspoken and elegiac. I've never read anything like it."—Claire Oshetsky, author of *Poor Deer* and *Evil Genius***
A dazzling debut novel about a young woman's vexed coming of age in a traditional Azerbaijani community in Russia, grappling under the weight of Muslim patriarchal norms and a debilitating neurological condition. The mysterious affliction leaves her unable to control her muscles, plagued by pain and speech disorders, defying diagnosis. Addressing each body part with the scrupulousness of a medical researcher, the narrator explores memories, traditions, and taboos related to her physical self. In the process, a woman once destined for the role of a beautiful marriageable daughter comes to be perceived as damaged goods. With verbal elegance and poetic power, Egana Djabbarova unveils a hidden world in which illness unexpectedly facilitates her liberation.
**Reading group guide to *My Dreadful Body* is available for download free of charge at newvesselpress.com.**