Charges Elfriede Jelinek (Austria): 2013; translated by Gitta Honegger, Seagull Books, 2016.
Jelinek tackles the European refugee crises, specific real-life events which took place in Vienna and throughout Europe. Charges consists of three independent, yet related, performance texts, comments by Honegger, and a conversation between author and translator. Jelinek’s three texts are difficult to follow but are supported by Honegger’s comments, without which, a reader might be quite lost. The monologues are closer to nonfiction than fiction and the likes of which can be seen still occurring worldwide. Charges is a sober, and very good read with its fingers directly on the pulse of the continuing refugee crises.