Have you ever felt like the reality around you is slipping from your hands, like every decision leads you deeper into an uncontrollable current? Such is the world of "The Vortex," where a girl, accustomed to living by the rules of others, suddenly loses everything and finds herself in a spiral she never anticipated.
The novel "Vorbulla", the first novel by author Genta Hodo, brings a unique approach to Albanian literature by intertwining the horror genre with the urban reality of today's Tirana. With characters inspired by well-known types and stereotypes, with stories that artistically reflect modern everyday life, "Vorbulla" offers a journey into the human psyche.
"I wanted to transform the typical passivity of the main character, who in classic stories has things "happen" to him as if from the sky, into the key motif of the novel," Genta tells Anabel.
At the center of the novel is the story of a sugar baby , a girl who has built her life on a temporary, uncertain, and conditioned reality by others. When everything suddenly changes, she descends into a dark spiral, where reality and madness begin to intertwine. Through this character, Hodo does not simply deliver a scary story, but deeply explores human relationships, complicated loves, and the struggle to remain true in a world that often seems fake.
One of the most interesting features of the novel is the use of horror not as an end in itself, but as a metaphor for the transformation of the individual within the chaos of reality. "The Whirlpool" does not aim to simply bring a horror story, but to present characters that resemble reality, with all their light and shadow.
With an engaging style, complex characters, and an approach that deeply explores human psychology, "The Whirlpool" is a novel that pushes you to reflect on reality and its transformations.
The following excerpt from the novel best illustrates its atmosphere and style:
"For Fiona, the only way to achieve anything was to leave the tangled vortex of her life with people and events without any natural connection to each other, to take it with her and throw it wherever she wanted, without resistance, without creating any friction..."
