Missions of Beauty - Holofernes Moments

“Looking good means, you will be raped more frequently than others”, is the opening remark by Judit from Kinshasa, and she speaks from experience. Judit from Berlin cuts herself with a razor blade, because she doesn’t conform to any known idea of beauty. And Judit from Betulia poisons her husband and her sons, just to get some quiet time.

Sibylle Berg’s eight “Holofernes moments” appear to be randomly picked from current world events: they are eight spotlighting monologues by women of different ages and different nationalities, talking about injuries and scars, about self-mutilation and evisceration of others, about death and destruction. They don’t do so with a biblical impetus, but almost casually and deadpan, at times patchy, sometimes in frightening clarity, and at other times in complete self-denial – but almost always affected by dark bitter humor.