The introspective calm of the nameless narrator in Felicia Mihali’s novel, The Bigamist, translated by Linda Leith, sets the tone right from the start. In a forthright voice, she recounts her involvement in a complex pas de deux with two men – a situation that brings to the fore the expectations and contradictions of being a Romanian immigrant in Montreal, as well as the difficult task of grappling with who she once was, who she is becoming, and who she seemingly wants to be. A love story of sorts, the novel illustrates how real life can dull the fairy tale of searching for new beginnings, falling in love, and ultimately finding happiness.

Leaving Romania was her idea, not her husband, Aaron’s. He was perfectly satisfied with his life back home but, being easy-going, was willing to indulge her desire. This unforgiving dichotomy forms the foundational flaw in their relationship – the very one that will eventually lead her to move out, but not quite leave him. The novel is about her relationships with both Aaron and her lover, Roman. Both men are engineers and Romanian immigrants, but this is where the similarity ends. Aaron, “whose life was dedicated to undermining the system with his inability to adapt,” couldn’t care less about getting a job, and relies on our protagonist for his meals, his clean clothes and any tasks related to the home. Roman, on the other hand, is divorced, a successful engineer, and the owner of a large house in suburbia. It is through the Romanian-Canadian Writers’ Association, which she describes as being more of a social club, that our protagonist and Roman meet. 

The first few chapters present the reader with a story about a couple coming to Canada so that the wife can become a writer. Our protagonist starts a master’s degree in comparative literature, and her involvement in local Romanian cultural events and organizations figures prominently. The lot of the newly arrived immigrant is relayed in detail: intermingling languages, precarious living conditions, navigating basic necessities, and gathering with other Romanian immigrants. We quickly come to understand that our protagonist is not a victim of her situation. Her keen analytical eye, often supported by references to a wide variety of authors and books, details her lived “in-betweenness.” 

Her past, linked to Romanian life and tradition, is extremely well rendered in the trips she is forced to make back home, for her mother’s, and later, her father’s funerals. These passages were some of my favourites; they read true, and, in a sense, help ground and explain the protagonist’s behaviour back in Canada. It is in these escapes back to her homeland that the reader is able to grasp the extent of the internal repercussions and the threat of ostracization that the protagonist faces when leaving her husband.

Readers bear witness to a woman navigating the deep, personal meaning of uprootedness. She describes for us how she slips into a completely different environment with Roman, the man with whom she has fallen in love. Suburbia, mingling with his colleagues’ wives, the importance of having money and showing it – all these superficial aspects of her new life are disorienting. Who she was – a spendthrift woman who could fix anything in the house – no longer matters outwardly. Love is the force that brought them together, but will it be enough to keep them together? mRb