Miriam Toews
Irma Voth by Miriam Toews unfolds in the first-person voice of Irma, a nineteen-year-old woman in a Mennonite community in the Chihuahuan desert in Mexico. Irma and her family relocated from Canada for a reason not revealed until the end of the novel.
Irma is ostracized by her intolerant, abusive father because she marries a Mexican. Her husband abandons her because she doesn’t know “how to be a good wife.” Irma has been sheltered all her life. She struggles to understand what to say and how to behave. When a film crew shows up to shoot a movie about the Mennonite community, Irma agrees to serve as the translator since she speaks English, Spanish, and the Plattdeutsch of the Mennonite community.
Irma has a dry sense of humor. She feeds the German female protagonist zany translations of the film director’s instructions. She observes the crew and is ever curious to learn about them and life outside her community. When Aggie, her thirteen-year-old sister, is beaten by their father for spending time with Irma and the film crew, Irma decides to run away with her sister. She agrees to her mother’s request to take their new-born baby sister along. The three girls travel to Mexico City where they are helped by random strangers and where Irma finds employment and a place to live. These many acts of kindness stretch plausibility. The girls never encounter harassment or danger even though they travel alone. Everyone they meet is kind and offers guidance and a helping hand, all of which is wonderful but may not be too realistic.
Irma’s vision expands gradually as she navigates life from the claustrophobic environment of her upbringing. From her child-like behavior with her former husband, she evolves into a mature woman, responsible for her younger sisters. The film crew propels her to adulthood, self-discovery, and freedom. She is intelligent, tough, brave, and resilient, qualities she doesn’t discover in herself until she escapes from her stifling environment. Her interiority and dialogue alternate between dry wit, sarcasm, panic, humor, a tortured sadness for harboring a family secret, and a heavy responsibility for her sisters.
The relationship between Irma and Aggie is one of the strengths of the novel and is depicted with authenticity. They argue and bicker like most siblings, with Aggie exploiting every opportunity to challenge her older sister’s authority. But their love for and bond with one another is unshakeable. Irma’s teetering, growing self-awareness is another strength. Her plunge to freedom opens up new horizons for herself and for her younger sisters. She finds her voice in a coming-of-age story that is both dark and uplifting and which, unfortunately, causes her to feel guilt for tragic events beyond her control.