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The Ally by Ivan Repila review: biting satire about ‘the most feminist guy you’ll ever meet’

The Ally by Ivan Repila book review - Ana Cristina Câmara/Other Press
The Ally by Ivan Repila book review - Ana Cristina Câmara/Other Press

“I’m the most feminist guy you’ll ever meet.” So begins the tale of one young man’s political awakening in Iván Repila’s biting new satire The Ally. Our nameless narrator’s conversion to feminist consciousness is facilitated through desire, as he finds himself hopelessly attracted to a young activist named Najwa. He struggles to impress her and soon finds the easiest way to distinguish himself from any other suitors is to radicalise himself as a feminist.

What he discovers in his conversations with his mother, his lover, and his women friends are stories of how their lives have been limited and controlled by the external pressure of men and power. His mother sacrificed her dreams for her family; Najwa struggles to live free from the unwanted attention of men. He also learns that one of his male roommates has been filming sexual encounters without the women’s consent, and sharing the videos with friends. His moral and political outrage is sincere, but what to do about any of it?

“What a drag to have to think about these things,” our narrator acknowledges. So he doesn’t think, he acts. He harasses and yells at women for not doing enough to secure their liberation. He thinks if he makes women’s lives even worse through harassment campaigns, they’ll be sure to rise up and revolt.

The result is a very funny book about how hard it is to put political belief into action. It’s a delicate little song and dance it’s performing, saving all the punchlines for the absurdity of living a life where we are all hyper-aware of the bad things happening, but none of us has outlets for creating change. It would be easy to make jokes about naïve idealism and wokeism as a religion, or turn his character into a right-wing crank. Instead, Repila charms and amuses, giving us all a moment to laugh at ourselves for thinking we could bring down centuries-old systems of control with a tweet. There are no easy answers in The Ally, but there are some good jokes.


The Ally, translated by Mara Faye Lethem, is published by Other Press at £16.99. To order your copy for £14.99 call 0844 871 1514 or visit Telegraph Books