September 2020
Varkensribben
by Amarylis De Gryse
For days, Marieke has been sleeping in a rental car parked along the canal. Just as she was about to do the laundry, her childhood sweetheart threw her out on the street. She lost her clothes, her home, and herself. The summer is getting hotter and hotter. So is the care home where she works the morning shift as a nurse. Due to problems with the move from the old premises to the new, more modern building, Marieke is left alone with the elderly residents in the stifling heat. But as long as she does not think too much, everything will be okay. She tries not to think about meatballs. About the old people wasting away in the facility. About that visitor she followed home. About her upbringing. About sausage with applesauce. About pralines. Or about raw meat and seafood salad. Then everything will be alright. Or will it? Pork Ribs is a tragicomic story about caring, loyalty, how memories affect a person’s life, and how food can be a substitute for all basic emotions.
