Contents
You can relate to winter in different ways, but it is at this time of the year that we are especially pleased to spend time with an interesting book in our hands. You can choose the right one from the list of browser Artem Roganov.
In the mirror of the past
Justification of the Island by Evgeny Vodolazkin
The past is rewritten and forged. It also rarely helps to predict the future. Why is history needed at all? What is the point of such an imprecise science?
Evgeny Vodolazkin’s new novel Justification of the Island gives a non-obvious answer to this question. In the center of the story is a chronicle of the life of the fictional Island, where, as usual, one chronicler contradicts another, and some pages are completely torn out. Complementing the chronicle are the comments of centenarians, almost saintly main characters, and once spouse-rulers – Parthenius and Xenia.
Thanks to their sympathetic look, the book does not turn into a satire a la Saltykov-Shchedrin, but shows the interweaving of human destinies from different points of view, in all their complexity and completeness. From the Middle Ages to the age of the Internet, the Island has experienced dynastic and civil wars, revolutions, globalization and environmental disasters. From the life to the journalistic essay, the style of the chroniclers themselves also changes, reflecting the era in the language.
The island is a collective image of the countries of Europe, including Russia. His story is not one of humanity. Yesterday’s benefactor turns into a tyrant, and a good ruler at the end of his reign makes a tragic mistake. And each individually can be understood. At the same time, feelings, desires and, in general, the characters of people do not fundamentally change over the centuries.
New technologies don’t make us tougher or kinder. The events of history – be it a family legend, an official chronicle, or an ancient prophecy – are not about what was, and not about what will be. They are a reflection of human nature as a whole. A mirror that helps to see in the past something surprisingly close to pressing, including personal, problems in order to better understand them.
Edited by Elena Shubina, 416 p., 790 rubles.
Love
“Conversations with Friends” by Sally Rooney
The young poetess Francis is noticed by an accomplished writer. They spend several cozy meetings together, at one of which Francis meets the writer’s husband Nick and falls in love with him. Rooney subtly captures the nuances of romantic relationships in the XNUMXst century, from intense social media chats to polyamory.
The laconic first-person text reveals to us the inner world of the narrator, where the desire for independence conflicts with the desire to please. Flirting, cheating, breaking up – Francis and Nick constantly analyze their emotions, despite their closeness, they are afraid to trust each other. And when they finally manage to find the right words, the relationship changes, and in the most unexpected way.
Per. from English by Anna Babyashkina. Sinbad, 320 p., 429 rubles.
Dream
“And their children after them” Nicolas Mathieu
Opening a novel by Goncourt laureate Nicolas Mathieu is like returning to your old home. The problems of Anthony, his friends and parents are painfully familiar: fixing the car, finding a more suitable job, sorting out the relationship with the offended mother… The description of these everyday life is even addictive. But gradually Mathieu reveals a serious defect in the lives of the heroes – the lack of a dream.
Of course, they are not without desires. Someone wants to buy a motorcycle, someone wants to take their ex-wife on vacation, and someone wants to sleep with the neighbor’s daughter. But, achieving their goal, they fall into melancholy. Poverty has taught us to survive, but when the task is solved, it turns out that there is really no need to live. Unless, of course, you try to find a completely new meaning …
Per. from French by Serafima Vasilyeva. Eksmo, 480 pages, 487 rubles.
Healing
Get out of the maze
Both novels are different only in genre: Aleksey Polyarinov’s thriller is dynamic and as close as possible to our realities, while Suzanne Clark’s fantasy is a measured, visionary parable. And then there are continuous intersections: both novels are about psychological abuse, and both are built like labyrinths that you follow with a flashlight, trying to illuminate every detail in order to figure everything out.
Manipulation is a running motif in both novels. In each case, the manipulator convinces the person of his exclusivity, and then begins to set the rules. Such behavior is typical of both cult leaders and family abusers.
Moreover, violence often turns into post-traumatic syndrome and other disorders, when the manipulator is no longer around. There is only one real way out of the trap, and this is clearly shown in books: by any means to find someone who will respond and come to the rescue.
“Reef” by Alexei Polyarinov
The Reef is a labyrinth of different locations and characters. There, a heroine from the Russian hinterland finds herself in a sect created by a professor at an American university. She, along with other members of the totalitarian circle, is forced to renounce her personality in order to “find true happiness.”
Inspiria, 288 p. 460 rub.
“Piranesi” by Suzanne Clark
“Piranesi” is a labyrinth in the literal sense. In a beautiful House with many halls, a young storyteller lives, who was inspired that nothing but the House exists. He spends his days in this “other dimension”, unable to find the strength to sort out his past.
Per. from English. Ekaterina Dobrokhotova-Maykova. ABC. 352 p., 459 rubles.