Tag: fiction

Book: Ben Elton “Two Brothers”

No comments

I haven’t written in my blog for a long time, but I’m returning with a book that has unexpectedly become highly symbolic of current events—when one country, under the pretext of “brotherly help,” wages war against another. And a third, also supposedly “brotherly,” sometimes helps the first, sometimes tries to stay on the sidelines. Russia, Ukraine, and Belarus.

Since childhood, I was taught that we must never allow the return of Nazism. I was psychologically crushed when, at around 12 years old, I saw the film “Triumph Over Violence“ (in Russian its title literally means ‘An Ordinary Fascism‘) on TV (I even felt physically sick from what I saw). For many years, I’ve continued reading and reflecting on how the dehumanization of entire nations and the transformation of people into monsters become possible. Documentaries, memoirs, and historical works are often far more terrifying than any fiction because with fiction, you can always think: “Well, this is just made up—things couldn’t have been that bad.” Even though you know they could. And they were. And now we see just how easy it is to “repeat it”—ironically, by those who, on a genetic level, should have carried an unshakable aversion to repeating it.

But sometimes, there are brilliant books on this very subject, and “Two Brothers” by Ben Elton is one of them. Perhaps because it is based on the real-life story of the author’s own family.

Read more

Book: Boris Akunin “The Road to Kitezh”

No comments

The History of the Russian State series by Boris Akunin recently concluded with its final book on the reign of Nicholas II. However, the last part of the accompanying fiction cycle has yet to be released. The Road to Kitezh is the penultimate novel in this fictional series, which serves as “additional material” to the main historical narrative.

In these novels, Boris Akunin traces the life of a single family from pre-Varangian times—presumably up until the 1917 Revolution—while weaving in the historical events of each respective era around them. Sometimes it’s engaging, sometimes not so much. But in this particular book, The Road to Kitezh, the central figure of the titular dynasty, Adrian Lartsev, though portrayed as a highly unconventional individual with a deep passion for railroad construction that runs throughout the novel, is actually a secondary character this time. The true protagonist here is the State itself. Everything the characters do is for the benefit of this very State and its people. The entire struggle is fought for a better future, which different forces interpret in their own way.

Read more

Reading Results of 2021

No comments

The main theme of my blog is books, so I decided to write about the best ones I’ve read this year and would recommend.

I’ve read 78 books, but the number isn’t as impressive as it seems because it includes several short children’s books that I read with my younger kids before bed. Still, there are many great books I can recommend.

As for fiction, I didn’t read much this year, and most of it consisted of well-known works that I either finally decided to read or was revisiting. I’ll highlight just one:

  • Britt-Marie Was Here — a wonderful novel by one of the best contemporary authors, Richard Backman. I savor each of his books and wait a long time before picking up the next one.

And the most delightful part: this year, I received the first review of my own book (only in Russian) — Graphomaniacs Don’t Cry.

Book: Roman Papsuev, Vera Kamsha “The Battle for Lukomorye” (Book 1)

1 comment

Well, the “Tales of Old Rus” project kept growing and evolving, transforming from a hobby into a remarkable universe with its own artbooks, lore, and bestiary. Naturally, the first fictional novel set in this world followed. “The Battle for Lukomorye” was originally planned as two books, with only the first part released so far and the second on its way. Since I’ve been immersing myself in the world of Old Rus quite actively this year, I read the first novel almost immediately after its release.

There is, however, some confusion regarding the authorship of the book. In many stores, it’s listed as having two primary authors: the universe’s creator, Roman Papsuev, and the well-known writer Vera Kamsha. Yet, the book itself also credits three additional writers: Tatyana Andrushchenko, Alexandra Zlotnitskaya, and Elena Tolokonnikova. It’s impossible to discern who contributed what. The book is presented as a collection of novellas, but no individual authors are credited for specific sections. Whether they collaborated on everything together or each worked on separate parts remains unclear—for now, the story doesn’t say.

Read more

Book: Leonid Solovyov “The Tale of Hodja Nasreddin”

No comments

I can’t quite recall when I first heard (or read) the name of Hodja Nasreddin. However, I can definitely say that his most famous mention is the parable of the talking donkey. In this story, Hodja Nasreddin promises a padishah that he will teach his donkey to speak like a human in 20, 30, or even 40 years (the timeline varies depending on the version). He then points out that within such a timeframe, either the donkey, Hodja Nasreddin himself, or even the padishah might die, making the whole process of teaching the donkey unnecessary.

Where did I first encounter all this? I honestly don’t remember! But the name of this witty and resourceful wanderer from the East has become universally known. So, I finally decided to read the most famous literary work about him, translated into numerous languages worldwide—Leonid Solovyov’s two-part series, The Tale of Hodja Nasreddin.

But first, let’s start with the figure of Hodja Nasreddin himself. To this day, it’s uncertain whether such a person truly existed, but parables and anecdotes about this character began appearing around the 13th century. They spread across Central Asia and the Middle East and became part of the folklore in some Caucasian, Balkan, and Mediterranean countries. There are even several places claimed to be Hodja Nasreddin’s burial site, the most famous of which is a tomb in the city of Akşehir, Turkey.

Read more

Book: Alexey Pehov “Wind and Sparks”

No comments

I’ve often heard that Alexey Pehov’s Wind and Sparks series is perceived as a continuation of The Chronicles of Siala about the thief Garret. To be honest, I used to feel the same way myself, especially after the details of The Chronicles of Siala faded in my memory following my first read. I even thought of it as “the next books after Garret.” Though I knew that wasn’t the case.

The Wind and Sparks series was written between 2005 and 2008. Between it and The Chronicles of Siala, Alexey managed to write The Last Testament (co-authored with Andrey Yegorov) and Under the Sign of the Manticore (which I still consider one of his best novels, by the way).

He also wrote the first half of the Kindret series at the same time as Wind and Sparks. So it’s impossible to say that the next story about Garret followed immediately after The Chronicles of Siala. By this point, Pehov approached his craft as a much more experienced writer.

The events in Wind and Sparks take place in an entirely different universe—it’s not the grim world of Siala’s thief. Although echoes of that world exist, they can easily go unnoticed, especially if there’s a long gap between reading the two series. But if you do catch those subtle connections, it adds an extra layer of enjoyment. There is a link, but the main connecting thread is indeed Garret. I don’t think this is a spoiler, as many have mentioned it before. That said, Garret is far from the main character here, though it would also be unfair to call him a mere supporting role.

Read more

Book: Alexey Pehov “The Chronicles of Siala”

1 comment

It might seem odd to write about a series that was written almost twenty years ago. I hesitated for a long time myself, fearing it might come out poorly. But since I’ve just reread it—why not?

Alexey Pehov’s Chronicles of Siala is not just a trilogy; it’s essentially a single novel (an epic novel), divided into three large parts/books. This was Alexey’s very first work, and in the twenty years since, he has become a highly successful and sought-after author, with his books even being published abroad.

The main character of the story is a thief named Garrett. For years, readers have been puzzled by the question: is he the same Garrett from the world of the Thief video game, or not?

Formally—no. And here I’ll briefly repeat some information that Pehov’s fans are likely familiar with.

Yes, both are named Garrett, both are professional thieves living in the shadows, preferring to remain unnoticed but capable of defending themselves when necessary. Both favor a small crossbow as one of their preferred weapons. However, the worlds of the game and the book are different, and so are their plots (though meticulous fans do find “similarities”). That said, the first edition of the final book in the series, Shadow Blizzard, ended with the following phrase:

The name of the main character, as well as the thief’s attributes, come from the virtual reality of the THIEF universe. – The Author.

Later, the author adhered to a different version:

Read more

How Else to Show Off

No comments

I was browsing through different editions of Dmitry Glukhovsky’s Metro series and discovered that the entire trilogy has been released in a single volume. There are also editions with different illustrations. One has a rather dull cover, while the other features artwork from the latest game in the series, Metro: Exodus. The latter looks very beautiful and perfectly fits the theme of the book (even though it’s based on the game).

But then I saw previews of individual pages from the edition and was quite surprised by the original approach taken by the typesetter (or designer) of this edition. Here’s an example of one of the printed pages:

It’s rather unexpected and very unusual to see text laid out in two columns on a page, making a total of four columns across a spread. Of course, it looks fresh and grabs attention. But for me, it would be inconvenient to read. And it’s unclear why it was done this way. What problem was the designer trying to solve?

Tell me, would it be comfortable for you to read like that?

Book: Sasha Filipenko “Ex-Son”

No comments

I heard about the book Ex-Son by Sasha Filipenko, so to speak, in passing. Then, unexpectedly, it started gaining more attention when a theater production based on it was banned in Minsk. Later, it came up in the news again when the production was eventually staged, but in Kyiv. It was heavily promoted, as if it were some sort of “protest book.” However, I don’t like such loud narratives, so I would have let it pass me by if not for several acquaintances who read the novel and gave it decent ratings. So, I decided to give it a chance.

Sasha Filipenko, a native of Minsk, moved to Russia during his university years, where he worked as a journalist, screenwriter, and even a host of several well-known TV projects. As a writer, he has been favored by prestigious literary awards. In 2020, when protests began in Belarus, he actively supported political prisoners, and it seems to me that this is when Ex-Son got a second wind, moving from a rather marginal niche to the wider audience of mainstream readers.

The novel itself was written in 2014, but I personally don’t understand why it is so often associated with the events of 2020. There is no direct connection whatsoever.

Read more

Book: Fredrik Backman “Britt-Marie Was Here”

No comments

As I mentioned earlier, Fredrik Backman is a writer whose books need time to leave an aftertaste. Therefore, no matter how much I enjoy the books I’ve already read, I’ve made it a rule to give myself a break before starting a new one, even if they are interconnected.

Britt-Marie Was Here is exactly that kind of book. It tells the story of one of the characters from the novel My Grandmother Asked Me to Tell You She’s Sorry. The events of the new novel begin almost immediately after those of the previous one, although they are mostly unrelated. This is expected, as Britt-Marie is a secondary character in the first book—one you cannot forget because of her obsession with order and extreme meticulousness about every little detail. She is perceived by everyone as a “pain in the neck,” someone who is not just difficult to negotiate with but even hard to talk to.

Partly because of this character trait, I took such a long pause between the two books. I simply couldn’t convince myself that the story of this woman would interest me. Especially since my wife told me that she liked this book significantly less than A Man Called Ove and My Grandmother… But it’s always important to form your own opinion.

Read more