The best new books of the year. New fiction

Every year new covers, new titles, new worlds appear on the shelves of bookstores... But how do you figure out what to choose that is really worth reading? A rating of the most interesting and important books will come to the rescue. We are talking about the top 10 books, among which is a novel in the genre of historical fantasy. A play about good old wizards. A collection of stories from the Russian writer himself and much more...

We present the best new releases from different parts of the world and many hours of literary pleasure! So, the rating of the 10 most important works of 2016.

My Strange Thoughts, Orhan Pamuk

“My Strange Thoughts” is in many ways reminiscent of the Latin American novel “One Hundred Years of Solitude”, which is included in all times and peoples. These two books are united by the authors’ ability to recreate the national flavor, but at the same time remain artists, not documentarians. Orhan Pamuk once again proved that his novels are rightfully included in the ranking of the best literary works.

"Zone of Interest", Martin Amis

The uncompromising Martin Amis tells how the Nazis turned the concentration camps into a huge source of income; how Jews were forced to pay for train tickets to hell; How wonderfully incredible cruelty and incredible greed coexist.

For readers from the relatively prosperous year of 2016, it will be useful to remember what the Holocaust is and how important it is to remain human, even if the world has gone crazy...

This absurdist, but at the same time absolutely realistic novel about the everyday life of Auschwitz, in the UK was called the best book of the last 25 years. Of course, it is included in our ranking of the most important literary works of 2016.

"The Humble Hero", Marios Vargas Llosa

Another creation of the brilliant Peruvian writer, laureate Nobel Prize published in 2016. And again a novel in the genre of “magical realism”, characteristic of Llosa; and again - a masterfully twisted plot; and again - good humor mixed with melodrama. The heroes of the book are two ordinary people, and each of them wants to achieve their goal. Decent hard worker Felicito Yanage suddenly found himself in the center of attention of blackmailers, and businessman Ismael Carrera intends to take revenge on his drone sons.

In addition, a surprise awaits readers on the pages of the book: a meeting with some characters from other works of the Nobel laureate. The “highlight” is the unexpected ending, for which it is worth reading “The Modest Hero,” which was included in our “top 10 long-awaited books of 2016” rating.

"The Narrow Road to the Far North" by Richard Flanagan

The plot is based on the memoirs of the writer's father. During the Second World War he was one of those who built the Thai-Burma road. Why did it end up with a second name – Death Road? A former prisoner of war shares terrible memories with his son, who puts them into the mouth of the book's protagonist, surgeon Dorrigo Evans.

For modern readers, the sincerity of this work will be a revelation. How not to lose human dignity if you are in captivity? What are some people motivated by who consider themselves right to torture other people? Is there life after the war?

There are many questions, and for readers of this book, which was included in the top 10 best works of 2016, it is very important to answer many of them yourself.

"The Buried Giant" by Kazuo Ishiguro

Parable novel, a 2016 discovery that can be classified as fantasy, but must remain in the niche of “serious” literature. The most British Japanese writer in his new work raises the theme of memory and oblivion.

An elderly couple living in the time of King Arthur set off on a long journey. Their goal is to find a son who left them a long time ago... However, the situation is complicated by the fact that the country is shrouded in gloomy fog, due to which people lose their memory. Is it good or bad - that is the question that worries the author and readers!

Oblivion is the ability to forget about pain, war, suffering; memory can be regarded as a return to evil reality and the most severe mental anguish. However, Ishiguro is sure: memory, whatever it may be, should not become a buried giant. And the feelings of two touching old men only confirm this idea.

“The Buried Giant” is the deepest book of 2016, and is rightfully included in the top ranking of the best works of Kazuo Ishiguro.

"Shadow of the Mountain" by Gregory David Roberts

“The Shadow of the Mountain” is a fascinating read about universal love, the search for oneself in this world, the confrontation between good and evil. It is flavored with good humor and an adventure plot. Therefore, this “eight-hundred-page brick” is of interest to everyone who considers himself a connoisseur of good literature.

Children's Act, Ian McKewan

A powerful piece of legal drama from a Booker Prize winner. The heroine of the novelty, judge Fiona May, suddenly faces a number of problems. The husband's departure from the family coincides with a complex process related to the fate of a seventeen-year-old boy who was diagnosed with leukemia.

However, both the boy and his parents are members of the Jehovah's Witness sect, which means they are prohibited from receiving blood transfusions. The parents have come to terms with the imminent death of their son, but justice can change the fate of the young man - albeit in a way that is violent for his beliefs.

What will a judge, a logician, an atheist do when faced with a sincerely believing child? This question will keep readers in suspense until the very end of the book.

“Seven Lives”, Zakhar Prilepin

From voluminous novels, Zakhar Prilepin again returned to small forms. His collection of short stories “Seven Lives” is ten stories in which there is nothing political, but everything is based on psychology.

Readers will get to know characters full of vices and virtues, sorrows and joys, cruel memories and universal love.

The heroes of the new product are a drunkard, a family man, a priest, a soldier, a politician, a lover... Who are they all? It is quite possible that these are variations of Prilepin himself, if something had gone wrong in his life. The writer explains that his collection is like a garden with many paths: which one to step on, where to go? It all depends on the person himself, who always has the opportunity to choose.

Among all the books listed, “Seven Lives” is the most ingenuous and the most Russian. This is why it is included in the top 10, and this is why it is worth reading in one go.

"Wild Swan" by Michael Cunningham

Have you ever wondered what happened to the heroes of your favorite children's fairy tales after the word “end” seemed to put everything in its place? And Michael Cunninghame was interested.

“Wild Swan” is his next work, inspired by children's stories. Only a happy ending is not at all what awaits the beloved characters.

Fairy tales are over, they live in real world, where love ends, luck does not come to everyone, and to be different from others means to become known as a loser and become the subject of ridicule.

Cunninghame's books are sad, but not without hope. And you need to read “The Wild Swan” in order to become a little more humane and find a matured child in your soul.

Thanks to a non-standard approach to works familiar from childhood and a heartfelt plot, we give this collection an honorable place in the top 10 books recommended for reading.

"Harry Potter and the Cursed Child", JK Rowling

This happened! Fans of "Potter" are in a state of happy shock: on July 31, 2016, the official release of a new book about the adventures of their favorite hero took place. The long-awaited, eighth volume is called “Harry Potter and the Cursed Child.”

So, yesterday’s little Harry today successfully serves in the Ministry of Truth, and the history of a new generation of wizards comes to the fore. Or rather, Albus Potter and Scorpius Malfoy. With the help of a miraculous artifact, this pair of friends travels back in time; however, interference in “past affairs” can lead to disaster...

In general, the book turned out to be in the spirit of the good old “Potteriana”, but at the same time with new interesting characters. It is not surprising that the long-awaited work is included in the top 10 most interesting books of 2016.

Continuing the topic

• "A Spool of Blue Thread" by Anne Tyler;
• "In the Service of Evil", Robert Galbraith;
• A Little Life, Hanya Yanagihara;
• "HHhH", Laurent Binet.

Alla Leskova “Rain Cat”

A wonderful book by a St. Petersburg writer who came to journalism after many years of working as a successful psychologist. “Rain Cat” is a series of stories about our lives, written witty and ironic, despite the fact that the realization of what is happening brings tears to our eyes. You will truly enjoy this book. And after reading “Rain Cats” you will want to live, smile and play, even if these games are not entirely simple and fun.

Lyudmila Ulitskaya “Jacob’s Ladder”

An interesting book novelty of 2016 is a new novel by Lyudmila Ulitskaya, written in the form of a non-linear chronicle. She successfully used this technique in her other works. The story described in Jacob's Ladder covers an entire century, or rather six generations of the Ossietzky family. The book masterfully shows the intricacies of eras, worldviews, characters and cultures. On the pages of the novel you will not find unambiguous assessments and you will be forced again and again to look for answers to eternal questions with the heroes of “Jacob’s Ladder”: the intellectual scientist Jacob Ossetsky and his granddaughter, the artist Nora.

Christina Stark "Wings"

Books of 2016 delight with a variety of plots. The novel “Wings” can be called a fantastic thriller. The events of the book take place in different parts of the world. Together with the heroes you will visit Tibet and the foothills of the Alps, Saudi Arabia and bustling European cities. The novel contains many secrets that you will reveal together with the main character - young Lika Werner, who became a victim of a mental experiment. There is also a bright love line in “Wings”.

Guzel Yakhina “Zuleikha opens her eyes”

These are the new books of 2016. , as a novel by the young Kazan writer Guzel Yakhina, deserve special attention. No wonder this work became one of the nominees for the Big Book Award. The story of the novel begins in the 30s of the twentieth century. and tells about the resettlement of the Tatars to Siberia. The peasant woman Zuleikha finds herself in a carriage with hundreds of other people of different nationalities, social groups and religions. The book is dedicated to the victims of the Stalinist regime, resettled and dispossessed.

Neil Bastard "Death Carrier"

Exciting fantasy with a dynamic plot is a firm favorite. Here is another Bastard novel that has taken a prominent place among the new books of 2016. A wave of a deadly virus is moving across the African continent, rapidly affecting the population. Cities are in panic. UN mission scientists are fighting the disease. The vaccine is running out, and a plane carrying humanitarian aid crashes. You will find out how the catastrophic epidemic will end when you turn the last pages of the book.

Sasha Filipenko "Former Son"

This Russian writer is only 30 years old. He managed to receive an excellent education, work on Channel One as a scriptwriter for the programs YestardayLive, ProjectorParisHilton and Multipersonalities, as a television journalist and author of a number of Russian magazines. His novel “Former Son” is one of the long-awaited new books of 2016. The actions take place in the post-Soviet period. The plot describes the tragic fate of the boy and the touching love of his grandmother for him. The book perfectly reflects the harsh political and cultural realities of the country. The story is lyrical and emotional.

Also look at our article about, maybe you haven’t read some of this yet...

The last winter month - great time to spend it wrapped in a blanket, with a cup of hot tea and an interesting book in hand. True, it is quite difficult to choose exactly the work that you will definitely like from all the variety offered by publishing houses. ELLE will help you narrow your search to the critically and reader-tested bestselling books of 2016 and choose something to your taste from the list of the best.

The detective novel by Paula Hawkins has been at the top of the bestseller list for several years now, so it is not surprising that in the fall of 2016, a film of the same name was released based on it, starring Emily Blunt. True, the presence of a film adaptation is unlikely to reduce interest in the original text, because the book itself is really written in extremely captivating language and is read in one breath; it is not for nothing that it is compared to Gillian Flynn’s acclaimed novel “Gone Girl,” which, by the way, was also filmed.

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Sarah Gio "Moon Trail", "Morning Light"

Last year, two books by Sarah Gio, “Moonpath” and “Morning Glow,” made it onto the 2016 bestseller list. And this is not surprising, because the author, like no one else, knows how to describe feelings and tell romantic stories that you want to believe.

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"Sinbad"

The translation of the first novel from the “Neapolitan Quartet” series became almost the most anticipated in the past year. In addition to the exciting plot that tells the story of two friends Elena and Lilu growing up, another intriguing storyline unfolds beyond the pages of the book. The thing is that it is still not known for certain who is actually hiding under the pseudonym Elena Ferrante. But this did not prevent her from being included in the list of 100 most influential people in the world according to the weekly Time magazine.

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When listing the bestselling books of last year, one cannot fail to mention Jonathan Franzen’s novel “Sinless.” It tells the story of a girl who is in search of herself. The plot is quite textbook, but it may seem so only at first glance. The author touches on global issues of our time, such as the influence of Internet technologies on our lives and how the past can reflect on our present. By the way, many readers added another plus to the rating of this book for its excellent translation.

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Often we attach too much importance to things that are actually not worth not only our nerves, but also, in principle, attention. The book of practicing neurosurgeon Henry Marshall teaches us to appreciate what is really important.

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Despite its impressive volume and rather late release (the novel was published in the fall of 2016), A Little Life became one of the most read books of last year. A story about growing up, finding oneself, reassessing values ​​and everything that fills our everyday life. It is worth noting that this novel has extremely mixed reviews: some consider it the book of the decade, while others could not get beyond the 50th page. Why not form your own opinion?

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AST, Edited by Elena Shubina

Speaking about the best bestsellers of 2016, one cannot fail to mention the book “The Aviator” by the Russian writer Evgeny Vodolazkin. At the center of the story is the story of a man who, waking up in a hospital, cannot remember who he is, but describes in detail the revolutionary events of 1917. The intrigue lies in the fact that in fact the main character is our contemporary. By the way, Vodolazkin’s previous novel “Laurel” became the winner of the “Big Book” award, so it is not surprising that new job The writer was so expected. A pleasant addition to the publication was the cover, which was drawn by a living classic, artist Mikhail Shemyakin.

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"Alpina Publisher"

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Haruki Murakami "Men Without Women"

It is difficult to imagine how many best-selling books Haruki Murakami published. AND last book the author of “Men Without Women” was no exception. It included stories by a Japanese writer, the heroes of which were men abandoned for one reason or another by their lovers.

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Modern literature is constantly evolving. Today there are a ton of great new authors who surprise with their intricacies and interesting stories, unusual style of writing and creative design of books.

Every year there are many bestsellers that captivate readers from different parts of the world. The best books of 2015 are distinguished by their fantastic plots, which are impossible to tear yourself away from. The reader rating “Top 20 Popular New Books of 2015” includes interesting and most popular books that not only left their mark on people’s destinies, but changed many and influenced their lives.

Today, e-books have become very popular, especially since there are a huge number of gadgets on the market for reading them. Such books can be stored in one device without filling up your apartment, and they are much cheaper. You can make your own list of the best and most interesting books and re-read them whenever and wherever you want, without having to carry heavy volumes with you.

The ranking of the most read books of 2015 also includes publications that have long been bestsellers abroad, but in our country were translated into Russian and published only this year. Nevertheless, these books are worthy of attention and “most popular” status.

Books are life. They should not only bring pleasure, but also teach us a lot. Today there is a huge amount of interesting literature that teaches readers to be more positive, believe in the best and be kinder. Such publications inspire, make you think about yourself and start changing your life.

Our top 20 best books of 2015 is exactly the list of literary works that won the hearts of readers with their sincerity and real feelings. It is also important that a fiction book should be exciting, keep you in suspense until the last line.

1. Name: ""
Author: Anatoly Boukreev, G. Weston DeWalt
The book's high rating is due to the fact that it is based on real events that occurred in 1996 during the ascent of a group of people to Everest. Bad weather conditions and mistakes by climbers led to the tragedy. The book was written in 1997, but was translated into Russian only in 2015.

2. Name: ""
Author: Mark Levy
An interesting and exciting love story between two people who did not expect or hope to know real feelings. The book makes you think about how unpredictable fate can be, and how people are accustomed to not noticing the happiness that is very close.

3. Name: ""
Author: Paula Hawkins
It was no coincidence that Paula Hawkins' work was included in the list of the best 20 books of 2015. This unusual story about people who have their dark sides. We are used to idealizing everything, but the truth can turn out to be much more cruel and terrible.

4. Name: ""
Author: Victor Pelevin
The book is full of secrets, riddles, fiction and truth. This is a new world, a new level, new knowledge. This book is loved by many for the extraordinary skill of the author and is rightfully in the top 20 best books of 2015.

5. Title “The sea is my brother. Lone Wanderer"
Author: Jack Kerouac
The first works of the young Kerouac, which were considered lost. The book is unique in that it preserves the author’s special style. It was first written in 2011, but translated into Russian only in 2015.

6. Name: ""
Author: Haruki Murakami
An unusual story about a man who tried to find harmony with himself and the world around him. Haruki Murakami is an amazing author who creates unpredictable worlds and makes his characters very rich and interesting personalities. The book was written in 2013, translated into Russian in 2015.

7. Name: ""
Author: Harper Lee
This book is a continuation of the beloved work “To Kill a Mockingbird.” As the years go by, everything changes. The main character returns to her native land, where everything is no longer the same as it was before, and people, relatives and friends, are no longer the same either.

8. Name: ""
Author: Frederic Beigbeder
The book is about the writer Jerry Salinger and his girlfriend, who were separated by the war. In the end, everyone went their own way, but fate decided that the roads must cross in the future. The book was written in 2014 and translated into Russian in 2015.

8. Name: ""
Author: Chuck Palahniuk
Chuck Palahniuk always likes to question everything. In his book, he talks about a manipulative man who creates special products for women called “To the Very Tips.” The book was first written in 2014 and translated into Russian in 2015.

9. Title: “Marina”
Author: Carlos Ruiz Zafon
The story is about a young man who went missing. Friends and relatives searched for him for a long time, but he was found at the station. He has secrets that are hidden far away in a dark box. He will have to talk about the night when he met the mysterious Marina. The book was written back in 1999 and the author considers it his best job. Translated into Russian only this year.

10. Name: ""
Author: Bernard Werber
A book about our future, about what each person is. And most importantly, it touches on the topics of ecology, and what does our planet think about humanity? After all, no one ever asked her about this.

11. Name: ""
Author: Boris Akunin
This is a detective story, which the author himself describes as: “Technocratic detective”, “nostalgic detective” and “idiotic detective”.

12. Name: ""
Posted by Jeannette Walls
This book is the autobiography of the author. This is not just a story about a difficult childhood and difficult parents. This is a story about how a person, even growing up in unfavorable conditions, can change his life and not follow in the footsteps of his parents. The book inspires, makes you change and change everything around you, achieving happiness and harmony.

13. Title: ""
Author: Donna Tartt
Art, tragedy, new life, new person - this is probably how you can describe this creation, which was included in the ranking of the best books of 2015. A powerful work, written in 2013 and translated into Russian in 2015, touching the soul.

14. Title: ""
Author: Sally Green
A book for both teenagers and adults. There is something for everyone here. There is magic, witches and Great Britain. It is not for nothing that the book is compared to the series about the most famous wizard, Harry Potter.

15. Title: “Lights”
Author: Eleanor Catton
This is not just a detective story, where there is a murder, and a mysterious disappearance, and a real treasure, and people who have taken the path of reform, and revenge, and even spiritualistic seances. The plot revolves around 12 main characters, but they have their own peculiarity - each of them is associated with celestial bodies and zodiac signs.
Written in 2013, and in 2015 it was translated into Russian.

16. Title: ""
Author: Anthony Doerr
The book describes military events, as well as the fate of two heroes who are fighting for their lives and for the lives of their loved ones. The book is very bright and kind, because even a tiny ray of light can defeat real darkness. The book was written in 2014, and in 2015 it was translated into Russian.

17. Title: ""
Author: Narine Abgaryan
A story about a small town hidden high in the mountains. There are very interesting people here who have a strong spirit, a grumpy character and eccentricities.

18. Title: ""
Author: Jaume Cabret
The story is about a musician, a creative person, who completely rethought his life before he lost his memory due to illness. He decided to write down all those bright moments of his life that are still stored in his heart and which can disappear in an instant, dissolve into oblivion. The book was written in 2011, and it was translated into Russian in 2015.

19. Title: ""
Author: Andre Maurois
A touching and especially tender story about the human soul. The book tells about a man who has achieved a lot in this life, but in his soul there is no miracle of love that will turn autumn into spring. Only Andre Maurois can so sensually and subtly describe such beautiful feelings as love. The book was written in 1956 and translated into Russian in 2015.

20. Title: ""
Author: Dmitry Glukhovsky
This book is one of the most anticipated in 2015, and it immediately became a bestseller. It tells the story of an apocalypse that happened on earth. People who survived, hiding in the subway underground, begin to create a new world. But will he be that good? After all, human nature is very dark and warlike.

Many of the books included in the top 20 best books of 2015 are known and loved by readers. Of course, each of them can find its own flaws and shortcomings, which is what critics love to do. But even a negative review indicates that the book attracted attention, was read and appreciated, even if poorly. The main goal has been achieved – attention and active discussion.

In any case, this list of books is very interesting and deserves everyone's attention. After reading this literature, you will definitely be able to find a lot of interesting and useful things for yourself. A good book is essential for a good rest. Our ranking of the 20 best books of 2015 will help you find great reading.

The debut novel of the Moscow artist A. Nikolaenko “Kill Bobrykin” received the Russian Booker Prize. There is no particular poignancy or sociality in the novel: all the most interesting things happen in the soul of the main character.

We watch how the main character, Sasha Shishin, lives day after day: sleeps, wakes up, listens to his mother’s reproaches, is nostalgic and hates. He remembers his school years, when he spent all his time with the neighbor's girl Tanya and when his neighbor Bobrykin tormented him. Sasha is fragile and a little out of this world, and Bobrykin is his personal enemy, executioner and personal devil.

He always gets in Sasha's way, does some nasty things to him or simply says something unpleasant. Sasha tries to escape from Bobrykin into the sleepy kingdom; Bobrykin appears to him in a dream. Sasha goes deep into his memories, and Bobrykin is already there, with his stupid jokes and insults. “Bobrykin is everywhere, Bobrykin is everywhere, this is a universal evil that is better than you, which took away the love of your life and which also constantly rides in the elevator with you.”

The novel describes a very dark world in which everything revolves not around love and romance, but around death, murder, illness, where a mother is cruel to her son, where loving hearts will never be together. This is all secondary and in places strained, but the book has a single nerve that forces us to tone down the intensity of criticism a little.

Alexandra Nikolaenko is not as simple as it might seem after reading the first pages of the novel. “Kill Bobrykin” is a powerful book in its own way, and this is because of the continuous feeling of the impending apocalypse in which Sasha’s mother lives, because of the thick mixture of signs and superstitions in which her life is immersed, because of the rhythm with which it is written, even if not all, but a significant part of the text, due to the instability of that border world between reality and obsession in which the action of the book takes place.

The novel was received controversially by the reading audience. The story about the not entirely healthy main character Sasha Shishin with his bloodthirsty idea fixe is compared by some to Russian classics, while others call it experimental, some consider it meaningless, and some consider it a metaphysical statement. Some praise, while others furiously criticize the novel. They even argue whether it is about love or death. But everyone agrees that “Kill Bobrykin” is a powerful novel and indicative of the modern literary process in Russia.

D. Knoll “Happy girls don’t die”

“The keepers of secrets are waiting - they can’t wait until the secret knowledge is pulled out of them with pincers, which they no longer have the strength to hide.”

Jessica Knoll is a fairly young, but already world-famous author. She worked for several years at Cosmopolitan magazine, including as a senior editor.

Despite the fact that the book was released only this year, the rights to its film adaptation have already been purchased, and the author is currently writing a script based on his novel.

So, get acquainted. Ani Fanelli is a young, talented column editor for a fashionable women's magazine in New York. She is beautiful, cynical and ambitious. She is cunning, merciless and flawless. For those around her, her life is a beautiful fairy tale: her favorite job, an influential fiancé, successful in own business, an expensive apartment, a gorgeous wedding ahead and a comfortable, cloudless future...

But few people know that Anya has a dark, shameful past that contains a terrible secret, which led to a terrible tragedy that claimed the lives of several people.

The twisted plot of the novel will constantly send us back to Anya’s past. We will see everything from the very beginning and witness intense events.

The main character, formerly Tiffany Fanelli, is transferred from a girls' Catholic school to a closed elite lyceum. Previously raised in strictness by Catholic nuns, the girl finds herself in a completely opposite environment. Daily parties, alcohol and boys, gossip, bullying and intrigue - what is valued here is not what is in your soul, what matters here is what you wear and who you communicate with. Here they only notice who you are friends with and who you sit with at the dinner table.

Naive Tiffany quickly becomes popular and makes friends: first it is the inconspicuous outcast, the fat intellectual Arthur, then the most popular girls at school, Hilary and Olivia.

But, having quickly taken off, Tiffany loses everything and sinks to the bottom again, thanks to one innocent party, the guests of which were many guys and only one girl (guess which one?). Having disgraced the whole school and hushed her resentment, the girl again joins the fat man Arthur. Her offenders remain unpunished.

How was Tiffany to know that the good-natured fat man Arthur and his friend Ben, who had recently left school (who was undergoing compulsory treatment in a psychiatric hospital at the time of the events) had long been hatching a plan for revenge on the school tyrants:

“...it wasn’t Ben... A smile now appeared on his face, completely alien to any joys in life. There was neither the warmth of a sunny spring day after a long winter, nor the admiration that grips the groom at the sight of his bride in a white dress... Holding the pistol in his outstretched hand, he passed it from right to left. For a moment, each of us found ourselves at gunpoint..."

This book is about the “wrong” parents who think of their children only as dolls : “...dress nicely and put on some makeup, everyone should like you and make an impression...”.

This book is about terrible parents: “...they specially put military rifles under the Christmas tree for children...”.

This book is about school tyrants who mercilessly bully their classmates and think that punishment for their terrible deeds will never befall them...

This book is about the mistakes of youth and irretrievably lost youth.

But for everything in life you have to pay. For some it’s dear and irrevocable, for others it’s a lesson for life...

Ani, having recovered from the school nightmare, having left behind not only memories from the past, but also half of her name, considered that her life was a success. After all, she is marrying a wonderful man, “a young athlete with the figure of a god, the star of the high school football team and the king of the college prom.” Ani has won: her tormentors lie in the ground or roll on the ground in wheelchairs. And a wedding ceremony and a rich husband from a wealthy aristocratic family await her.

Throughout the novel, the heroine goes through a long life journey from a teenage girl to a cynical adult woman. She grows up and finally comes to understand that everything life values, so preferred and dominant in her life today are just tinsel. And the unnecessary gloss that she so carefully puts on her own image is in fact just stardust, masking the true picture of her life today.

Tiffany will see that her beloved, adored man, whom she was going to marry, is in fact an exact copy of her school tormentors, whom she so despised as a child.

She will understand that what she kept silent about in childhood and let go of was simply unthinkable to forgive and forget.

She will see that she has unfairly offended her school friend and undeservedly offended him.

She realizes that her beloved school teacher was her only friend at that time and remains so to this day.

This poignant novel is about growing up, the mistakes of youth and resentment. An offense that can not only cause irreparable harm not only to your destiny, but even destroy you yourself.

This book will be useful to read not only for young, but also for older readers, the first because of the instructive life lesson, the second - for a kind of manual for raising teenagers in the real, modern world.

After all “Leaving the past behind does not mean erasing it altogether.”

A. Salnikov “Petrovs in and around the flu”

Alexey Borisovich Salnikov is a Russian writer and poet. National bestseller award winner (2018). Born in 1978 in Tartu (Estonia). Student of the writer and teacher Evgeniy Turenko. Since 2005 he has lived in Yekaterinburg.

He gained all-Russian fame with the release of the novel “The Petrovs in the Flu and Around It,” which was awarded the prize of the critical jury of the NOS literary prize.

“Salnikov writes like, perhaps, no one else today, namely, freshly, like the first day of creation. At every step, he knocks the ground out from under the reader’s feet, shaking the vestibular apparatus trained by many years of reading “normal” books. All the random signs encountered by the flu-ridden Petrovs in their painful semi-delirium are assembled into a harmonious structure without a single unnecessary detail. Such cheerful chthon and infernal horror begins to ooze from all the cracks that Mamleev and Gorchev break into a friendly dance, and Gogol and Bulgakov applaud.” (Galina Yuzefovich)

The author draws the reader's attention to the disintegration of everyday logic that occurs on the pages of the novel: Alexey Salnikov creates a very detailed world for the Petrovs, describes the walking and transport routes of Yekaterinburg, typical dialogues with sellers, pharmacists, conductors, and emergency doctors. And the understandable world becomes incomprehensible to the point of tangibility. “The Petrovs in the Flu and Around It” is a stereo picture that consists of a thousand little details and the outlines of something completely different protruding behind it.

Car mechanic Petrov, a couple of days before the New Year, begins to feel that he is seriously ill, travels on a bus, meets an old acquaintance and goes all out with him. His wife works in the library, and sometimes she wants to stab someone. Their son is going to the New Year party, and a lot will happen there too. Stories of ordinary everyday madness, when in the reader’s head there is a clear feeling that all these flu-like adventures, phantoms, ghosts, crazy actions seem to be happening in a novel, but it is clear that this is all about us, about our lives. Great juicy details - “there were so many cigarette butts next to the urn, as if the urn was waiting for someone on a date and smoking a lot.”

Salnikov's book has a completely coherent plot. All the random signs encountered by the Petrovs in their painful semi-delirium, all inconspicuous symbols - from an expired aspirin tablet lying in their pants pocket to a strange girl on a trolleybus - suddenly gather into a harmonious structure without a single unnecessary detail.

An amazing, one-of-a-kind language, a grounded and tangible material world, miraculously not excluding flying fantasy, and truly magical flickering ambiguity, whether everything that happens in the novel is the flu-like hallucinations of the three Petrovs, or whether the witchy underside is really revealed for a moment peace.

Gradually, “Petrovs in and around the flu” turns into a mystical novel. Strange events, crazy people and other madness are hidden behind the biased description of everyday life. It remains a mystery what exactly is happening to the Petrov family? Have they gone crazy, or their temperature is going through the roof, or is there something wrong around them?

“The Petrovs in and Around the Flu” is a novel like a bright nostalgic memory.

The writer Alexey Salnikov shows our life in its most obvious manifestations, but turns these pictures into some sinister side. We cannot look at perfection, because it is our nature to always be dissatisfied with what we see.

As soon as the author shows us the terrible, unhealthy and ugly actions of a person, something happens that makes this book worth reading. The events that wedge themselves into the plot seem simply impossible, due to this there is a desire to rank Salnikov among the cohort of “magical realists.”

You so understand the motives of the characters in the novel, their inner darkness, which is inherent in any person, regardless of the social situation and emotional state, that realism becomes hyperrealism, without losing artistry, poetry, and this is the merit of the writer. As well as the fact that, despite partly criminal events, the novel does not produce a “black” impression, but forces you to understand yourself more deeply.

Perhaps the goal of the novel is for the reader to recognize his own skeletons in the closet - albeit timidly, uncertainly, until the last, not wanting to admit that even such a healthy and prosperous person like him has them.

The novel is ambiguous. As the reading progresses, the attitude towards the novel changes several times: the text, which begins as a slightly absurd adventure of a drunken car mechanic with a cold, one after another creeps in elements of a thriller and detective intrigue, and in the end all this imperceptibly turns into a kind of parable with references to ancient mythology and Not only. And, by the way, among other things, “The Petrovs in the Flu and Around It” is also, albeit very strange, but New Year's story. With a series of children's Christmas trees, Father Frost, Snow Maiden and a unique festive atmosphere.

Salnikov took on a difficult topic: an ordinary person suffers from his ordinariness, mediocrity, typicality, and even from the flu.

Dmitry Novikov was born and lives in Karelia. He studied at a medical institute and served in the Northern Fleet. Author of the books “Fly in Amber”, “Lust”, “In Your Nets”. Dmitry Novikov is a laureate of the “New Pushkin Prize”.

The hero of D. Novikov’s new novel “The Naked Flame” goes to the shores of the northern lakes and the White Sea for the present, which unexpectedly turns out to be inseparable from the recent past. Against the backdrop of the powerful northern nature, the drama of an individual here and now begins to seem insignificant, and the tragedy of the people - irreparably large. “And the next morning a company of soldiers came, Red Army soldiers. Two-thirds of the men were unable to set up a net. And those who came out do not look each other in the eyes. The water was boiling coldly, desperately - salmon was coming in waves. The red side of the sucker flashed by, the silver of the female - they did not understand where they were flying. They fell into the net - senselessly and stupidly. They were pulled out into the light, beaten on the head with moleskin, silently dragged in buckets by men, women, and children, gloomily loaded onto carts. Blood flowed from them in streams and was absorbed into the indifferent ground. With carts of two people, those who did not go fishing were taken away. No one returned..."

D. Novikov’s new novel “The Naked Flame” is a hymn to the Russian North, which is supported by well-founded assessments of modern Russian life, the religious component, and proposed ways to save a dying civilization. The author exquisitely explains the title of the novel, like a rainbow in the distance of the sea: “If a hole has opened, there is a feast for the soul. I don’t know, I can’t understand: why this open blue expanse so excites all the best feelings in a person. Here you have the joy of freedom, and sadness for those who cannot share this joy with you, and some kind of primordial courage, when you only hope in God and in your own goodness. And an unearthly force awakens in you, such a water force, when with each stroke you send your boat ten meters forward, and only your back catches this rapid throw and strains in time to maintain balance, but your hands know neither the restraint nor the limit. . And the sweetness of the air for your lungs, which only become light here, but before that they were heavy and strained everywhere.”

Main character Gregory is close to death many times throughout the novel, but is saved by prayer, miracle, and happy chance. Spiritual kinship with the Monk Varlaam of Keret, who appears here as a separate hero, becomes the main instrument of salvation, hope for survival, the future of the Pomeranian people. The novel contains many lyrical digressions, descriptions of nature, its beauties and riches, the activities of people in the North, and memories of the hero’s childhood. The author seems to reveal the truth about the land and love for the region with original expressive means. The writer also finds obvious truths with revelations: “The main Russian feeling is that when it becomes sweet, salt immediately follows. So as not to over-sweeten, not to weaken with permissiveness, to sober up. And how this feeling is instilled from childhood - this constant readiness for salt after sweetness. And how it, shared, is still sharper, tastier than simple feelings, which, divided into two components, loses much, immeasurably more than simply divided in half. Salt and sweetness together, at the same time, one immediately after the other, inextricably. And the knowledge that this will happen and always happens - salt after sweetness - makes you much, not twice, many times stronger and faster, allows you to be ready, to survive.”

The ending of the novel is optimistic, but disappointing conclusions also emerge through the outline: “Is it really always like this, is there really no outcome, no way out. There is no outburst for the soul. Really and why? Why do we live so submissively, evilly, recklessly and absurdly? We live blaming others and justifying ourselves in everything. We live fearing nothing and fearing everything. Not believing in the horizon and not noticing the ground under our feet.”

It is written with great love about Russia, the homeland, the North, the sea and Karelian rivers and nature.

Sergei Kuznetsov was born in Moscow in the family of the famous chemist Yuri Kuznetsov and teacher of French language and literature Galina Kuznetsova. In 1988, Sergei Kuznetsov graduated from the Faculty of Chemistry of Moscow State University.

Sergei Kuznetsov’s literary debut was the detective trilogy “The Nineties: A Fairy Tale.” The first major success was the futurological novel “No,” published in 2004 together with Linor Goralik, which was nominated for the National Bestseller Award.

Subsequently, Sergei Kuznetsov’s works also received favorable reviews from critics and were repeatedly nominated for various literary awards. Thus, the novel “Round Dance of Water” was included in the shortlist for the “Big Book” award. Critics have described it as "deeply traditional and at the same time completely innovative in form."

In 2017, Sergei Kuznetsov’s new novel “Teacher Dymov” was released, which critics called a family saga.

"Teacher Dymov""is a novel about a person’s vocation, about a dream, about love, which is one for life. About how they begin to appreciate their parents when they are no longer around. The work tells about the family soul, the change of generations and eras. The most important thing in the book remains human relationships, where the birth and raising of children and caring for relatives remains the most important thing.

To each his own time Teacher Dymov. Three eras, three generations, three main characters make up this family saga.
In the post-war period, a strange family takes shape. He, she and... her. Only this isn't a cheesy love triangle. Rather, a symbiosis of unsolicited sacrifice, opportunism, fantasy, immaturity. And all family members. They live in Soviet time. Here, as always, are the difficulties of life in provincial towns, the right to work and the right to rest.
The period of the collapse of the USSR, which occurred during the youth of one of the Dymovs, is interesting. The long-awaited democracy and imaginary independence made the guy’s head spin. He benefited from the surge in fashion for unconventional bodily practices. And freedom intimate relationships determined the life of his family for a long time.
In the final modern life grandson of Dymov Sr. He's absorbed worldwide internet, nightclubs, glossy magazines.
But the title of the novel is not accidental. The teaching profession would become part of the fate of all the men in this family, although no one intended to devote themselves to teaching. But it is the history of the country that makes each Dymov a teacher of his time.

The story of three generations of the Dymov family begins in the post-war years. Vladimir, a young promising chemist, having abandoned a scientific career, chooses the modest path of teaching chemistry at a provincial university. In the seventies, Vladimir’s son Valery, a physical education teacher at a Moscow school, left his job because he was far from social and political life. Esoteric samizdat falls into his hands and Valery is no longer Valery, but “guru Val” - he teaches yoga.
In the nineties, Valery’s son and Vladimir’s grandson Andrei, instead of the usual path of self-destruction or banditry for that time, chose the work of a journalist, and then realized that his calling was to teach Russian classics to children. Kuznetsov wrote about teaching, about the path to oneself, about living not by lies. About how difficult it is, but it is possible to maintain a balance between complicity and direct confrontation with the authorities. This can be called a passive protest, the idea of ​​which runs like a bright red thread through the entire canvas of the narrative: “The moral is that in our country an honest person cannot avoid the state, but must, must keep his distance from it all the time.”
“There is a lot of honor for this power, so that I fight with it, I prefer not to notice it.”
Despite this, there is not much politics in the novel, but the era appears through each generation of the Dymovs, determining the actions and characters.
Well, a lot has been written about love in the novel. The love here is special, unrealized. And, of course, love, first of all, Zhenya, visibly and invisibly present in the life of every Dymov: “This is what my life looks like, Zhenya thinks, turning away from the store: everything I would like is nearby, but inaccessible. Either behind glass or at a price I can't pay. So Zhenya remained at the display window for the rest of her life. Look but don't touch. Just to be nearby, and from then on to be happy.”
Evgenia Aleksandrovna Nikolskaya lived a long life: 1930-2014 - the years listed on the tombstone. When Zhenya’s mother died during the evacuation, the girl was left completely alone. I had to go to my aunt and cousin Olya, where I lived almost as a servant, taking up space on the chest and doing all the housework. Olya married Volodya Dymov, gave birth to a son, Valera, when he grew up and got married, a boy, Andrei, appeared, and Zhenya, as she clung to them, having fallen in love with Volodya, lived someone else’s life: she moved after her, furnished apartments, cooked dinners, raised someone else’s son, and then someone else’s grandson, she looked after her bedridden aunt, and then Volodya. Was Zhenya happy? Sometimes she thought that she could have her own wedding, pregnancy, her own children and grandchildren. But she couldn’t consider all the Dymovs to be strangers... What would they do without her?

Sergei Kuznetsov did not just write the story of several generations with all the difficulties and overcomings, love, betrayal and fidelity. He wrote the history of the country: the post-war years, the thaw, stagnation, the dissident movement, perestroika, rallies, protests - everyone will find something personal and lived on the pages. Maybe this book will help someone answer the question “how to stay true to yourself?” and will make you think about a lot.

This novel is about the famous traveler Marco Polo and his travels on distant shores.

Marco Polo is a real historical character. He was an Italian merchant and traveler, born in 1254, who gave us the story of his journey through Asia in the famous Book of the Varieties of the World, of which he himself was the author. Based on this book, Jennings wrote the novel “The Traveler.”

Marco Polo was born into the family of a Venetian merchant, Niccolo Polo, whose family was involved in the jewelry and spice trade. And mainly - saffron, which was very rare at that time.

Marco's fellow Venetians believed that Marco Polo's exotic stories about distant lands were an exaggeration, if not a complete lie.

Even this novel begins with a rather curious epigraph:

“When Marco Polo lay on his deathbed, relatives, friends and a priest gathered around the dying man in order to persuade him to renounce the countless lies that he presented as a true account of his travels, and go to Heaven with a pure soul. The old man stood up, cursed everyone present and declared: “I didn’t tell even half of what I saw and did!”

Mark Polo first appears before us in the novel at the age of five. He will grow up with us throughout the thousand pages of the novel, and the reader will follow the entire long path of his development from a green youth into an adult, wise man.

Marco's father, the merchant Nicolo Polo, the head of their trading house, which trades and produces saffron, which was rare at that time, and his brother Matteo, who left their homeland before Marco's birth, are forced to return back to Venice. Since the future great traveler, already in adolescence, will show the reader his sharp mind and thirst for adventure, thanks to which he will be accused of a serious crime and at the time the plot begins to develop in the novel he is forced to be in prison.

Having pulled their son out of prison, the Polo family will be forced to leave their homeland - Venice, and, together with their father and uncle, go on a long and dangerous journey lasting more than 20 years...

Marco, described to us in the novel, seems to be an extraordinary person, resourceful and simply very entertaining. After all, even just having met the great khan of all khans - Kublai (and at that time the Mongols would have already conquered the vast majority of the land), thanks to his abilities, he will gain his trust, become his closest adviser and confidant. Thanks to the brilliant mind and abilities of the young man, the Great Khan will appoint him as ambassador to Japan, where he will be allowed to establish the collection of taxes from the newly conquered population, which will be by no means an easy task.

Marco, presented to us in the novel, appears as an extraordinary, resourceful and courageous person.

Arriving with his father and uncle in Khanbalik, he will be presented to the great khan of all khans - Kublai (at that time the Mongols will have already conquered the vast majority of the land). It is thanks to his brilliant abilities and sharp mind that Marco will be appointed to a high post in the newly conquered state, becoming his closest adviser and confidant.

The novel is eventful and replete with descriptions: this is the history of the Golden Horde’s conquest of free lands, the history of Tibetan monks and Indian peasants, the history of ancient Tibetans and tribes of the Malaysian jungle. This is the love story of Marco himself and the most important woman in his life - the deaf-mute Chinese woman Hu-sheng.

Together with Marco Polo we will see ancient China, touch the Great Wall of China, see unconquered India, harsh Japan, Tibetan monks and cruel Armenian kings. Levant, Baghdad, Balkh, Manzi, Thampu, Khanbalik, the roof of the World...
It will be very interesting for the reader to read that it was with the help of his deaf-mute wife that Marco Polo invented and established in Japan the world's first gambling game on a green blanket at that time:

“If you play for money instead of beans, it can become a very expensive entertainment...”

And Marco, thanks to his brilliant abilities and inquisitive mind, will invent the world's first real bomb...

The novel is rich in events and history. The history of not only significant events, but the history of the production of various wonders, such as Persian carpets, the cultivation of saffron and the production of Kashan tiles, the production of fireworks, the construction of wonderful Japanese gardens and fountains spewing real wine and kumiss...

But, along with benefits and honors, Marco Polo will also have to go to war at the head of the great Tatar-Mongol yoke, earning the glory of a great warrior...

In the novel, not everything goes smoothly, and the characters are not always friendly and positive.

So, along with the lovely Kashan boys and the most beautiful Japanese women, the plot includes Mongolian cannibals, Arab murderers, insane executioners, as well as thriving slavery, which was widespread at that time on the vast majority of the land. All that remains is to add to this the widespread marriages between close relatives in India, death from unrequited love.

After his return to his homeland, the hero will become a very significant figure in the city, tripling his wealth and the influence of his trading house Polo, thanks to his enterprise and resourcefulness.

His fellow countrymen will envy him, they will discuss him, they will hate him. Everything he tells will be perceived as fables and fairy tales, but nevertheless, there will not be a person in all of Venice who does not want to follow in his footsteps...

After all, at that time he will be one of the first people who dared to take such a long and dangerous journey.

Strict conservative Venice will not accept the customs and morals of the lands of Baghdad, Japan and China, preached by Marco.
So the great traveler will end his life as an ordinary mortal, an unremarkable person who devoted the rest of his life to memories of past travels...

So, if you want to know what “death by a thousand” is, if you want to see with your own eyes the formidable military commander of the Mongols - Bayun, without teeth, but with a frightening porcelain jaw, if you want to taste delicious dishes together with the main character, and most importantly - unprecedented dishes, if you want to ride a white elephant, play a crazy game on horses where a headless goat carcass is used instead of a ball, if you want to meet the most beautiful women of the East and become the owner of countless treasures -
then this book is for you. Once you open it, you will plunge into an incredible world of adventure, distant lands, brave heroes and the most magical wonders of the world that you can imagine.

So this novel is not just about strange customs and distant shores. This novel is not only about adventures and wars for free lands. This is a novel about love. Forbidden, maternal and unrequited love. This is a love story that is not afraid not only of severe trials, but even of death.

I. Bogatyreva “Formula of Freedom”

Irina Bogatyreva is a diplomat and laureate of several literary awards, including “Debut”, International competitions named after S.V. Mikhalkova, V.P. Krapivina and Student Booker. In 2017, the novel “Formula of Freedom” was longlisted for the Russian Booker Prize.

The author graduated from the Literary Institute named after. Gorky has been involved in literature since early childhood; she began writing fiction at the age of fifteen. She was published in the magazines “October”, “New World”, “Friendship of Peoples”, “Ring A”, “Day and Night”, etc. She was the editor-in-chief of the magazine of young writers of the Volga region “Berega”. Her stories and novellas have been translated into English, Chinese and Dutch.

The main character of the book “Formula of Freedom”, seventeen-year-old Maxim Ganin, appears before us in the summer, before his last year of study. While in his senior year, Maxim's friends, like himself, are desperately looking for freedom. Freedom from adults, freedom from school, freedom from established norms and rules.

But along with freedom, everyone is also looking for love.

A new literature teacher comes to the prestigious lyceum where the main character studies; he is an extremely extraordinary and interesting person. He completely erases children’s stereotypes about a school teacher, opens up new horizons of knowledge and a completely different approach to both literature and life in general.

His appearance comes at a very opportune time, because the unfortunate teenager Ganin is at a turning point in his life: his father, a pilot, died four years ago, and his mother, who has never recovered, is on another binge. A completely useless teenager is tormented by guilt for his mother and suffers from unrequited first love. In the novel it is clear that Ganin himself is a bright personality with leadership inclinations: he is kind, good-looking, and also claims a medal upon graduation, which, in principle, is not difficult for him: “Ganin himself still did not understand , how he managed to get into the “caste” of medalists. He never paid much attention to his studies. He got into this elite school simply because it was nearby. He studied and studied, and everything came easy to him. His memory was good, he could repeat a page of text he had just read. I have never known tedious cramming or fawning for the sake of grades. No one ever helped him solve problems, simply because there was no one to help him without his father. And yet, he sat among them and did not understand what he should do here.”

At the same time, unexpectedly, Danil, the older brother of Maxim’s best friend Lenka, returns from his wanderings. He spent several years in one of the many ashrams (Ashram (Sanskrit) - the abode of sages and hermits in ancient India, which was usually located in a remote area - in the mountains or in the forest) and opens to teenagers another, unknown world of the afterlife, secret universes, preaches about the end of the world and freedom.

But what kind of end of the world can we talk about if Ganin and all his friends are about to pass the Unified State Exam and enter college?

How can you talk about freedom if you are not free from the entire system as a whole, and even if you are under the yoke of your parents? And what is it, the formula for freedom? Probably everyone has their own. And everyone gains this freedom in their own way: one dies at the beginning of life’s journey and is freed from everything, the second’s parents leave forever, immediately throwing the child into the whirlwind of adult life, the third drops out of school and plunges into adulthood, the mother of the fourth abandons the child and leaves things behind. and leaves far, far away, forgetting everyone and everything... Each and every one has their own formula for freedom, unlike any other. And it all seems so attractive, interesting and alluring, and it seems to Ganin and his friends that one could even die for this...

P. Hawkins "The Girl on the Train"

Paula Hawkins is a British writer who gained widespread fame after publishing her novel The Girl on the Train. This book became a bestseller. Within a few months of its release, more than 3 million copies were sold worldwide, and in 2016 the book was filmed.

The book is narrated alternately from the point of view of several characters, but the main one is Rachel Watson. This is a middle-aged woman suffering from alcohol addiction. Every day she travels to work by train to London, “which creeps past warehouses and water towers, bridges and barns, past modest Victorian houses lined up with their backs to the tracks.”

Lonely and rejected, she simply is not able to endure this train in a sober mind, so she methodically gets drunk throughout the trip:

“Lots of sun, cloudless skies, and no one to play with and nothing to do. My life, the life I live now, is especially difficult in the summer, when the daylight hours are so long and the saving cover of night is so short, when everyone around is trying to get out into the fresh air and is defiantly happy. It’s very tiring and very nerve-wracking if you’re not one of those happy people.”

“The weekend is ahead - forty-eight empty hours that need to be filled with something. I bring the jar to my lips again, but there is not a drop left in it.”

Not having any particular worries, as well as her personal life, she is forced to look at the houses and their inhabitants passing by:

“Leaning my head against the window of the carriage, I look at the houses floating past, as if frames were flashing, taken from a moving camera dolly. I see these houses differently from others; even their owners probably don't know what it looks like from here. Twice a day I have the opportunity to peer into other people's lives, even if only for a moment. Seeing strangers in the safety of their own homes has a calming effect on me.”

Day after day, trip after trip, Rachel is forced to create the illusion of a working woman so as not to upset last person, who has not yet given up on her. Her friend Katie, with whom Rachel is forced to live after her husband left her, is sure that she goes to work every morning, not suspecting that she had long since been fired from work for drunkenness.

Having survived a painful divorce (the main character's husband left her after five years of marriage for another woman), Rachel can no longer stop drinking on her own. She finds salvation in watching from the train window the same house with what she thinks is an ideal family.

She drives past this house every day and sees the same picture every day: a man and a woman, a beautiful couple: he is a handsome handsome man, she is a fragile, gentle blonde. In Rachel's opinion, they have everything that she herself lost - home, family, love and attention. Without understanding it herself, she created for herself the illusion of saving oblivion, christening them with the names Jess and Jason, imagining herself to be a part of their lives.

Maybe this would be the end of the main character, the main event in her today’s worthless life, if one day, while driving through Once again on the train past her house, she did not notice something strange and frightening: another man was hugging her ideal Jess by the shoulders! And the next day, Jess disappears. Rachel learns about this from the newspapers, as well as the fact that Jess turns out to be not Jess at all, but Megan Hipwell, a housewife and diligent wife. Megan's own husband, Scott, comes under police suspicion.

The secret that Rachel discovered could help the police find the missing woman. She is sure: that mysterious man hugging Megan is her kidnapper! But the woman is tormented by doubts: should she interfere in someone else’s life? Will the police take her testimony seriously?

A psychological thriller that begins as a simple story of a lonely woman, the reader is drawn into a storm of events that begins after one seemingly innocent observation. The plot of the novel will reveal the most terrible secrets of the main characters: the “ideal” wife Megan, ex-husband Rachel - Tom - the “ideal family man” and “loving father” and the main character herself.

The most terrible family secrets and the intricate plot of the novel will bring all the presumptuous characters to light, and Rachel, thanks to the current circumstances, will help to get out of the swamp that has dragged her in and, finally, take the path of a sober life.

A. Ivanov “Tobol. Few are chosen"

“Tobol. Few Chosen" is the second book of Alexey Ivanov's peplum novel "Tobol". The bizarre threads of human destinies, stretched through the first book of the novel, are now tied into knots.
Russian regiments go for gold to the distant Asian city of Yarkand, but will they overcome the expanse of the steppes and the resistance of the Dzungar hordes? The stubborn metropolitan makes his way to the sacred idol of foreigners through the resistance of taiga demons. The Tobolsk architect, using secret signs of antiquity, rescues from captivity the one whom he hates with all his heart. The all-powerful Siberian governor finds himself in the clutches of the sovereign, who must decide what is more important, his own pride or the interests of the state?
The stories of individual people are woven into the overall history of the country. And the history of the country is driven by the force of a fierce struggle between the old and the new. And its deep energy is the tension of the eternal dispute between the Poet and the Tsar.

“Tobol” is by far the author’s most ambitious work, filled with numerous characters and storylines, historical excursions and descriptions of the battles of Tobol and the military camp of nomads, the Old Believer village and prisoners of the casemate, the St. Petersburg and Moscow life of boyars and princes.

Alexey Ivanov himself responds to some reproaches for the inaccuracy of the description as follows: “The main tool of a historian is a fact, and the main tool of a writer is an image... A novel is not a research monograph at all. Therefore, I can invent something for the sake of greater expressiveness of the book. But in general I try to adhere to historical accuracy.”

But not only the description of theft and deceit of those in power is the essence of the novel. The main thing is people, without whom neither Siberia nor Russia would be what they are. And the red thread of the story runs through the fate of the Tobolsk architect Semyon Remezov, who did much more than others to develop this region and describe its history. And with his intractable character, he baffled both the governors and the leaders of the nomads. It seems that everyone in Siberia knew about “old Remez” in those days.

Critics classify Tobol as a historical epic, a political detective story, and even a mystical action film. In fact, A. Ivanov continues the traditions of Russian literature. He paints a canvas in which, using broad strokes, he shows, using the example of Peter the Great’s era, the entire life of the Fatherland: heroism, everyday life, daring, theft, and mischief, but most importantly, love for the native fatherland, for which they go to death without hesitation, and, if necessary, can help the whole world.

In the novel “Tobol. Few are chosen” Ivanov continues the story of how the stories of individual people are woven into the general history of the country. They are plotting evil against Governor Gagarin: they are constantly looking for something to catch him with and writing denunciations to the sovereign. Architect Remezov is pushing for the construction of the Kremlin. The military detachment of Colonel Buchholz goes to conquer Yarkand and falls into the trap of the Dzungars, who do not believe in the stated purpose of the campaign. Swedish captain Tabbert gets the idea to write books about Siberia and Russia, draws maps, and almost dies at the hands of the Tatars in a stormy cold river. Lieutenant Demarin is languishing in captivity and waiting to be ransomed. The Voguls protect their wooden idols and the chain mail of Ermak himself. It will not do without mysticism, both pagan and Orthodox.

The reforms of Tsar Peter plowed up Siberia, and everyone who was “called” to these free lands believes whether they were “chosen” by Siberia?

K. Stockett "The Help"

America, 60s of the last century, Mississippi. One hundred years have passed since the abolition of slavery. Blacks are no longer slaves, but still have no rights. In Jackson, a small town in the South of America, complete racial discrimination still reigns: people of color live in a ghetto, cannot visit white shops, they have separate restrooms, their own “colored” libraries and shops, and they are not accommodated in hotels. The only places for people of color to work are as servants for whites in order to somehow earn a living. Black women look after the upbringing of white children, clean, cook, and do laundry. Some devote their entire lives to serving a separate white family and raising other people's children, forgetting their own. But the reality is absurd: for the slightest offense, black maids can be thrown away without paying them a cent; tarnish their honor by accusing them of theft, or even put them in prison. Black rights still mean nothing. The only thing they have is their freedom.

Society is ruled by strict rules of racial discrimination and the categorical canons of morals in America in the 60s: it is not decent for decent women to work and receive higher education. Getting married as early as possible, settling at home and raising children is the real rule of that time.

Young white housewives, who have imbibed with their mother's milk the rules of behavior with colored people, treat them with great disdain and arrogance.

But among them there are also happy exceptions. Young Evgenia Skeeter stands out sharply from the crowd of her peers: she entered University is not just about finding a suitable husband, like all her friends did. Her mother, extremely disappointed that her daughter returned home unmarried, continues to try to get her married.

- “Evgenia, you spent four years on university. And what did you end up returning home with?

With a diploma, mom..."

Skeeter is smart, charismatic and independent of other people's opinions. The girl categorically does not want to become an exemplary housewife and sit at home, raising children and serving her husband. No, she gets a job at a local magazine, writing a column about home economics. She does not want to accept the generally accepted canons of family life and patterns of behavior in society. However, so is the colored half of this town: the colored people are unhappy, but they express their indignation secretly, in kitchens at night and in black churches in whispers.

But young Skeeter also has her own secret, which burdens and torments her. From infancy, the girl was raised by a black nanny, Constantine, whom she loved more than her own mother and considered a member of her family. They were very close and felt mutual sympathy and affection for each other. While studying in college, Evgenia wrote letters to her every week, missing her more than her own mother. But, returning home after four years of separation, the long-awaited meeting did not follow: the girl discovers that her mother threw Contantine out after twenty years of impeccable service because of a mere trifle that happened at a dinner party, hiding it from her daughter.

Having spent a lot of time and effort searching for his pet, Skeeter learns that Constantine, already in old age, died without waiting to meet her.

Crushed by grief from the loss of a loved one and resentment towards her mother, the girl decides to write a book about black maids and their work for whites, in order to expose the latter’s cruelty and injustice towards people of color. To do this, Skeeter collects material from women working for her friends.

At first, the maids are afraid to open up to Skeeter because of their fear of white mistresses. But the girl is fortunate in that almost every dark-skinned woman has her own pain inside, one way or another connected with whites.

The wise Aibileen's only and promising son, Trilor, dies at a young age at a construction site due to the fault of a white-skinned foreman. The saddest and most absurd thing is that no one is punished for his death. His death simply goes unnoticed in white society. Only in the lower corner of the local newspaper does a small note appear: “... and one black man died. No whites were harmed."

Minnie is the best cook in all of Jackson, she has five children and a drinking husband, whom she cannot stand, but is forced to endure for the sake of the children. She is a good person, but she has a trifling conflict with her white landlady and she kicks her out of work, undeservedly disgracing her in front of all the residents of the town.

The third has sons finishing school. They are going to go to college, but the money saved for their education is not enough, and the white owners, from whom their mother decides to ask for a loan, having ridiculed her, resolutely refuse her.

The grandson of the fourth was broken in the head by white men with rebar just because he went to relieve himself in a toilet for whites. His inconsolable grandmother, being on the verge of despair, herself came to Skeeter to tell her story, so her grandson also became blind from the tramples he received.

And there are many, many more such heart-warming stories in the city. And it is about them that Skeeter decides to tell the whole world.

Her book will be a resounding success and will radically change the situation in the city.

Many works have been written about slavery in America. But this book by Kathryn Stockett is special and not like the books of other authors, who, in essence, only expose whites in their ignorance and arrogance.

“The Help” will show us it in more detail, from the inside, we will see how absurd and offensive racial discrimination was in American society, in this book good will be able to defeat evil, and with all the possible humor that this topic is generally capable of.

John Boyne "The Boy in the Striped Pajamas"

This is a poignant story about a German boy named Bruno, who one day has to move to Poland with his family.

The year is 1943, the boy’s father serves as a military man under Hitler himself, and in this rather short novel, we will meet him more than once. As the characters in the book say: “Furor has big plans for Father Bruno.” And one fine day, Father Bruno is offered the high post of commandant of the Auschwitz concentration camp.

The entire narration of the novel is told from the perspective of a ten-year-old boy. Through his eyes, we see how he misses Berlin, his “lifelong friends,” his five-story house and the amenities that surrounded him. In the new country the boy has no friends, no acquaintances. He has no one to play with. And he has no idea that he is in close proximity to a German concentration camp.

One day on the street Bruno meets someone his own age, a Jewish boy named Shmuel. This boy is very different from ordinary children - he has a shaved head, is very thin, he is depressed and sad. Having become friends, the children begin to feel mutual sympathy for each other, and only the barbed wire separating the children prevents them from becoming full-fledged playmates.

And it would seem, what continuation could this story have? Story impossible friendship without continuation? So Maybe and it would have been if one day, upon meeting, the upset Shmuel had not told Bruno that his father had disappeared somewhere... After waiting for him for more than one day, Shmuel invites Bruno to go in search of his father together. The guys come up with the idea to dress Bruno in a striped uniform and climb over the fence into the camp territory...

Bruno's family will wait in vain for him until the evening and all the following days... The father and all his soldiers will search for the boy throughout the house and camp for a long time, but will only find crumpled clothes near the fence.

After some time, when the search for Bruno is over, his father, once again walking around the site, will stop at the place where the boy’s clothes were found, look at the fence and understand where his son went...

“In this place, the fence was not properly attached to the ground, and if you lift the wire, then a short and not fat person (for example, a ten-year-old boy) could crawl under it.”

This is a very sad, non-children's novel about children with a shocking ending. This is a novel about children of war, who are on opposite sides of the barricades, nourishing an unrealistic hope for another, happy childhood...

Lauren Oliver "Before I Fall"

Lauren Oliver grew up in a family of writers and was accustomed to a creative environment at home from childhood. She passionately loved books and, having finished reading a story, began to write a sequel to it, so as not to be separated from the characters longer. Well, later I moved on to writing my own stories. Her debut young adult novel, Before I Fall, was published in 2010 and became a fixture on the bestseller lists.

School graduate Samantha Kingston and her three closest friends get away with everything - bullying their peers, outrageous pranks and skipping classes. They get everything easily and simply - invitations to the best parties, the best guys and universal adoration. But one day everything changes, as the main character dies in a car accident. And it would seem that the romance should have ended here, but that was not the case. In the morning, Samantha wakes up again, as if nothing had happened. She realizes that she is forced to live the day of her death over and over again.

And, although at first, the discouraged girl despairs, later she understands that her day repeating itself again and again is not just a punishment for all her bad deeds, but an opportunity to prevent her death, to see the little things around her that she did not notice before. Looking back, she sees that her closest friend, the angel with white wings she has been pretending to be all these years, is actually an evil, ruthless tyrant. That the most popular guy at school, about whom Samantha had been dreaming since elementary school and who later became her boyfriend, does not love her at all and is not at all the person she needs. And the young school teacher, with whom all the girls in the class are in love, is actually an insidious, vile type who chases young girls.

The space-time loop in which the main character finds herself will help her understand her surroundings, discern the falseness in her life, punish offenders and help those who really need help. And most importantly, a day that repeats itself again and again will give Samantha the opportunity to see true, pure, mutual love next to her.

"Stone's Cutting" is a lifelong story of love, betrayal and redemption, human frailty and fortitude, exile and a long return home."

“The rich man’s mistakes are covered by money, the surgeon’s mistakes are covered by earth.”

Abraham Verghese - MD, professor at Stanford University, co-director of the Stanford School of Medicine. Verghese was born in 1955 to two Indian teachers who worked in Ethiopia and grew up in Addis Ababa, where he began studying medicine. After the overthrow of the emperor, Verghese's family emigrated to the United States, where he continued to study medicine. Like many foreign doctors, Verghese worked in free hospitals and clinics, where he gained extensive practical experience.

In the mid-80s of the last century, Abraham Verghese worked at the Boston City Hospital, during these years the AIDS epidemic began, and a huge number of patients from poor communities passed through his hands. People suffering from severe pain required special therapy, and Verghese developed his own physiotherapeutic technique, which subsequently became widespread. In modern medicine, the name of Abraham Verghese is very significant; he is one of the leading physiotherapists in the world.

Verghese's first literary experiences were also related to medicine; in his first book, “My Country: A Doctor's Story,” he described his personal experiences of treating terminally ill patients, the bond that arises between a doctor and such patients, and the suffering that is part of life. the doctors. His interest in writing turned out to be serious, and Verghese began publishing regularly in serious non-medical publications, including The New Yorker and The Atlantic.

"Stone's Dissection" is the author's third novel. This is a book about medicine in life and the lives of people in medicine. This is the indescribable flavor of Africa, with all its contents: Ethiopians, cuisine, culture, illnesses and sorrows, joys and suffering. This is a novel about love.

Are you familiar with Ethiopia? What about its cities? This book will change your understanding of Africa. Imagine: 1947. The small dusty town of Addis Ababa at an altitude of eleven thousand feet above sea level, hot air, missionary hospital. There is not enough staff here - doctors, nurses and just workers. There is a catastrophic shortage of medicines here - only antiseptic, bandages and cotton wool are available. The patients are the poor population of the town, the poor and their children, prostitutes and military personnel. But there are wonderful doctors working here who fight for the life of every patient. Life here goes on as usual: receiving patients, planned operations, unplanned deaths. But the usual routine is disrupted by shocking news: in the hospital, under tragic circumstances, two twin boys are born, fused at the back of their heads. Mary Joseph Praise, the Indian nun who gave birth to them, dies. She had been working in this hospital for seven years, and the most amazing thing was that she managed to hide her pregnancy for all nine months. Therefore, the entire hospital staff was shocked by this circumstance. However, just like the father of the twins - Thomas Stone, a surgeon, English by birth.

Thanks to the professionalism of the doctors who separated the boys immediately after birth, the twins managed to survive. They are adopted by Indian doctors working at the hospital - Hema and Ghosh, who has long been in love with her.

«… “I won the lottery without buying a ticket,” she thought. “The twins filled a hole in my heart that I didn’t even know existed...»

The boys are named Marion and Shiva Stone. Their father, shocked by the death of his beloved, leaves the hospital immediately after their birth, unable to stay within the walls of the hospital.

The twins who grew up in a missionary hospital, absorbed the whole essence of the physiological and chemical processes of the medical profession, and from birth heard only terms instead of ordinary words. medical origin, there is simply no question about choosing a life path and profession: one will become a surgeon, the other a gynecologist.

" Shiva became a doctor by vocation, and achieved success easily and naturally, since I had to achieve success in my studies through painstaking work and years of practice..."

Also from birth, the neighbor’s girl Genet, the daughter of their maid, will grow up with her brothers. She will become Marion's first love, the main woman in his destiny, to whom he will be faithful until the end of his life.

There is a lot of love in the novel. This is the love of Dr. Stone for his sister Mary, this is the brotherly love of Marion and Shiva, this is the love of Marion for Genet, the love of Hema and Ghosh.

We will never know the details of the romance between Dr. Stone and Sister Mary, why she didn’t reveal her main secret to anyone. A secret that killed her and left two children orphans. The author will also leave us the opportunity to figure out their love story ourselves - there is not a word about this in the novel. But Marion, who grew up with adoptive parents, will think about his mother all his life and look for the father who left him.

Twins joined at the back of their heads in the womb and later separated by doctors will find themselves bonded together for life. Spiritually connected: “... until the age of five, Shiva was silent, and since I always knew what he was thinking, I spoke for two, and the adults simply did not notice that he did not speak.”. Physically connected: "...from the fact that I had to leave and leave my brother, I felt almost physical pain...". And finally, their fate will forever be determined by the same woman, who will bring them the greatest joy in life, and almost destroy both brothers.

Life will take Marion and Shiva across different continents, but will bring them together thanks to tragic circumstances that will determine their fate.

This, apparently, is the karma of both brothers: to be inextricably linked throughout life, as if the thread that connected them even before birth bound them forever with one fate, one life, one love.

K. Manning "My Unholy Life"

Keith Manning is a former documentary television producer and two-time Emmy Award winner. She has published her work in such renowned publications as The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Guardian, Glamor and many other newspapers and magazines.

In America in the 19th century, people are still dark and ignorant in matters of childbirth. Medicine is available only to the wealthy contingent of the city. Child mortality is breaking all records: children die during childbirth, from all kinds of diseases and simply from the ignorance of adults. Women die during childbirth and their consequences. Men in every possible way abstract themselves from problems associated with childbirth and are deaf to everything that they consider directly a “women’s issue.”

Little beggar Exie Muldoon from a poor Irish family, along with her younger sister and brother, begs on the cold streets of New York because their mother lost her job in a factory when her hand got caught in an ironing machine due to lack of medical attention. was provided on time, gangrene began.

On the cold streets of New York, the children meet a priest who undertakes to arrange their fate, since their mother can no longer take care of them. He finds parents for Exie's younger brother and sister, and they are placed in different foster families. Children lose touch and grow up strangers to each other.

Exie, not placed in any family, is forced to return back to her mother, whose arm has been amputated by that time. The girl finds her mother one-armed, completely healthy and pregnant again. Having lived next to her mother for some time, Exy again suffers misfortune: her mother dies during childbirth in her arms.

Left alone, after so many sad events in her life, the girl finally gets her “lucky ticket”: her friends get her a job as a maid in a clinic that works at home. A turning point in her life is coming.

Having proven herself to be a diligent student, the girl is soon entrusted with serious work: from preparing mixtures and powders to assisting during childbirth. She goes a long way from a simple servant to an assistant midwife.

Having become an adult woman, Exy founded her own production, starting small: selling various potions and powders from female ailments to childbirth and termination of pregnancy. She becomes the first person of that time to encroach on a forbidden topic - the mystery of conception and childbirth.

Some people will call her “the savior”, while others will call her “the wicked”, since the problems that she raised at that time were not usually brought to the surface.

Being by nature hardworking and compassionate, wishing only the best for people, she will try to save women from death, from death, from disease.

Having acquired rich life experience and strong intuition, she will create more and more new forms of treatment and prevention of women's ailments. But, remaining the same little beggar at heart, and even having earned great fortune, she will still help people by providing services to poor women for free.

Having become a very rich lady, known not only in the circles of high society, but also among the insolvent population of the city, she will have among her visitors representatives of all classes of New York at that time: these are rich and noble ladies, mothers of large families, and desperate “fallen " women.

Over the years, the main character will acquire loyal friends and influential patrons, and find a family. Exie will change her name and call herself Madame de Bossac. But, having soared to the very top, becoming fabulously rich, in her soul she will remain exactly the same as before, a poor orphan with a funny name - Exie Muldoon, hardworking, compassionate and sensitive towards other people, unable to refuse help to those in need, and who dedicated her entire life to saving others.

Thomas Keneally "Daughters of Mars"

For the first time in Russian - a book from the creator of the famous novel "Schindler's List", which brilliantly combined family history and historical novel.

"Daughters of Mars" is a vivid story about war and love without unnecessary words. In the novel, the author will show us what is vitally important in war: life and love.

The First World War is in full swing. At the same time, the story of the two main heroines of the novel begins - Australian sisters Sally and Naomi. Both of them work as nurses in different hospitals. Their mother, Mrs Durance, is seriously ill: in the final stages of cancer, she is slowly dying at home. The sisters take turns watching the patient. Taking advantage of her official position, Sally steals small doses of morphine from the hospital to ease her mother's suffering. She soon accumulates a sufficient dose for the “injection of mercy”, and suddenly at night their mother dies. The author never fully shows us why she died: from illness or from a lethal dose of morphine that one of her daughters gave her. A silent question hangs between the sisters and they move even further away from each other: “Just yesterday, their relationship was dominated by alienation. Now everything has changed. Now the alienation has been replaced by secrecy, but of a special kind, one that brings us closer together...” Not having dared to ask each other the decisive question “What really killed mom - cancer or morphine?”, the girls volunteer to go to the front as nurses. Sally and Naomi, already not very close in life, will be scattered to different ends of the front and will be brought together by the twisted plot of the novel, the action of which will unfold directly against the backdrop of military operations.

Throughout the entire novel, only one silent question will hang between the sisters: which of the two is the executioner, and which is the angel of mercy? Mental anguish and guilt will push them into the whirlpool of events taking place on the battlefield and in the silence of a military hospital. And although each will have “its own war,” the same thing will happen there: death, hunger, cold in the trenches and pangs of conscience. It would seem that what can you imagine at the front, except for military operations? The author will show us that at the front there is a place for intrigue and betrayal, the unprofessionalism of doctors and the meanness of military commanders, and most importantly, human hatred.

Sally and Naomi, as the true daughters of the god of war, and it is in his honor that the novel is named, will go through the entire front from beginning to end, falling into a whirlpool of events that will ultimately decide their fate: one will meet her love, the other will find hers in the war last refuge. But before this, the sisters will finally forgive each other for their past insults, seeing in each other a kindred spirit, which they were unable to consider due to the secret that weighed them down.

And if you have already read a lot about the First World War and consider yourself quite knowledgeable in this area, then this novel will be a pleasant discovery, since the author describes this war in his own way, with many interesting details and facts, and will show us this war with a slightly different side - from the inside. And we learn that in war, despite death, there is a place for other things: friendship and love, heroism and hope, and most importantly, life.

The story told by the author will reveal the war very picturesquely, so that the reader, who knew nothing about the war, will see everything with his own eyes: here soldiers are like cannon fodder and human life is worth nothing, soldiers in this war get sick, suffer and die. The author does not embellish the war and will show us it as it is: bloody, senseless and merciless.

Toni Morrison "Beloved"

We've been waiting for this book to come out since 1995! The novel was first published in the magazine “Foreign Literature” in the December 1994 issue. We've been waiting for more than twenty years!

To those in the know, the name speaks volumes: She is the first African-American woman to win the Nobel Prize in Literature, in 1993 for her unforgettable novel Beloved, and as a writer who brought to life an important moment in American reality through her novels, she is a recipient of the Pulitzer Prize and the Presidential Medal of Freedom. Among the writer's many awards is the National Book Foundation Medal for Outstanding Contributions to American literature(1996). And also an editor and professor.

Her real name is Chloe Ardelia Wofford, born in Ohio. Since childhood, she loved to read, among her favorite authors are Jane Austen and Lev Tolstoy. Her father, who worked as a welder, in his free time loved to tell stories from the life of black people in America, which was later reflected in the writer’s books.

After graduation, she began teaching English at South Texas University.

Her teaching career was successful. In 1984, she was appointed Albert Schweitzer Professor at the State University of New York at Albany. Since 1989, she has served on the Robert F. Goen Chair at Princeton University. In 2006, at the age of 75, she retired.

Toni Morrison's most famous novel is Beloved. Readers should be warned that this book, despite the title, is not a romance novel at all. This book is about slavery.

It's scary to imagine that the novel is based on events that actually happened in Ohio in the eighties of the 19th century. It's scary that an African-American woman, Margaret Garner, actually killed her child, saving him from slavery, and that she was not alone.

This event shocked and attracted the author. Toni Morrison decided to write a novel and show in it not only the way of life of the black population, but their indignation and indignation caused by lack of freedom, the inability to manage their own lives, and have a family. Against the backdrop of slavery, the author develops the theme of love, which is excommunicated from childhood, when you cannot love because you are a slave. A family can be destroyed at any time: sold into slavery, killed. That is why the tragedy occurred.

The intrigue of the work is known from the preface - a slave kills her own daughter.

This is a dramatic and touching, amazing and poignant story about a black slave, Sethe, who committed a stunning act.

The reader's attention in the novel is drawn to two Houses. While the Garners were alive, this was a house in which slaves were treated humanely, not beaten, fed, and it was even possible to ransom relatives from slavery. When Sethe arrived at Sweet Home, she was thirteen. There were six slaves on the Garner household and one woman, Sethe. Five black men allowed her to choose one. And she chose Halle. Sethe was actually lucky - she got six years of married life and Halle was the father of all her children, her beloved

House 124 is the house where Baby Suggs, Halle's mother, Sethe's mother-in-law, lived. She was called a holy woman because, despite the fact that she was deprived of seven children, she found the strength to help others. This was the House in which fugitives gathered in the evenings, sometimes leaving notes to be passed on, and staying on their own.

This book is about Sethe the killer, the fate of a simple black woman who lost everything and had no right to vote, could not even tell what was done to her. And not only with Sethe. They also worked on Sethe’s mother and her friend Nan, believing that if they were slaves, then they should not have any self-esteem. Sethe's mother protested against violence and humiliation in her own way: she threw children born from white rapists overboard, without even giving a name, and left one on the island... She was hanged. And only Sethe received a name because she was born from the only black man whom her mother loved.

The reader is captivated by the femininity, caring, warmth and beauty of Sethe’s soul. While working in the Garner house, she would bring some pretty bouquet with her to feel cozy in the kitchen, and when she was getting ready to marry Halle, she secretly sewed herself Wedding Dress. Sethe was a good embroiderer and had the opportunity to earn, albeit small, money.

Sethe was attentive and respectful: she always tried to do what she could to please her mother-in-law, Baby Suggs. And, if she wanted something from the colors of the rainbow, then Sethe would certainly find lilac and pink rags, and Paul D tried not to be reminded of his humiliating position when he was wearing a collar.

And it is quite clear that she passionately loved her children and no one could take away or kill this maternal feeling from her. But Paul D believed that a former slave should not love someone so much, especially her children. He's probably wrong after all - mother's love adorns a woman.

Toni Morrison was able to talk about the main thing in simple words, to convey to the reader what her characters are thinking about, showing the most vulnerable, deepest thoughts and feelings.

Some readers classify Toni Morrison's novel as a shocking book. To such works as: Alexievich S. “War does not have a woman’s face”, N. Ammaniti “I’m not afraid”, A. Kristoff “Thick Notebook”, A. Pristavkin “The Golden Cloud Spent the Night”.

A wonderful work was translated into Russian by Irina Togoeva. Irina Alekseevna translated the novel “Beloved” back in 1994. The translator already believed that the publication of Toni Morrison’s novel “Beloved” was a significant event in literary life. But more than twenty years passed when this was finally confirmed by time and they finally started talking about her.

Irina Togoeva is an Africanist by training and taught African literature and folklore at the Institute of Asian and African Countries. Irina Alekseevna translated other works by Toni Morrison, as well as many works by Ursula Le Guin.

On the recommendation of the expert of the Yasnaya Polyana literary award, Yulia Rautbort, head of the group of modern foreign literature of the Eksmo publishing house, the novel “Beloved” by Toni Morrison was included in the 2017 longlist in the “Foreign Literature” nomination.

The book was received by the Central City Library, and the journal “Foreign Literature” with the first publication of the novel was also preserved.

Our coordinates: Volzhsky, Ave. Lenina, 17. Tel.: 41-31-22, 41-52-12

Barbara Ewing "The Hypnotist"

“I remember a certain Mrs. Preston from Bloomsbury... who died recently. She had been practicing hypnosis for quite some time; and I remember that about twenty years ago a great number of people sought to see a hypnotist in Kennington...”

Barbara Ewing is a British actress, playwright and novelist. Born in New Zealand, she has a BA in English and Maori (Polynesian people, the indigenous people of New Zealand).

London, XVIII century. Cordelia Preston, an aging local theater actress, a woman with a very difficult fate, along with her friend, loses her job and is left without a livelihood and is forced to resort to her mother's forgotten skill - hypnosis. The art of hypnosis was just beginning to become fashionable at that time: hypnotists alleviated the condition of seriously ill patients, put patients into a trance before operations and helped to contact deceased relatives; famous hypnotists and phrenologists held various seminars and lectures.

And the main characters, having turned their basement into a workshop, filling it with candles, draping it with curtains and tulle, begin to practice. They quickly become very popular and in demand, acquire a mass of regular clients and become very wealthy and respected ladies, and a little later they enter the high society of London.
Cordelia's past is full of secrets: once upon a time, she, a very young girl, was cruelly deceived by a young rich lord, marrying her to himself, and subsequently took their common children for himself, not allowing Cordelia to even see them. Such a blow hit her very hard, but the heroine found the strength to withstand difficult life circumstances. Although, having become independent and wealthy, she could not completely get rid of problems: scammers do not leave her, hunting for her money, competitors, dissatisfied with her success, spread dirty gossip about her, and her own personal grief does not allow her to become completely happy.

It was at this moment of spiritual split, despite material well-being, despite the prohibition of their father, that Cordelia’s now grown children find their mother... But time has passed. The children have grown up. Communication lost. And in these already adult people, Cordelia does not recognize kindred spirits. A new blow awaits her, and in order to cope with it, she will have to invest all her strength, and, perhaps, resort to the services of a hypnotist herself...

Catherine Pancol "Yellow-Eyed Crocodiles"

Catherine Pancol- French journalist, author of several bestsellers. Some of her books have been translated into 30 languages ​​and sold millions of copies. She is best known in the United States as the author of the novel Yellow-Eyed Crocodiles.

Catherine was transported from Casablanca to France when she was five years old. She studied literature and worked as a teacher of French and Latin before switching to journalism. She subsequently worked in the editorial offices of Paris Match and Cosmopolitan magazines, where one of the publishers persuaded her to write fiction.

Pankol became famous for her understanding of human psychology, especially women's, and her sensitivity to detail, often hidden by controversial humor. One of her goals is to inspire women to be themselves by building a positive relationship with life itself.

The novel “Yellow-Eyed Crocodiles” was a huge success in France, where the book sold more than a million copies and won an award "as the best-selling book in France". Katrin Pankol was nominated for the “Best Author of 2007” award from the Gorodets Publishing House (Moscow). "Yellow-Eyed Crocodiles" is the sixth book - a bestseller and the first book in a trilogy. The work has been translated into Russian, Chinese, Ukrainian, Polish, Italian, Korean, Vietnamese, Latvian, Czech, Slovak and Norwegian. In 2014, a film of the same name was made based on the book.

The plot of the novel is as follows. Quiet, kind Josephine has spent her entire life studying the medieval history of France in the 12th century. She is married and has two daughters. Her husband, who recently made excellent money and fully supported his family, loses his job and is forced to idle at home. Lost and embittered, he starts an affair on the side, and then completely leaves for his mistress and goes with her to Africa to breed crocodiles. Josephine is left alone with his debts and two children, penniless. But here, too, she is surrounded by crocodiles, ready to pounce at any moment: bank creditors, bills for the apartment and children’s education, mother, Henrietta - a dictator and simply an evil woman, cynical and cruel elder sister Iris, the no less cynical eldest daughter of Hortense, accustomed to a wealthy life, and unwilling to accept the new way of life.

Josephine finds a way out of the situation, or rather, the way out finds her. Her older sister Iris, the wife of a wealthy lawyer, tormented by the idleness and emptiness of her life, dreams of fame and universal recognition. And that's why she decides to write a novel. A novel about the life of women in the 12th century... And she persuades her sister to do it for her under the pretext that she will get absolutely all the profits from the sale, because Iris doesn’t need anything - only fame and the authorship of the new novel. Josephine, tired of lack of money, agrees. From this moment on, various changes and adventures await the heroes of the plot.

The novel "The Humble Queen", written by Josephine, will be a stunning success. The author will go through a difficult life path, turning from a woman downtrodden by life into a successful, self-confident business woman, standing firmly on her feet, who has found her true love.

Sister Iris will be awaited by fame, which she never dreamed of, and family metamorphoses, which she also did not expect. The business of Josephine's husband, Antoine, will turn out to be not at all as profitable and promising as he expected. And the end of Antoine himself will be very unexpected and ominous.

There are many other interesting characters in the book, evil and good, treacherous and cruel. But in the end they will all receive what they deserve, depending on their actions: some will get a new family and a new life, others will get complete collapse and loneliness.

Catherine Pancol writes ironically, with humor, and at the same time deals with unwanted characters with cynical composure. Her novel is a kind of guide to life, the life of those drowning in circumstances or those who are just starting their life’s journey, so everyone should read it.

F. Roth "Nemesis"

“Truly, if you sow an action, you will reap a destiny.”

American writer, author of more than 25 novels, winner of the Pulitzer Prize and the International Booker Prize - Philip Roth presents to us his thirty-second novel - "Nemesis", named after greek goddess Retribution.

The main character of the book is Eugene Cantor, nicknamed "Bucky" (Bull), a universal favorite, an energetic, determined weightlifter and javelin thrower. He is a physical education teacher and runs a summer sports ground.

“At twenty-three, for all the boys, he was an exemplary and respected authority, such as we had before us: a young teacher with strong convictions, easy to communicate, good-natured, fair, attentive, reliable, calm, strong, muscular - and at the same time a comrade.” .

In the midst of 1944, military operations are in full swing. Bakki would have long been in the active American army if not for his myopia: due to poor eyesight, he was forced to wear glasses with thick lenses from early childhood.

In Weequayik, the Jewish quarter of Newark, in the unusually hot summer of '44 - eleven years before the invention of the vaccine - a polio epidemic breaks out. The number of infected people is growing day by day, and the area is gradually being engulfed by mass hysteria and fear for the lives of their children, because they are the ones most susceptible to polio. Bakki learns every day about a new case of illness or death among his wards, he even gets to bury some of them. His fiancee Marcia works as a counselor near the city in a children's camp, where the disease has not yet reached. She is very worried about her lover and encourages him to join, taking the position of aquatic instructor, because his predecessor was drafted into the active army.

Bakki initially refuses the bride’s proposal, since he considers it criminal to abandon his charges in the midst of an epidemic; the sense of duty and responsibility brought up by him by his grandfather struggles between the desire to give up everything and leave. Ultimately, after talking with Marcia's father, he decides to quit and leave town to work at a country camp. But when he arrives there, the epidemic follows him...

We all choose something: friends, school, profession and faith. But what will be the consequences of the choice that will determine everything? later life Main character? How to act in a given situation, and how to generally make the right decision when you are faced with a choice: life or death? And Bakky makes his choice and determines his fate...

A. Ivanov “Tobol. Many invited"

The first book of a new novel from the bestselling author of “The Geographer Drank His Globe Away,” “The Heart of Parma,” “The Gold of Rebellion,” and “Bad Weather.” The most long-awaited novelty of this year: historical epic, political detective story and mystical action - in one novel! The author's largest work. Will be published in two books: "Tobol. Many are called" and "Tobol. Few chosen" (spring 2017). - The “Tobol” project includes not only a 2-volume novel, but also a series written by Alexey Ivanov (filming since the beginning of 2017), as well as a documentary book “Wilds” (winter 2017). Read, watch and travel! During the era of the great reforms of Peter I, “Young Russia” began to boil even in dense Siberia. The emerging empire was destroying the voivode's Middle Ages in the taiga. Peoples and faiths are mixed. Captured Swedes, Bukhara merchants, officers and officials, convicts, foreigners, chroniclers and architects, Chinese smugglers, fugitive schismatics, shamans, Orthodox missionaries and warlike Dzungars of the steppe. About all this and more in the book “Tobol. There are many invited."

The theme of the Ostyaks in the novel was formulated by Remezov: “You are a toy for every powerful person.” The novel describes the unfortunate fates of two Ostyak twin sisters.

The issue of corruption in the novel is acute, which is very relevant today. Governor Gagarin has a whole philosophy of embezzlement. No one in Tobol can do without this. His theft comes from human insolence, and not from banal greed. He uses his high position not to put his hand into the treasury, but to set up his own business, which is, of course, illegal. For him, the treasury is just a bank that issues interest-free loans. Gagarin will explain to Peter, who accuses him of theft: “I drew from the well that I dug myself.”

The “voivodeship” and “governor” periods of the history of Siberia and Russia are very different. “Vivodeship” customs are “extortion”, bribery, when each official takes for himself as much as he can. “Governor’s” customs are already a hierarchically organized system, that is, corruption, when each official gives the boss a certain bribe in order to be able to take for himself how much is left. Corruption, or rather the extent of its prevalence, is a derivative of the police state. Peter built a police state, replacing banal extortion with complexly organized corruption. Governor Gagarin, “the chick of Petrov’s nest,” actively helped build this state because he was a corrupt official. But he understood that the richer people would live in the new system, the more active trade would be, the more benefits he would receive. Gagarin's progressive role lies in this understanding.

The “architect” Semyon Remezov plays a large role in the novel. He is the main expert on Siberia, and Siberia is a specific region. Each hero has his own plans, one way or another connected with Siberia, and therefore each hero goes to Remezov for advice or help. And Remezov’s relationship with the governor is a duel between the poet and the tsar, when both are creators. They just exchange friendly blows, sympathizing with each other.

The novel has a dozen main characters, whose destinies are interdependent and alternately intertwine and diverge.

All heroes are right, even villains and thieves, and all faiths are true: the reader sees the world through the eyes of an Orthodox, Muslim, schismatic, Protestant and pagan, but the reader does not forget “what is good and what is bad.”

In the historical genre the main task the author’s goal is to create an image of the era, and to create this image, dramaturgy is necessary, which sometimes moves a little away from history. It's okay, because history should be studied from textbooks, not novels. A novel becomes historical when the actions of the characters are determined by the historical process. The characters act as the era requires, and not their personal preferences and not the author’s preferences, therefore, the novel is undoubtedly historical.

G. Shulpyakov “Tsunami”

Gleb Shulpyakov is a poet, prose writer, critic, translator, television journalist and traveler. Born January 28, 1971. Graduated from the Faculty of Journalism of Moscow State University. Author of the books of poems “Click” (2001) and “Acorn” (2007), collections of travel essays “Persona Grappa” (2002), “Uncle’s Dream” (2005) and “The Society of Agatha Christie Lovers” (2009). The first novel, The Book of Sinan, was published in 2005.

As a literary reviewer and editor, he worked in a wide variety of periodicals in Moscow. Author of the guidebook “Cognac”. Translated from English, including poems by Ted Hughes and Robert Hass. Author of the plays “Pushkin in America” (winner of the “Characters-2005” competition) and The Dwarf (production at the Mayakovsky Theater, 2004). Encouragement award "Triumph" in the field of poetry (2000). He heads the literary magazine “New Youth”. He hosts the weekly program “Property of the Republic” on the “Culture” TV channel.

Gleb Shulpyakov's novel is an attempt to crystallize and comprehend this elusive essence, which remains unchanged even after all formal guidelines are lost. The hero of "Tsunami", a young playwright, together with his wife - a famous actress - goes to meet New Year to Thailand. However, shortly before the holiday, the couple quarrel, and the wife returns to Moscow. That is why the tsunami that hit the coast of Thailand on New Year's Day finds the hero alone, immersed in gloomy thoughts and forebodings. In complete chaos engulfing the country, the playwright finds the body of a dead Russian tourist on the shore and, having appropriated his documents, returns to his homeland in order to try to become a different person, living someone else's - stolen - life. And after much tossing and turning, we become convinced that this is impossible: even after changing our skin, we remain ourselves - we have to live with this reality. In the first part, journalistically dense, built on documentary material (the author himself ended up in Southeast Asia in the fateful winter of 2004 and witnessed a disaster that claimed thousands of lives), in the second half, Shulpyakov’s novel turns into a smart and subtle philosophical essay, allowing the reader look at your own unshakable values ​​from a new, unusual angle.

"Tsunami" combines the traditions of psychological prose with the European urban existential novel.

One of the components of the plot is theatrical; the novel describes the collapse, the collapse of the theater, the prototype of which was the famous academic stage. Another component is Moscow, when the tsunami becomes a metaphor for the disappearance of the city.

Before the reader is the confession of an absolute individualist, a typical representative of the “thirty-year-old generation.” A person who cannot find himself either in the past or in the present.

This is the confession of a hero whose exploits are illusory just as much as the reality of the new Moscow is illusory.

S. Faulks “And the Birds Sang”

The novel “And the Birds Sang” is a great writer’s tribute to the memory of the First World War. It is about love and death, about courage and suffering - about the fate of people caught in the millstones of history.
The novel was written more than 20 years ago and became the best modern novel in Great Britain. The fates of people who survived scary time, their state of mind, love - the author conveyed everything in his work.

This is exactly what Sebastian Faulks thought about when he was still a schoolboy. Deciding to find out the history of the events of that war, the writer brought his plans to life. He wrote a novel, which was published in 1993 and received such popularity that no one expected. This work is studied in schools and universities in literature and history classes. This year, on July 29, “And the Birds Sang” went on sale in Russia. The book was published in the edition “Sinbad”, translated by Ilyin S.

The main character of the novel “And the Birds Sang” is an Englishman, officer Stephen Wraysford. A young man who came to France, to the city of Amiens. Here he met and fell in love with a French woman named Isabelle. The first part of the novel is dedicated to this relationship, their love and problems: Isabelle was married and they had to run away. But the real trouble came when the war began, and Stephen Wraysford went to the front.

The entire second half of the work is dedicated to the horrors of war and man at war. The situation in the life of the main character changes, his perception of the world changes, his character changes - the style of the work also changes. The author switches to a harsh and truthful language of narration, where the red thread runs through the question of what are the limits of human cruelty? How not to lose your mind in this terrible war, how to remain human? Finding himself in the trenches near the Somme River, where the English army lost 60,000 people in one day, Wraysford experienced all the horrors of war and death around him, trying not to lose his composure and sanity. He became a different person: he became tougher, drier. Despite the ban on making entries, he keeps a diary, but its contents are encrypted. Many years later, this diary is found by his granddaughter Elizabeth.

Having written the most truthful novel about the war, Sebastian Faulks became a very popular writer in his country and abroad. This novel is studied in all educational institutions Great Britain as a literary and historical work. By telling the truth about the war, which caused irreparable damage and misfortune to the people, the author made his contribution to the history of the state, in memory of the participants in those events.

Lee Harper. Go set a watchman

Harper Lee is an American writer, known throughout the world for her legendary novel To Kill a Mockingbird. The total circulation of this book in the United States of America alone has reached more than thirty million copies.

The novel was published in 1960. The main theme of the work is race relations in the United States. To Kill a Mockingbird is not only the most widely read work in the country, it is included in the curriculum. For a long time, To Kill a Mockingbird was considered the only work of the writer, but this novel is the second creation of the author.

The background to this book is this. In 1957, Harper Lee brought the novel Go Set a Watchman to publisher Joshua Billinger Lippincott. The publisher recommended Harper Lee to describe the childhood years of Jean Louise Finch, nicknamed Scout. Harper Lee wrote a book and called it To Kill a Mockingbird. A novel that brought the author world fame and a Pulitzer Prize. The manuscript of the work “Go Set a Watchman” was lost and was discovered only in the fall of 2013. And now, 56 years later, we can read Harper Lee's Go Set a Watchman, which was actually the author's first work. About her famous novel, Harper Lee said that she “never expected Mockingbird to be any success. I hoped for a quick and merciful death at the hands of critics, but at the same time I thought maybe someone would like it enough to give me the courage to continue writing. I hoped for little, but I got everything, and it was, to some extent, as frightening as a quick, merciful death.”

The action of the novel Go Set a Watchman takes place twenty years after the events described in the book To Kill a Mockingbird. Readers all over the world will be delighted to reunite with their favorite characters and immerse themselves in the atmosphere of small-town prejudice so beautifully described by Harper Lee.

The heroine's childhood years have passed, and we meet the adult Scout. She visits her hometown quite often, making her fifth trip from New York to Maycomb. This time she goes by train, because her father, lawyer Atticus, is already seventy-two years old, and it is no longer so easy for him to meet his daughter at the airport. In her native Maycomb, many problems await her, first of all - her father and his attitude towards society. Scout tries to understand and realize her true feelings for the place where she was born and raised.

And a few more words about the author. US President Johnson named Harper Lee to the National Council of the Arts. Since that time, she has received numerous honorary positions, and in 2007 she was awarded the highest civilian honor in the United States, the Presidential Medal of Freedom. The writer died in her sleep on the morning of February 19, 2016, at the age of 90. Harper Lee never married and had no children.

Interest in the work of the Anglo-American poet W. Hugh Auden appeared in our country a long time ago. His poems are published in small editions, in small publications in the journal “Foreign Literature” (1989, 2011, 2014), and published in scattered publications.

This year the poet turns 110 years old. The magazine “Foreign Literature” (2017, No. 1) timed the author’s anniversary selection to coincide with this event. In addition to new translations of poems, it includes translations of interviews with Hugh Auden, essays and critical articles about creativity. The magazine’s “Literary Guide” section, prepared by Nikolai Melnikov, will also certainly attract the reader’s attention.

Firstly, this is Jan Probstein’s article “The Paradoxes of Auden”, in which the author once again recalled that Auden is deservedly considered a great poet and master, a master not only of form, but also of rhetoric, who, despite the blasphemy and praise, masterfully mastering the word, he served the language all his life:

Time takes revenge without pity

Purity and courage

Covering all traces

Incomparable beauty

But forgives all sins

For immortal poems.

Know that he is great in his eyes

Only the one who lives the language

Per. Anna Kurt

Auden believed that poetry is necessary for every person, and not just for lovers of elegant literature. He travels a lot, acquiring knowledge. Many critics believe that he visited more states than most Americans, noting his observant and attentive, daring mind.

Probstein examines the directions in the poet’s work: Freudian, Marxist and Christian. Many fans and admirers did not hide their disappointment during one of these periods. For example, the famous poet Philip Larkin did not accept his Christianity, the work of a poet of the American period.

Hugh Auden was distinguished by paradoxical honesty and integrity, which is probably why, as the author suggests, he lost the Nobel Prize for the foreword to the book “Milestones” by UN Secretary General Dag Hamerskjöld and his refusal to remove a paragraph he didn’t like from the text.

In the same issue of the journal Foreign Literature, Edmund Wilson’s material “W.H. Auden in America." The author of the article offers to get acquainted with the first fruits of the poet's American period, which differ significantly from the works written in England.

As many as fourteen pages of the “Literary Guide” are devoted to translations of Hugh Auden’s poems by Grigory Kruzhkov, Jan Probstein, Anna Kurt:

Well, what if the stars were millions of years old

They burned with passion for us, but we didn’t for them?

Since there cannot be equal people in love,

Let it be my destiny to love more...

Per. G. Kruzhkova

But the translation of this poem - “One Always Loves More” by Joseph Brodsky, in my opinion, is more successful.

Readers will be attracted to articles and essays translated by A. Kurt and E. Rubinova: “Absorption and Abundance”, “On Poetry, Poets and Tastes”, “On Words and Words”. “Postscript: Christianity and Art,” and an interview given to Michael Newman, “A poet must uphold the sacred nature of language...”.

A selection of articles by famous critics Stephen Spender, Frank Raymond Leavis, Louise Bogan, Edmund Wilson, Philip Larkin, John Bailey, publications and poems by the author will help the reader get acquainted with the talented poet Hugh Auden.

Leutin Ilya. Caramel Knight

Ilya Leutin is the author of the collection “Real Stories of Ravshan” (2012), published under the pseudonym Ravshan Saleddin, and the novel “Silence at Full Volume.” Let me remind readers that Ilya was born in 1986 in the village of Bekovo, Kemerovo region, and until 2011 he lived in the city of Volzhsky Volgograd region. Finished high school No. 18, studied at the Faculty of Philosophy of Volgograd State University, at the Literary Institute, at the scriptwriting and directing departments of VGIK. You can read in detail about the author on the website of the MBU "MIBS" in the section "Volzhans in the interior of the country."

In 2016, the independent publishing house “Il-music” published a collection of stories by Ilya Leutin “Caramel Knight”. There are fifteen stories in this small collection. I read them all not only because I love this genre, but also because they are gentle, but accurately captured moments from our field of life with different characters and behavior of the heroes.

We remember, of course, “Real Stories of Ravshan.” But this does not mean that the collection of short stories “The Candy Knight” are not real stories. A collection, I must tell you, of the most real stories. They will not seem as good as the first collection and novel. But I think that they contain good sketches about our lives, about how and what we live, what we do: we sell various junk (“Junk”), we invite complete strangers into the house, without thinking about the dangers this may pose (“Golubtsy” ), about police work (“I have the honor”, ​​“Girlfriends from May Square”, “Lilka smokes with a cigarette holder”, etc.

Reading the stories, the thought appears that there is nothing bright and encouraging in our lives. But this is not entirely true; just read the story “The Caramel Knight”. A lot has been written about the life of boys in the yard and school. But "Caramel Knight" is a special case. It is known that boys love to play football, rewarding each other with different nicknames. One of the heroes of the yard party is a little plumper than the other guys, and therefore received the nickname - Fat Messi. There is also a certain Vukashin, whom Messi nicknamed the knight for his height, for his strength, for his six-pack abs. He rewarded Vukashin with caramel for the shiny sweat that evenly flowed down his entire torso.

Vukashin seemed impeccable to Messi: fair, loved by everyone, generous and brave, faithful, able to accomplish any feat, defended the goal of the handball team in the regional league... In a word - a knight! But the ending of the story is unexpected... What? Find out for yourself by reading it. A wonderful story, worthy of the pen of an honored master.

The following story is about how often we fail to show strength of character, succumbing to various persuasion that even lead to crimes. Such a life episode is described in the story “Lilka smokes with a cigarette holder.” Lilechka couldn’t help but succumb to the temptation to play in the slot machine using government postal money... It didn’t turn out well. We lost money with Gosha. Having committed a crime, I had to hide and go to prison.

The first story, which opens the collection “With a Hammer on the Balls,” was presented in the online magazine “Textonly” (No. 36), thanks to the well-deserved favor of the author of the “Generation” foundation and Olga Slavnikova personally.

The editors of the said magazine believe that “Textonly” is, first of all, a text that is important as an event and, in addition, it is a text that is interesting for its internal movement and that the dynamics in each text are unique. The editorial team tries to do what is interesting to them and hopes that it will also be interesting to readers. I must say that they were not mistaken in Ilya Leutin.

The story “A Hammer on the Balls” is a story within a story. And something completely incredible happened. Japanese scientists have finally developed a device that makes it possible to communicate with animals. A small helmet on the animal's head converted brain impulses into human speech. Testing has begun in laboratories. And on the forty-fifth day of testing the device, information was received from a reptile specialist that one of the turtles, during contact, stated that she was the reincarnation of the Russian writer Alexander Solzhenitsyn. This news instantly spread throughout the world!

Solzhenitsyn’s relatives called everything that was happening a “circus” and promised to sue the Japanese Research institute and to the Government of the Russian Federation. They refused to visit the turtle’s Moscow residence, where all the conditions for creativity were created for her. A week later, the turtle announced that work on the new book was finished. The book was written in Japanese, was ten pages long, and bore the simple and understandable title “A Hammer to the Eggs.” The main character of the story, a loader named Berl Heisman, is the only stupid Jew in the world who subjected himself to such a test and nothing else is known about him in the world. “This is the kind of work the turtle brought to public court. Humanity froze in bewilderment, and literary critics were angry, claiming that Alexander Isaevich could not have written this” and that the Japanese were making it all up. Russian patriots were in complete indignation, believing that everything was invented for the sole purpose of denigrating Rus'. And only the Jews sigh, not being surprised by anything. They noticed a logical connection with the book “Two Hundred Years Together” by A. Solzhenitsyn, only shorter. Many are perplexed - who is really behind the turtle Solzhenitsyn?

I would especially like to draw the readers’ attention to the frank “Instead of an afterword.” This is a letter from reader Lyubov. What was actually achieved, or a literary trick by the author, is unknown. It is clear that this is a rebuke from a caring analyst to his stories and to the author at the same time.

The collection “Caramel Knight” contains stories on one topic - this is our everyday life. It is surprising and disappointing that the author does not stigmatize anyone, does not educate anyone, simply as an attentive, but neutral, sometimes frivolous observer, tells the reader about the ugly moments of reality, and not about his civic position.

Read it, and then we’ll argue!

Akunin B. “Widow's Plat”

Books written by Boris Akunin have always been famous for their charisma. Moreover, if they affect historical events that took place in 1470. The rich language, combined with an adventure plot, completely captivates the reader from the first to the last page, narrating the events of the people's life of two cities - Moscow and Novgorod, under the rule of the famous sovereign of those times, Ivan III.

The work is based on the confrontation between the enormous, in size and power, totalitarian Muscovy and the young and democratic city of Novgorod. B. Akunin describes the union of three strong, intelligent and united women who stand at the head of the opposing young republic of Novgorod. There is a deep plot, an exciting ending, the history of the main historical figures, the life of ordinary people, politics and much more. It is especially worth noting the author’s vision regarding the political debates of those times. Oddly enough, they are absolutely no different from the methods that are used to this day. This is manifested in how to weaken the enemy in order to completely destroy him in the future, how to gain benefits using fictitious methods of political provocation and how to reach out to your people and leave others in the shadows. Black PR, numerous attempts to bribe opponents, organizing a popular vote and much more. But victory is not always as sweet as its anticipation, since a won battle means absolutely nothing in the whole war.

No matter how liberal values ​​tempt people, still only a strong government can build an effective state machine. In the modern world, in most states, the strong and smart rule under the guise of democracy. God only grant that they also have wisdom.

A. Ivanov “Bad weather”

Alexey Ivanov, a writer previously known for his brilliant adventure novels on the history of the Urals, who became especially fashionable after the film “The Geographer Drank His Globe Away.”

The plot of “Bad Weather” is as follows. A middle-aged, seasoned cash-in-transit driver robs his own team of security guards and disappears in the snowstorms of the cold Ural winter with 150 million rubles. He plans to hide in the village of Nenastye, at his dacha. But the problem is that the money belongs to a large businessman from the nineties, the leader of a mafia made up of former Afghans, and on the trail of the robber, in addition to the policemen, fueled by promises of a good bribe, an experienced killer, a participant in Afghan war. However, the hero of the book is not simple either, he also fought in Afghanistan, and he needs money for his wife.

This is a long story, stretching from the 80s to our time. The story is about reckless veteran guys who first tried to somehow find a place in a collapsing country, and then tried to somehow survive in all of this. How they started the marathon at one point, with the same soldiers, and finished it in different places, with different results.
Grandiose and very accurate descriptions of the scams of the 90s, the war, the new time “after the 2000s” clearly show how we all, as a whole people, like one big gang, are heading somewhere into a bright future, without looking at the road. We lose friends, relatives, remnants of conscience, and many also part of the soul. Stop for a second to take a breath and that’s it, the train has left. Instead of a pioneer house there is a bandit shalman, instead of a vacant lot there is a market. Stop again and now instead of a hangout there is again a children's cafe, at stadiums there are sports competitions, and instead of a market there is a shopping center.

It is impossible not to notice that, in fact, the entire novel revolves around Bad Weather. This is a holiday village where all the main events take place, and at the same time bad weather - the whole country is around us. We all seem to live in such Bad Weather, from which not only the shores of the Indian Ocean, but even a business trip to war in Afghanistan look almost like a fairy tale.

D. Rubin “Indian Wind”

“This story, in which there is not a single swear word, should be published under the heading 18+, or better yet 40+... - because everything in it is so naked and defenseless, cynical and piercingly intimate that in many scenes the color of shame floods the face and splashes in the heart there is a confused human heart, at all times courageously and stubbornly dreaming of only one thing: love..."

Dina Rubina

A life stretched between a Kiev-Soviet communal apartment and a beauty salon in New York, between which lie flights in dreams and in reality. Well, yes, parachutes and hot air balloons don’t play a role in the story. last role. Monologue of an emigrant woman who knew joys and sorrows. Confessional prose. This is what “Indian Wind” by Dina Rubina is. But is that all there is to it?

Dina Rubina is one of my favorite modern writers. The book is wonderful. The main character is alone and the entire story is told from her perspective in the form of letters to a certain writer who is collecting material for her next novel. It’s easy to spot Dina Rubina herself in the writer.

At the center of the narrative of this sometimes shocking, harsh and painful book is a Woman. The heroine, a parachutist and hot air balloon pilot in her youth, having experienced a personal tragedy, is forced to do something completely different in another country, one might say, through the looking glass: she is a cosmetologist, lives and works in New York.

A whole string of strange characters passes before her eyes, because due to the nature of her current profession, the heroine is faced with fantastic, today almost ordinary “gender inverters”, with discouraging and even repulsive pictures of the life of society. And, oddly enough, from this garland, as the heroine puts it, “the cripple,” grows a grotesque, tragic, insignificant and lofty image of modern love.

Monologue of an emigrant woman who knew joys and sorrows. Confessional prose. This is what “Indian Wind” by Dina Rubina is. But is that all there is to it? There are also memories of Soviet childhood painted in nostalgic tones - which means that in some ways the book falls not only into the category of a family saga, but also an educational novel. And unvarnished pictures from the preoccupied political correctness and hypocritical puritanism of modern America. And a whole series of characters - cross-cutting, secondary and completely episodic - who, in general, shape our lives.

This is more than a collection of expertly packaged tales from life. No matter how pompous it may sound, this may be life itself. Flying quickly, slipping between your fingers, leaving scars and pain in your soul. Balancing between the post-war USSR and present-day America. It is no coincidence that somewhere on the pages this was thrown: “an eternal revision, a sweet re-account of life.” And Galina’s life with its ups and downs.
Dina Rubina's novel, which is not large in volume, turned out to be multifaceted and voluminous, balancing on the verge of touching and cynicism. Yes, cynicism! And where would you be without it with this type of activity - doing hair removal under a “Brazilian bikini”? “I can’t imagine who might be interested in the details of my accursed profession, with all its outlandish procedures and piquant, to put it mildly, pictures. Sometimes, when asked by an interlocutor about my specialty, if I want to laugh, I answer: “Don’t think anything bad, I work in the authorities.” And of course, there is no escape from irony and self-irony.

Well, what is “woman’s wind”? And here’s what: “This is a dry, pleasant breeze in Kamchatka; women dry their clothes on it... In autumn and in early spring stormy winds blow. They will dry the sheet quickly, but at the same time they will take it with them. And such a cheerful, slightly frosty breeze rarely happens, only a few days a month. The housewives are waiting for him like manna from heaven. And you can launch the balloons under this blissful gentle wind, affectionate, hardworking... truly feminine.”

Veronica Roth "Divergent"

Veronica Roth is a modern writer in the style of dystopia and fantasy, the author of the Divergent book series, three of which were adapted into film adaptations of the same name. The author was born in a suburb of Chicago, Illinois.
Veronica Roth's novel Divergent debuted at number 6 on the New York Times bestseller list and rose to number two in 2012. The book was filmed in 2014 and received seven prestigious film awards.

Divergent is the first book in a trilogy. Divergent means different from others.

In the distant future, after a catastrophe unknown to us has occurred, a new political system has been created in the walled city of Chicago. The founding fathers divided society into five factions: Love of Truth, Altruism. Dashing, Camaraderie and Erudition, each of which is dedicated to a certain quality of the human personality: honesty, self-denial, fearlessness, kindness and high intelligence. The city is ruled by the Altruism faction, because no one can doubt their willingness to selflessly act for the benefit of others, regardless of their personal interests. Once a year, children who have reached the age of 16 undergo a defining test and have the right to choose their path: whether to remain in their faction or join a new one.

“One choice will turn into a sacrifice, a sacrifice will turn into a loss, a loss will turn into a burden, a load will turn into a battle. One choice can destroy you."

The main character Beatrice Prayer makes her choice, which determines whether she will stay with her family or become who she really wants to be. And she does hers unexpected choice. She has to leave the family, forget her relatives, change her name, because “a faction above blood”...

The main essence of the novel is that there are people who fit the general framework and foundations, and there are completely special ones who do not fit one at a time (outcasts) or fit all at once (divergents), which is the main character of the book.

In the new world, divergents are extremely dangerous to society and are dangerous violators of the social system. For some time Beatrice manages to hide her true nature. But as soon as a war for power begins between the factions, the Erudites decide to remove the Altruists from power and rule alone, the truth comes out. A war begins between factions. Beatrice, who successfully qualified for the Dauntless faction, with her new friends - For, who is also a divergent, and the son of the despotic leader of the Altruists - Marcus, Christina, Will and her parents, is trying to resist them. Along the way, she finds out many secrets about her family, finds her true love and becomes a state criminal.

The novel ends mid-sentence: Beatrice, in the first battle of the Erudites with the other factions, manages to gain the upper hand and free herself and her friends from the simulation created by the Erudites. But in this battle she loses both parents: they die. And now she and her friends become exiles and are forced to hide. Power is changing in the city, which is temporarily taken over by the Erudites, led by their leader - the insidious and merciless Janine.

Veronica Roth "Insurgent"

The second book in Veronica Roth's trilogy is called "Insurgent." Insurgent - rebel, member of an armed group civilian population, opposing the authorities. Typically, insurgents form paramilitary groups whose goal is to overthrow a government or existing regime, gain national independence, or otherwise change the established order.

So Beatrice chose Recklessness. Her choice led to a total denouement: a war between factions, the loss of a parent and friend, forced flight.

While the main character and her friends are forced to hide from the erudites in the Partnership camp, she learns that Janine, the leader of her opponents, has dangerous information that can destroy the established foundations of society. People are ready to do anything for this information. Because of her, Beatrice's parents died. Because of her, Janine started this war. Now Beatrice herself is desperately trying to find out the truth. The solution leads far into the past, to the beginning of the end, when the city was surrounded by a wall and the founding fathers left a certain message for future descendants, which contains the whole meaning of dividing society into factions and imprisoning people within one city.

Having gathered a detachment of rebels, enlisting the support of the factions of Truthfulness, Altruism, Recklessness and Partnership, as well as the leader of the outcasts, Mother Fora, thanks to her abilities, at the cost of the most difficult trials and inhuman efforts, Beatrice learns the whole truth about the factions and frees people from imprisonment inside the walls. The power in the city is changing.

A new era begins.

Veronica Roth "Elligent"

The final novel in Veronica Roth's trilogy about the world of the future after unknown catastrophic events that led to the division of society into factions.

In "Elligent" Tris and her friends fight their way out of their city, as the other factions, led by outcasts, do not want to leave their familiar safe world. The heroes learn the secret that they are genetically modified objects in a long-term experiment, where they must become normal people, that is, divergents. And around them, behind the wall, there is a real world, which is a continuation of their world, with its own problems, which has been watching the experiment with interest all these decades.

A new war begins. But now this battle is for survival. After all, there are very, very few divergents in the new world, and the leaders of the experiment intend to keep them alive. The denouement of the trilogy is very ambiguous: after all, now there are no factions. People are equal before themselves and in their choice: to live or die, to fight or submit to their fate.

Over the entire dystopian trilogy, the main character goes a long way from a small, fragile girl to a mature, battle-hardened warrior, capable of single-handedly resisting not only individual enemies, but the entire state as a whole.

The fate of the main character of the novel, Tris Prayer, and her friends will be a big surprise for those who get to the end of the novel and read the entire trilogy!

For fans of the dystopian saga of Veronica Roth there is good news. The Central Library has The author’s fourth novel is “Four. The Story of a Divergent." This is a prequel (a book or movie set in before events of a previously created work and those preceding them according to internal chronology. This book is a collection that includes four stories: “The Converted,” “Neophyte,” “Son,” and “Traitor.”

The main character of the novel is Tobias Eaton, nicknamed "Four", the son of the despot Marcus from the Altruist faction. In this book, the author will tell the backstory of many of the main Tobias, the author will show us his point of view on events occurring in the future. We will also learn more about his fate. What brought him to the Dauntless faction if he was originally an Altruist? Why did his mother become an outcast? Who is Tobias really? This book is no less exciting than the previous ones, but it is also important because it will shed light on many of the events that we learn about in the trilogy.

Franzen D. “Sinlessness”

Jonathan Franzen is known in the world of readers for such striking works as “Freedom” (2010) and “Corrections” (2001). The novel “Corrections” brought him fame as a writer.

Last year, translated by Leonid Motylev and Lyubov Summ, Russian readers became acquainted with the latest, voluminous (735 pages!) novel “Sinlessness”. Beginning of XXI century was marked by a revival of the form that is commonly called the “great American novel.” The novel “Sinlessness” is “big” in every sense, not only in the number of pages, but also in the description of events that cover a large period of time and take place in different countries and even on different continents.

In the original language the book is called “Purity” - purity. Purity is the main idea of ​​the novel. But this is also the name of the main character - Purity Tyler.

The novel “Sinlessness” consists of seven parts. Each of them is a confession of one of the heroes. There are enough characters in the novel. But there are three main characters: young Pip Tyler, Andreas Wolf and Tom Aberrant.

The author introduces the reader to his heroine. Her name is Pip. Why Pip? Because in kindergarten, some of the children had difficulty pronouncing her full name - Purity. Mrs. Steinhauer, the teacher, decided that the abbreviated "Pip" suited her very well. Pip is in her early twenties. She hates her full name, doesn’t know who her father is, works as a telephone operator, has difficulty making ends meet, and is tormented by student debt. She grew up with an eccentric mother who refuses to tell adult daughter the truth. Pip only knows that they have been hiding under someone else's name since her birth.

Andreas Wolf is the creator of a network of informants and computer hackers, he is busy regularly hacking into the computers of celebrities and dumping the dirt he has dug up on the network into public view, leaking the secrets of governments and corporations. The Internet is here compared to a totalitarian regime, which, through total surveillance and access, strives for absolute sinlessness for everyone. Of course, he turns out to have the most vile secrets. But he himself is famous for his personal purity and impeccability. But it is he who hides a terrible personal secret, he is a murderer and a suicide.

Tom Aberrant is a journalist and writer. Unlike Andreas Wolf's dirty fact factory, he follows the moral code of journalists. He is restrained and does not allow himself anything unnecessary. But he's not doing well either. His secret is his relationship with his wife, who simply disappeared, with a scandalous scene during their separation. Living with Leila, he cannot forget his ex-wife Annabelle.

There is enough politics in the book. No less than psychological pathology. Moreover, almost all the heroes have problems. The biographies of the heroes are presented in great detail by the author, thanks to which we can conclude that no one is safe from bad parents - neither under socialism, nor under democratic prosperous capitalism.

This is also a novel about “fathers and sons,” as we used to say. And Franzen has “mothers and children.” It is the relationships between children and mothers in the novel “Sinlessness” that are outlined very clearly: Pip and mother Annabel, Andreas and mother Katya. Mothers are depicted as narrow-minded and militant furies. Their behavior is incomprehensible and alarming, and the actions of mentally unbalanced parents are surprising.

Franzen does his best to make things difficult for the reader. The book has absolutely everything: secrets, murders, tragedy, fascinating and unpredictable intrigue, humor - what else does a modern novel need to please the reader.

And the end of the book is simply a miracle: Pip finds her father and turns out to be a rich heiress, everything gets better. Wolf is punished, Mama Pip calms down, everything is like in a fairy tale. This rarely happens in life, but I would like it to happen.

We agree with reader reviews and critics’ comments that the novel does not enjoy savoring intimate details and even perversions. It detracts from what is actually a very skillfully written book.

But each reader is a critic in his own way and has a personal opinion, so you need to read the book and then argue. Enjoy reading!

There are other books by Jonathan Franzen in the Central Library.

Tel. for inquiries: 41-31-22, 41-52-12.

G.D. Roberts "Shantaram-2. Shadow of the Mountain"

A gorgeous new product has appeared in the central library of Volzhsky - a continuation of the acclaimed novel by G.D. Roberts “Shantaram” - “Shantaram. Shadow of the Mountain."

Two years have passed since Lyn Ford lost two of the people closest to him: Khaderbhai, a mafia leader who died in the Afghan mountains, and Karla, his beloved woman, who married a media tycoon from Bombay. Now Lin has to fulfill the last task given to him by Khaderbhai: to win the trust of the sage living on the mountain, to survive the uncontrollably flaring conflict of the new mafia leaders, but most importantly - to find love and faith.

In the second book we learn about the fates of the main characters: Lin's close friend - Didier, Lisa, Khaled, Johnny Cigar. Let's meet new characters: the sage Idris, Khaderbhai's spiritual mentor, Diva - the eccentric daughter of one of the richest people in India, and others.

If the first book was full of adventures, then the second - gangster showdowns between the leaders of the Bombay mafia and philosophical reflections on life, death and freedom, love and enmity. If the first book is mainly about slum dwellers, then the second is about the elite of Bombay, crime bosses, the beauty and luxury of the Indian rich, which almost all the heroes of Roberts’ novel strive for.

In conclusion, Romna Lin and Karla, who have not seen each other for two years, will meet again. To find each other again, forget old grievances, go through new trials and never lose your love again.

D. Green "Paper Cities"

John Green is a famous writer, author of the novels “Looking for Alaska” and “The Many Catherines”. In 2005 he was included in the top ten authors for teenagers. He worked on the radio program “All Things Considered” and wrote reviews of contemporary prose, including for such publications as The New York Times and Booklist. In addition, he is one of the two organizers of the network video project “Brotherhood 2.0”, the number of video views of which exceeds 10 million.

John Green grew up among the neighborhoods and attractions of Orlando but now lives in Indiana.

This writer's prose is amazing. It is characterized by funny, intelligent dialogues, youth slang, complex philosophizing and a deep understanding of the eternal truths of life.

Paper Towns is told on behalf of high school student Quentin Jacobsen, who has been secretly in love with his neighbor Margot Roth Spiegelman since the age of ten. There is an abyss between them, a huge distance that can only be between the most popular girl in school and an ordinary “nerd”. But everything changes one night when Margo asks Quentin to help get even with her offenders. A night of unprecedented impressions awaits them, they misbehave, throwing fish into other people's cars, and expose their cheating friends. During this “operation,” the guys become closer, Quentin is glad that he has a chance to win the girl, and Margot finally understands who her real friend is. But when Q arrives at school the morning after their overnight adventure, he learns that Margot has disappeared... leaving behind mysterious messages for him to solve in order to find her. There are only a lot of questions left: why did she leave? What was worrying her? Why did she leave clues if she didn't want to be found?

Quentin, with his friends - Ben, nicknamed "Bloody Ben" and Radar, sets out to find his girlfriend, focusing on the clues she left, but what awaits him at the end of the road? Is this the girl he was in love with since childhood, or a complete stranger, a stranger, disillusioned with life, friends and parents:

“Paper people live in paper houses and heat them with their own future. Paper children drink beer bought for them by some homeless person in a paper grocery store. And everyone is obsessed with how to get more junk. And the junk is all thin and perishable, like paper. And people are the same." You're going to a paper town. And you will never come back again...”

The novel is full of riddles, clues and philosophy on the topic: “What, in essence, is the meaning of life?”, reflections on death, love and friendship. A very bright story about childhood disappointments and an attempt to find faith and oneself in this life.

“My Proportionate Image” by Audrey Niffenegger

Audrey Niffenegger made her debut with the novel “The Time Traveler's Wife,” which literally captivated the world: translation into all languages, a multimillion-dollar circulation, Brad Pitt purchasing the rights from the manuscript - and, finally, the release of the long-awaited film adaptation in 2009.

This is an American writer and artist who was born in the USA, in the city of South Haven, Michigan. Audrey received her BFA in 1985 and received her MFA in 1991.

She currently teaches creative writing, typographical art, lithography and intaglio (intaglio, a method of printing using a printing plate on which the printing elements are recessed in relation to the white space). She is one of the founders of Text3, a collective of writers and artists based in Chicago.
Audrey's artwork is represented in the collections of the Newberry, Congress, Harvard, Temple, National Museum of Women in the Arts, and many others.

The author's second novel is imbued with mysticism, envy and family secrets. A rather unusual story about rather unusual characters - two girls - mirror twins Julia and Valentina, twenty-one years old. For their birthday, they receive an unexpected gift: their aunt, Elspeth Noblin, the twin of their mother, with whom they have not communicated for more than twenty years, leaves them a large fortune and a luxurious apartment on the outskirts of a cemetery in London. Without hesitation, the twins move from America to London, settle in an apartment and plunge into the thick of the mystical events taking place in their surroundings.

The girls themselves represent one indivisible personality with common desires, but different needs. They did not graduate from any of the three universities where they began studying, because they gravitate towards different things, but do not want to be separated from each other. Everything changes when you move to a new apartment. Valentina finally decides to separate from her sister and live an independent life. This also happens because the twins are trying to unravel a family secret: why haven’t their mother and aunt communicated for so many years? Why did their mother not allow them to see their aunt and why did Elspeth bequeath the apartment to them, and not to her lover, Robert? The resolution of a family secret is truly terrifying and impressive...

Other characters in the novel are no less interesting - Robert Fanshawe, a neighbor on the floor below, heartbroken after Elspeth's death. Who is he, a mysterious young man writing a dissertation about the ancient cemetery where their house stands?

Other characters are no less interesting: the upstairs neighbor is Mark, a genius, expert in ancient languages, suffering from mental illness, obsessed with cleanliness and afraid to leave the house due to infection with various microbes. He makes a living by writing crossword puzzles. His wife Marika, who endured his rituals for twenty-five years, still decided to leave him and live her life normal person in another city.

And most importantly - Elspeth Noblin. Elspeth died of cancer, but remained on earth as a disembodied ghost inhabiting the apartment where the twins had just moved.

It won’t be long before the girls notice her presence, make contact with her and reveal the terrible secret of their mother.

But is their aunt so noble, trying to do everything for the benefit of the twins? How great is the temptation to live your life again, the opportunity to correct your mistakes, to return to your loved one, even at the cost of another innocent life? How dangerous are people with exactly the same appearance really? After all, they themselves do not suspect that their games can end very badly not only for those around them, but also for themselves...

G. Ryazhsky “Substitutions”

Grigory Ryazhsky is a Russian writer, screenwriter and film producer, member of the Russian Union of Cinematographers. Laureate of the Nika Higher Cinematographic Award, academician of the Nika Academy of Film Arts, nominee of the Russian Booker literary awards, the. Bunina. Ryazhsky is the author of more than twenty books, some of which have been translated into European languages.

The author was born on May 22, 1953. After graduating from the Moscow Mining Institute, Grigory Viktorovich came to cinema and rose to the position of film director at the Mosfilm film studio. In 1988, he became one of the founders of the independent film company Fora Film. Grigory Ryazhsky was the director of the first cooperative film in the USSR, “For Beautiful Ladies.” Another interesting fact: Grigory is the cousin of the famous writer Lyudmila Ulitskaya.

The Central Library already has one book by G. Ryazhsky - “House of Exemplary Content”, which was filmed in 2010, and now readers can get acquainted with his new novel - “Substitutions”.

This is a picturesquely told story of the difficult Gruzinov-Dvorkin family, their neighbors in a communal apartment - the Jewish Rubinsteins.

The main character of the novel and the head of the family is Moses Dvorkin, a hero of the Patriotic War, who reached Prague with his battalion, professor, head of the department. Moses lives in a spacious three-room apartment in the center of Moscow, with his wife Vera - a beauty of princely blood, a respected mother-in-law, and a promising son.

Everything changes when the Gruzinovs-Dvorkins are “condensed” - a married couple of elderly Jews - the Rubinsteins - move into their apartment, leading an unnoticed, silent life in the room allocated to them, keeping the terrible secret of their past. The female half of the family will instantly hate the new settlers and will do everything possible to darken the life of the meek spouses.

Almost half of the book is a smooth narrative about a family, but everything changes with the death of the Rubinsteins. The Gruzinov family, which had already grown by that time, settles into the newly acquired meters, and Moisei Naumovich finds out the terrible secret of the Rubinstein family, because of which they commit suicide.

The life of the seemingly positive Gruzinov-Dvorkin family is entirely built on lies and vulgarity; almost every member is not without sin. The head of the family, a war hero, turns out to be a “victim of circumstances” arranged by his colleagues during the war and commits a brutal outrage against an innocent girl.

His wife Vera, supposedly of blue blood and a princely family, a calculating and selfish person who tricked Moses into marrying her, has been deceiving her husband all her life. Her mother, a “habalka”, from whom all sorts of troubles can be expected in the house of intelligent people, gave birth to her only daughter from some northern party leader and blackmailed him with this fact.

Their son, Lev, is perhaps the only positive character, but dark things are happening in his family, as he is raising his son Harry, who, it turns out, has absolutely nothing to do with him.

What about the Rubinstein couple - meek elderly Jews. Why do they decide to die by drinking poison? These modest spouses, keeping a terrible unthinkable secret, cherish the dream of revenge, and in the end become murderers. As it turns out, their actions are quite natural and justified.

Despite its rather modest length, this novel contains a lot of active characters and blood-stirring events, which is something you never really expect from a small book of a small format.

Jojo Moyes "Me Before You"

Jojo Moyes was born on August 4, 1969, and grew up in London. Graduated from the University of London. In 1992, she won a scholarship to the British daily newspaper The Independent, as a result of which she was able to enroll in graduate school at City University London, where she studied journalism. Later, she worked for this newspaper for ten years. Before pursuing a full-time writing career, she was a taxi driver, a braille typewriter, and a writer for travel brochures and articles for The Daily Telegraph.

JoJo wrote her first book, Sheltering Rain, in 2002, inspired by her grandparents' love story set against the backdrop of World War II. The success of the book inspired Moyes to leave her journalism career and devote herself full-time to writing. She is one of the few people to win the Romantic Novel Writers Association's Romance Novel of the Year award twice, winning her first in 2004 for novel Foreign.

Moyes' most famous novel to date, Me Before You, was filmed just a few years after the book's release and was a resounding success and huge box office receipts.

The novel "Me Before You" describes the strikingly beautiful and touching story the love of a disabled man and an ordinary girl from a small town in the suburbs of London.

The main character of the novel, Louise Clarke, leads a leisurely life in a small town with her parents, sister, and nephew. She is satisfied with everything in her life: work in a cafe, an unpretentious relationship with a young man for whom she does not have special feelings. But the cafe where she worked closed, she had to find a new job - as a caregiver for a disabled quadriplegic, a young man with an extremely severe degree of disability, when the spinal cord was damaged and all four limbs were paralyzed. Before the accident in which he was hit by a motorcycle, Will Traynor led a life full of exciting events, adventures and never sat still. It was unthinkable for rich, bright, smart Will to end up in wheelchair and, being severely depressed, he contemplated suicide.

That is why the parents hired Louise to help their son get out of a difficult situation, to show that there is meaning in life, there are experiences that he has not experienced. The main characters had no idea that the meeting would change their lives for the better. Two completely different people who would not have had the opportunity to meet in the big world if not for the accident that happened to Will.

Despite the difference in outlook on life and social status, the two young people gave each other something more than just a romantic connection. Extraordinary, cheerful, noisy, bright Louise filled Will's life with meaning and brightened up his last days. Will proved to Louise that life is not limited to a small town, that you need to strive forward and realize yourself in big city, look for opportunities and learn to be more than you are.

A sad romance with a happy ending. The novel is not only about relationships, friendship, love and loyalty, but also about how not to lose yourself in the whirlwind of everyday life, how to learn not to keep hatred in your heart, but to be open to people, enjoy life, appreciate every day you live and remember, that it’s never too late to rethink everything and start life anew.

M. Traub “Second Life”

Yuri Levitansky's student, Maria Traub, was supposed to become a poet, but became an international journalist. At the height of her career, she left the profession and began writing novels and stories. She is called “Trifonov in a skirt” and “Dovlatov in the feminine gender,” “a literary discovery” and “a master of miniatures.” Now she is a columnist for several popular publications and the author of more than twenty books. Traub considers herself a wife to her husband, a mother of two children, who also “sews a little” at night on the laptop keyboard.

The author's new novel is about the right to a second chance. About the right to a second life. The main character of the novel divorces her husband, after which he marries a second time. What should the first wife do? How to live further? What happened to the teenage daughter from her first marriage - a lonely, embittered girl? Do they have a right to their own happiness? Right to a second chance? Or will they remain forever past life? At first glance, everything is obvious and understandable... But this is what Traub is all about. She's got it all wrong. It's Complicated.

In a nutshell, the plot is this. Lisa is a beauty, smart, got married out of boredom, there are no relatives or close people nearby - only a boring boyfriend and an old friend. She didn't particularly love her husband. My mother-in-law was patient. The daughter did not live up to expectations: Dasha is growing up as a fat, ugly girl, and her mother is not an authority at all for her. The husband was completely disgusted, and Lisa filed for divorce herself, but he took it and started all over again. Lisa often sees her ex in the park: a family idyll: an elderly man is pushing a stroller, from where a very handsome little boy looks out, a young mother walks next to her and smiles...

So what now - all the years spent together were in vain? What's left for her? Why can't she start a new life? Who is to blame for the breakdown of the family? Are there anyone to blame?

The author’s position is this: for men, after all, it’s easier - they have a chance to start a second life. It’s more difficult for women: the children have grown up, and youth and beauty are disappearing. Will you find the strength to try again? The main character is largely to blame herself: she never loved anyone, not even her own mother, not even her own daughter. For which she was eventually severely punished.

Quite an impressionable story with a shocking ending on a topic that is quite relevant in our time. We advise everyone to read and find out the outcome of the plot. Masha Traub's new novel is waiting for you in the Central City Library!