Hesperus Contemporary
FICTION
160 Pages, 5 x 8
Cloth, $22.95 (US $22.95) (CA $25.95)
Publication Date: January 2011
ISBN 9781843917144
Rights: US, CA, AU & NZ
Hesperus Press (Jan 2011)
A gripping collection of fantastical stories that blur the imaginary and the real; nominated for the prestigious National Bestseller prize in Russia even before it was published.
The title story of this enthralling compilation spins the tale of a boy growing into adolescence whose body appears to have been taken over by a colony of ants. His diary—initially expressed in the barely literate tones of a young child—becomes more accomplished and assured as the protagonist matures and eventually begins to give way to the voice of the ruler of the anthill. Featuring a direct, commendably unpretentious, and convincing style, the tales use recognizably modern Russian settings to explore the contemporary condition of man both in Russia and further afield.
"Anna Starobinets stands apart from other genre writers thanks to her ability to write in a good, unpolluted and idiomatic Russian." —Moscow Times