Sleds for winter slides need to be prepared in summer, money for new books needs to be prepared at almost the same time. But all is not lost: the year has just begun, even if the volume of interesting announcements no longer fits either in your head or on paper. We have scratched the surface and collected personal messages from publishers and prepared a selection of the most anticipated new products for every taste: from fantasies with ancient Egyptian motifs to a detective story about pensioners, to a story about a maniac father and a biographical novel about him. Beethoven
Anastasia Maksimova, “Children in dad’s garage”
Some may be familiar with the work of Una Hart, the author of a very textured fantasy in a historical (or near-historical) setting, where superstitions and stories become reality. So Una is the mirror copy (and pseudonym) of Anastasia Maximova, who wrote Realism with a capital R.
In the story, Yegor Kargaev’s father is arrested for pedophilia. He admits his guilt. Egor, his sister and mother are in shock, they are trying to prove the opposite. The paradox here is that the real victims turn out to be the Kargaev family – cruelty and bullying fall on them with divine punishments, from threats of expulsion from school to damage to property.
The Boys in Dad’s Garage is not another stereotypical thriller. Anastasia Maksimova is worried about the turning point when her normal life is disrupted by a crisis, as well as the psychological problems, trauma and guilt that follow. This story will not end with the events of 2012 – the reader will see the heroes ten years later. Everyone accepted the truth in their own way. From the author, judging by his previous work, you can expect deep character development and a fascinating plot – and this time it doesn’t matter which mirror twin wrote the book.
Salman Rushdie, “City of Victory”
Salman Rushdie, the British writer of Indian origin, can undoubtedly be called a living classic of world literature. And if in recent years his work has been centered around a renewed awareness of modern events, then “City of Victory” is an attempt to create an original poem in prose.
Rushdie writes the story of Pampa Kampana, who became immortal thanks to a magical gift in her youth. He creates the province of Bisnaga and its inhabitants from magic beans. For almost two hundred years, Pampa has observed how Bisnaga, its people and their attitudes towards it have changed.
This time, the author tries to take the pulse of empires: why are they born, why do they die, what is the fate of their rulers? Salman Rushdie is a continuation of the tradition of magical realism, which is so clearly expressed in “City of Victory”, although he himself often denies it: this time all the “miracles” are woven within a historical context. Readers will encounter not only an action-packed plot, but also dense language filled with off-the-cuff imagery, allusions, and metaphors. Drowning in this text is not a disaster, but a pleasure.
Richard Osman, “The Devil’s Trap”
British comedian Richard Osman’s first novel “Thursday Murder Club” exploded first in the foreign market, and then in the Russian market: large circulations, film adaptations and crazy fame. What fascinated readers so much? The story of four retirees who started investigating murders! The text turned out to be simple and entertaining, on the one hand, and very touching and wise, like an old man, on the other. The author found the right approach to each of the four characters. Richard Osman revived interest in the so-called “casual detective” genre. So why stop then?
“The Devil’s Trap” is the fourth book in the series. This time the story is about black antique business. It all starts with a murder, of course. You can guess the content of the novel without even opening the tarot cards: it will be incredibly exciting, at times very touching and at the same time funny to the point of tears. And if it seems that the British humor in the book will be too specific, it is too early to despair – Richard Osman managed to universalize it.
Ekaterina Zvontsova, “Letters to the Nameless One”
Ekaterina Zvontsova is known for a wide range of writing: she works with intellectual prose (“The Theory of the Infinite Apes”), fantasy (“Dead Forget-Me-Not Notes Beach”) and historical novels. Next year the reader will find a new product from the last category.
The book is based on strange letters that Ludwig van Beethoven wrote to a mysterious lover, the nature of which scientists still debate. “Letters to an Nameless Person” is a biographical novel covering the composer’s entire life, from youth to death. In essence, the reader is presented with a classic teenage novel about the emergence of a teenager and his search for himself, only the main character is a historical figure.
Ekaterina Zvontsova brings some magical realism (and some superstition) to the book, but she doesn’t offer clear interpretations of all the mysterious events. This is a study of fate with an in-depth study of the historical background and characters – here the reader will meet Mozart, Salieri and Bonaparte. However, we must remember that “Letters to the Nameless One” is primarily a fiction novel, so minor deviations that do not violate the space-time continuum are possible.
Anna Sesht, Alexander Sero, “The Devil’s Heart. “A Legacy Betrayed”
This adventure fantasy about the author’s world based on Ancient Egypt is a no-brainer. Anna Sesht is an Egyptologist, so the reader can expect scientific facts and everyday details, as well as many historical parallels, to be neatly and unobtrusively incorporated into the text, without being boring at all.
“A Legacy Betrayed” is the first part of a great trilogy. This is the story of Ashtirra, a priestess and treasure hunter who goes in search of an abandoned tomb. What follows is an action-packed adventure in the spirit of the D&D board game Indiana Jones and Henry Haggard. But the authors do not stop there: a parallel story helps the reader unravel the knot of the secrets of the past and find out the cause of the magical disaster. This, as they say, is not only Ancient Egypt and action, but also two or three kilograms of psychology and reasoning about the forces that exist. By the way, there are also Celtic motifs here – how they manifest themselves will remain a mystery.
Ksenia Burzhskaya, “Litoral”
Ksenia Burzhskaya probably doesn’t need a detailed introduction, but her upcoming novel does just the opposite. Figuratively speaking, the author has prepared something similar to a Russian retelling of “Jekyll and Hyde”. The reader will have to go beyond the Arctic Circle and meet school teacher Anna. But no, we are not talking about pedagogy: the author, as always, is more interested in the problems of one individual in an often hostile environment (or the connection between several such individuals, as in the novel “Ways of Communication”).
Anna has an alter ego: Chloe. And as soon as he takes “control of the body” into his own hands, the hero becomes free, beautiful and joyful. Maybe we should let Chloe win? After all, sometimes it seems that in the modern world filled with eternal parental complaints and bureaucratic red tape, the only option for a teacher is to go to the dark side, because there are cookies there.
Ralph Ellison, “The Invisible Man”
The novel was published in its original language in 1952, but now it has reached only the Russian reader; According to his guardian, the author himself would have been very pleased with this. This is both a personal and social story; Written from the perspective of an anonymous narrator, the book makes you think about where humanity has gone and continues to go, and also makes you realize how we humans behave in times of great change.
The hero is a kind of filter, and the reader literally looks at events through him (“your eyes looked at me”). In this novel, America in the second half of the 20th century turns into a shabby and unpleasant side – there is no place for the “American dream” in it. And if historians say the same thing with dry facts, then Ralph Ellison will say it in language that is rich, fascinating, creative, but at the same time not overloaded, full of references to different realities: from the articles of Emile Zola to King. Lear.
Note: As you can guess, the book has nothing to do with HG Wells’ novel.
Gabriel García Márquez, “See You in August”
It’s not a very honest move, but you can’t stay silent about this. Márquez’s last (unfinished) novel, previously kept in manuscript archives, will be published in Spanish in the spring of 2024. After these words, any online public comments can be closed, but there is no need for this here – how successful the decision of the author’s heirs will be, readers will find out after the publication of the book.
Little is known about the text, as well as about the true intentions of the publishers: the book is described as “the story of a woman who comes to a tropical island to lay flowers on her mother’s grave.” This curtain. But they promise something pleasant – the novel will contain everything that the reader loves so much about Marquez: experiments, rich style, a pinch of wonder and light (or not too much) eroticism.