Synopses & Reviews
These frank, unsparing, and varied stories by women in their twenties and thirties reveal the evolution of women's consciousness in Russia through two decades of violent social upheavalincluding the dramatic monologue of a teenage girl who grew up in an orphanage; an escape to the Altai Mountains and the mysterious local rites and lore; the seamy side of Siberian business and a young man's failure to get to grips with it; the tricky backstage life of a provincial theater; the private life of a wealthy family which mirrors the social stratification in Russian society today.
Synopsis
Seven Russian writers under 30, winners of the prestigious Debut Prize, tackle issues faced by women,including formerly forbidden subjects.
About the Author
Contributors are all winners of the Debut Prize.
Yaroslava Pulinovich (b. 1987) comes from Omsk (Siberia) and currently lives in Yekaterinburg (the Urals). She writes mono-plays running in many theaters. Natashas Dream” is a monologue of a teenage girl from an orphanage: she falls in love with a young reporter and tells him the horrible story of her life, but the reporter is just hunting for a sensational story and betrays her confidence by publishing it in the local newspaper. Natashas Dream” was produced in London and Baltimore. Her latest play The Bride of Clubs” is being produced at the London Royal Court Theatre.
Olga Rimsha (b. 1988) from Novosibirsk (Siberia), winner of the Debut Prize for her short novel Still Water describes her writings as pessimistic optimism”.
Irina Bogatereva, born in 1982 on the Volga, won several important literary prizes, including the prestigious Debut Prize for her novel AUTO-STOP. She is a prolific novelist with several other books to her credit.
Katerina Kuznetsova (b. 1990) lives in Yekaterinburg in the Urals. Her story Disjointed Pages” won the Debut in 2011. She names Beckett as her main influence.
Ksenia Zhukova (b. 1981), a Muscovite, won a number of prizes for her humorous stories and plays, including the Debut Prize in 2003 for a play and 2011 for her long story 20 Letters from 1920s”.
Anna Lavrinenko (b. 1984) lives in Yaroslavl (Central Russia) which is the setting of all her stories. A Law graduate she is a widely published short story writer and winner of the Debut Prize in 2006.
Anna Leonidova, born in 1979 in a small Northern Russian town, graduated from Moscow University and works in journalism and public relations. She has several successful prize-winning novels to her name. Before I Croak won the Debut in 2011