Text by Evgenia Nekrasova, illustrated by Olesya Gonserovskaya
Multi-award-winning city tale of aggression, survival at home and at school in a bedroom community in modern-day Russia by one of the most striking and promising young Russian authors – Evgenia Nekrasova, published by Russia’s publishing giant AST.
Ten-year-old Katya’s life is quite cheerless. Her strict parents are tired people, commuting by train to work in a big “Gulliverish” city every day. She is alone at home and at school where she is mocked and bullied not just by her classmates but by her teacher, too. Her everyday long-awaited precious time is the night when she is finally left on her own when she can dream. Katya is an ordinary girl without any obvious talents but she has an implicit sturdy frame that weakens one day. That day Katya is about to end her life using a gas stove in her kitchen. Behind that stove lives a kikimora – a non-speaking female house spirit in Slavic mythology – who saves Katya’s life and helps her to change it completely. A dark, pessimistic novel comes to an unexpected happy ending, preceded by a joyless everyday routine, a despotic father, bullying in school, childhood loneliness, and suicide attempts. As Katya tells her story, all the events are seen through a child’s eyes. And a child should not be left without hope, that what this novel grants.
PRIZES 2019 Shortlisted for the Big Book Prize, a literary award for best prose written in Russian 2019 Shortlisted for the Russian National Bestseller Prize 2021 Shortlisted for the NOS Literary Prize
RIGHTS SOLD Italian, Lithuanian, Korean
KEY SELLING POINTS
Topical problems of lonely childhood are revealed in this magical realism story set in modern Russia.
Unusual Slavic folklore creature as one of the main characters.
Vivid language, dynamic plot, and excellent storytelling.
In her works Evgenia Nekrasova, laureate of reputable Russian literary awards, explores and addresses key problems of modern society, especially the Russian feminist agenda.
“Kalechina-Malechina” is adapted into plays in Moscow and other Russian cities.
Mystical illustrations by Olesya Gonserovskaya strengthen the atmosphere of solitude and motionless dread.
Adult Fiction Age: 16+ Pages: 288 Size: 207*132 mm Published in 2018 by AST
