An Awkward Age (Hesperus Contemporary)

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 1843917149 ISBN 13: 9781843917144

Publisher: Hesperus Press, 2011

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.

About the Author:

Anna Starobinets is a Russian journalist. Hugh Aplin has translated Mikhail Bulgakov's A Dog's Heart and The Fatal Eggs, Fyodor Dostoevsky's The Eternal Husband, and Mikhail Kuzmin's Wings.

Review:

"Anna Starobinets stands apart from other genre writers thanks to her ability to write in a good, unpolluted and idiomatic Russian."  —Moscow Times

"The effect produced is that of sheer fear, largely due to the simplistic style of the language and the realistic reportage-style descriptions."  —Daily Telegraph