Name: Vita Nostra
ISBN: 9788025339893

Marina Djačenková

Sergej Djačenko

Krásná, bizarní a šokující fantasy! Studovat na vysoké je snem každého středoškoláka. Alexandra ale na Vysokou školu speciálních technologií nastoupila nedobrovolně. Škola v zapadlém městečku je totiž obestřena tajemnem a jde z ní strach. Stejně jako z muže v černých brýlích, který ji do školy přivedl a nutí ji plnit prazvláštní úkoly. Proč byla ona a její spolužáci vybráni? Proč se musejí učit nazpaměť tuny nesmyslných textů? A proč ti, kteří neuspějí u zkoušek, beze stopy mizí?

Vita Nostra

Idina Muraca

Marina Di︠a︡chenko

Sergey Di︠a︡chenko

Our life is brief . . . The definitive English language translation of the internationally best-selling Russian novel – a brilliant dark fantasy combining psychological suspense, enchantment, and terror that makes us consider human existence in a fresh and provocative way.

What might sound like a dark romance at first glance at the title is a stunning way to merge dark academia and dark fantasy in a book that spanned the emotions from wanting to tear my hair out to crushing my heart and keeping me in a steel grip for quite a long time.

This book has been on my tbr since I first heard the term dark academia and then I finally got around to starting it in spring 2023. now, where I live, that was a beautiful, sunny spring and the entirely wrong time to start this book, so I made it maybe 150 pages in before I placed it on my nightstand (because I was not ready to give up on it just yet) and moved it around only when dusting off the shelves. Well, spring 2024 came around and with it the exact gloomy weather and mood I needed to pick it back up.

Vita Nostra follows the story of Alexandra Samokhina, a young girl on the verge of adult life with college looming ahead and who meets a strange man during her summer holiday, who starts requesting her to do different tasks for him that certainly require some discipline, willpower and lack of self-preservation but he gives one promise: he’ll never ask for the impossible.

Sasha, our protagonist, follows his lead albeit with great difficulty at points, and it brings her to the Institute in Torpa where her academic life begins.

Much like Sasha at this point in the book, I kept running into walls while reading. My brain had great difficulty imagining the subjects she was studying, the processes that were happening and the progress she was making. Until one today, the trigger flipped for me and once that happened I really did not want to put this book down at all. I was so curious for what was next for Samokhina, I was incredibly afraid for her at the same time and all the while fearing she was loosing herself along the way.

Now, the original title for this book is not a literal translation to Vita Nostra and let me detour for a second because I think the English title is one of the worst title choices I’ve ever come across when a book is translated from its original language (and mind you, I’m German, and German publishers make it a contest to find the most hideous and incredible names for the German editions of English books for example).

The original title is метаморфозы, which is the literal translation to metamorphoses (yes, plural, not singular) and in my reading history there never has been a title more fitting for a book which has been discarded for such a nonsense title like Vita Nostra. Yes, Vita Nostra is mentioned in the book but boy oh boy was I mad when I reached the part in this story that told me why it has a different name in the original.

So, I’d love to tell you more about the actual happenings in this book but truth be told, I can’t. At least not without spoiling it for you. And I really really don’t want to do that.

What now? If you enjoy witnessing the struggle of dark academia, of an institute so powerful it keeps expanding your imagination, of the tear it brings to its students, the despair, the hopelessness and the angst … then go ahead read it. Mind you, you will feel like you run in circles sometimes and keep crashing into walls but it’s so relatable to what Samokhina experiences, it somehow feels right that this is not an easy read. It is damn worth it, though.

This is not a book I’ll lightheartedly advertise to any book lover. But to that small, specific group of people? I’ll never cease recommending it.

It was good. And horrible. And tiring. And exciting. And tensionfilled. Heartbreaking. Aching. Sweet at times. And SUCH a good dark fantasy.

For me, putting this book down had the same effect as watching inception for the first time. I sat there contemplating what the actual f just happened. And I loved every second.

Leonie

What might sound like a dark romance at first glance at the title is a stunning way to merge dark academia and dark fantasy in a book that spanned the emotions from wanting to tear my hair out to crushing my heart and keeping me in a steel grip for quite a long time.

This book has been on my tbr since I first heard the term dark academia and then I finally got around to starting it in spring 2023. now, where I live, that was a beautiful, sunny spring and the entirely wrong time to start this book, so I made it maybe 150 pages in before I placed it on my nightstand (because I was not ready to give up on it just yet) and moved it around only when dusting off the shelves. Well, spring 2024 came around and with it the exact gloomy weather and mood I needed to pick it back up.

Vita Nostra follows the story of Alexandra Samokhina, a young girl on the verge of adult life with college looming ahead and who meets a strange man during her summer holiday, who starts requesting her to do different tasks for him that certainly require some discipline, willpower and lack of self-preservation but he gives one promise: he’ll never ask for the impossible.

Sasha, our protagonist, follows his lead albeit with great difficulty at points, and it brings her to the Institute in Torpa where her academic life begins.

Much like Sasha at this point in the book, I kept running into walls while reading. My brain had great difficulty imagining the subjects she was studying, the processes that were happening and the progress she was making. Until one today, the trigger flipped for me and once that happened I really did not want to put this book down at all. I was so curious for what was next for Samokhina, I was incredibly afraid for her at the same time and all the while fearing she was loosing herself along the way.

Now, the original title for this book is not a literal translation to Vita Nostra and let me detour for a second because I think the English title is one of the worst title choices I’ve ever come across when a book is translated from its original language (and mind you, I’m German, and German publishers make it a contest to find the most hideous and incredible names for the German editions of English books for example).

The original title is метаморфозы, which is the literal translation to metamorphoses (yes, plural, not singular) and in my reading history there never has been a title more fitting for a book which has been discarded for such a nonsense title like Vita Nostra. Yes, Vita Nostra is mentioned in the book but boy oh boy was I mad when I reached the part in this story that told me why it has a different name in the original.

So, I’d love to tell you more about the actual happenings in this book but truth be told, I can’t. At least not without spoiling it for you. And I really really don’t want to do that.

What now? If you enjoy witnessing the struggle of dark academia, of an institute so powerful it keeps expanding your imagination, of the tear it brings to its students, the despair, the hopelessness and the angst … then go ahead read it. Mind you, you will feel like you run in circles sometimes and keep crashing into walls but it’s so relatable to what Samokhina experiences, it somehow feels right that this is not an easy read. It is damn worth it, though.

This is not a book I’ll lightheartedly advertise to any book lover. But to that small, specific group of people? I’ll never cease recommending it.

It was good. And horrible. And tiring. And exciting. And tensionfilled. Heartbreaking. Aching. Sweet at times. And SUCH a good dark fantasy.

For me, putting this book down had the same effect as watching inception for the first time. I sat there contemplating what the actual f just happened. And I loved every second.

“Vita Nostra” — a cross between Lev Grossman’s “The Magicians” and Elizabeth Kostova’s “The Historian” [...] is the anti-Harry Potter you didn’t know you wanted.” -- The Washington Post “Vita Nostra has become a powerful influence on my own writing. It’s a book that has the potential to become a modern classic of its genre, and I couldn’t be more excited to see it get the global audience in English it so richly deserves.” -- Lev Grossman Best Books of November 2018 -- Paste Magazine The definitive English language translation of the internationally acclaimed Russian novel—a brilliant dark fantasy combining psychological suspense, enchantment, and terror that makes us consider human existence in a fresh and provocative way. Our life is brief . . . Sasha Samokhina has been accepted to the Institute of Special Technologies. Or, more precisely, she’s been chosen. Situated in a tiny village, she finds the students are bizarre, and the curriculum even more so. The books are impossible to read, the lessons obscure to the point of maddening, and the work refuses memorization. Using terror and coercion to keep the students in line, the school does not punish them for their transgressions and failures; instead, it is their families that pay a terrible price. Yet despite her fear, Sasha undergoes changes that defy the dictates of matter and time; experiences which are nothing she has ever dreamed of . . . and suddenly all she could ever want. A complex blend of adventure, magic, science, and philosophy that probes the mysteries of existence, filtered through a distinct Russian sensibility, this astonishing work of speculative fiction—brilliantly translated by Julia Meitov Hersey—is reminiscent of modern classics such as Lev Grossman’s The Magicians, Max Barry’s Lexicon, and Katherine Arden’s The Bear and the Nightingale, but will transport them to a place far beyond those fantastical worlds.

A Novel

An awesome book! Dark academia, loads of twists and turns, and a page-turner to boot.

Nitin Khanna

isabella

Brandy

Vita Nostra is like Harry Potter. But instead of wanting to get enrolled to Hogwarts, you don't want to get near The Institute for Special Technologies.

Nice storyline. It's very dark, still taken aback by the ending.

I’ve listened to so much of this book, and yet at 60% done there’s still over 7 hours left in this audiobook. 😂 My husband likes it more than I am, so he’s gonna finish it without me. 

Caroline Clutterbuck Kapulkin

Anja Hansen

This book has such a fascinating concept. Although, it's quite confusing and I don't think I could describe it properly if I tried.

The entire time I was reading this book I didn't know how I felt about the story, and was banking on the ending and it's answers to make up my mind. However, the book was wrapped up rather quickly and left me with even more questions. And then it became apparent to me that this is not a standalone.

While I definitely enjoyed reading this, I'm unsure about continuing the series in the future.

Kei demand 

The most original concept for a story I’ve read in a very long time. Literally captivating

What a Masterwork and a mindmending work. The concepts are complex but innovative and even tho they are not always easy to understand in a way they are logical and wonderfull

Patrícia 

Midori Kobayashi

i don't understand the underlying philosophy but this was a bizarre weird book i thoroughly enjoyed reading. it is not for everyone and it doesn't always tell you how things work or what the magic (?) system is like. after reading this i definitely wanna learn more about the gnostic themes of the fourth wave of russian scifi. reading this book was an experience and i want more of it.

tina

3.5 stars

this is probably one of the weirdest books i’ve ever read and i’m still not sure if i understood everything that happened by the time i finished this. tbh i thought i would love this book bec it has all the elements that i love: the obscure and no plot just vibes type of story, the beautiful writing, the dark academia setting, the mc losing their mind, like this is exactly the type of book i enjoy reading, but though this was an enjoyable read, i didn’t exactly love it. i think it was mostly because though i loved the overall vibes of the plot, i just didn’t become attached to any of the characters. i appreciate how the authors executed this story though as it is definitely an ambitious concept.

Absolutely fantastic blend of Russian folktale, metaphysics, dark academia, and page turning thriller. Beautifully written and translated. Cannot get enough.

Jacque

Jenna

Belle

I liked this more than I expected to. It was easy to read and interesting enough to make me look forward to reading more each night. I'd read it again, eventually.

sara zanutto

Elda Mengisto

"Everything will be just fine...Of course, as long as you demonstrate enough discipline." (28)

I like the idea of an Eastern-European influenced fantasy novel. I've enjoyed "The Crown's Game" by Evelyn Skye and dipped my toes into Leigh Bardugo's Grishaverse, so I have a basic idea of what that phenomena entails. When I've learned of the book Vita Nostra, it piqued my interest. It not only dealt with Eastern European culture, it also was written by two Ukrainian authors.

The book is about Alexandra (Sasha) Samokhina, a sixteen year old girl who travels with her mother to the seashore, and meets a mysterious man. In exchange for some gold coins, he makes her repeat multiple tasks for a period of time, but never "asks her for the impossible". After a year, Sasha's life is overturned when she is enrolled into the Institute of Special Technologies, where the standards are high and the education ambiguous. Once there, she has to struggle to adjust to her new environment as she learns about this "applied science", as well as regular subjects.

Starting this book, I thought Sasha would be a lot younger, no older than twelve years old when she is at the beach. However, having her at the cusp of adulthood makes a lot more sense in context, because it shows her not only navigate the abandoned town, but also her own personal development. Her interactions with her roommates in her first year add more nuance towards the school world, along with class skipping and romances which emerge. A particularly interesting scene featured her professor trying to get her to lose her virginity to enhance her development, which leads to her romance with Yegor.

Speaking of development, one curious aspect of Sasha is that she is frequently seen as the "head student" of the class, frequently getting the pass on exams and seen as what the teachers aspire. At one point, she was silenced for her work in Applied Science. When looking at this, it seems that Dyachenko made Sasha into a Mary Sue, except we see actual difficulties with her development. A notable scene is where she is handed a CD player to listen to the brooding silence and work on it, only for her to become really frustrated and turn to an album to help. We also see her have difficulties with her mother and her new husband, Valentin, including on when they were unclear on what they are teaching.

But when we get to see what they are learning, it's where the book gets its spark. Even in the beginning where we here the loop of time with "I want it to be a dream!" sequence. We note Sasha's physical transformations, from scales to feathers, and eventually see her take flight. This is not necessarily the magic I've read through other fantasy novels, but appears to allow itself to many more possibilities. The assignment of grammatical aspects introduces more intrigue to what would happen next, though the final exam was a bit strange.

Overall, Vita Nostra is a well-written (or in this case, well-translated) novel, taking the magic academy story into a new direction. It involves a compelling world, not unlike our own, filled with interesting characters and quite the school, though the culture could be expanded upon. I almost had a gripe about the ending and having Sasha almost return to that day on the beach, but Dyachencko does a good job on not letting Sasha go towards that route. And since I've heard this would be a trilogy, it would allow for more adventures to come! (9/10)

isabella t mejias

Amy Vicknair

Hmm not really sure how I feel about this one. A very dark adult Harry Potter. Interesting for sure and do I now have to learn Russian to finish the series🤷🏼‍♀️

summer

gente não entendi nada mas adorei não consegui parar de ler

Fraser Simons

Second reading: so it blew my mind again lol. I will be doing a write up on medium right now; with spoilers and without, as well as a YouTube video on it. So yeah. I love it. 

This book… blew my mind a little bit. I am very tempted to just reread it again, right now. It’s that good. I imagine there’s a lot to pick up on the second go around.

Okay, so this is the story of a young adult, struggling to graduate high school at good enough grades to get into a decent post secondary school. She’s accosted multiple times by this older creepy dude, who has a strange power over her, basically he’s able to remove her agency and compel her to undergo tasks; very much in a hero’s journey sort of way - except far more of a suspenseful, surrealistic, and somewhat horrific bent. This book has got a very unique tone it strikes, I don’t even know what to compare it to. 

She’s made to go to a school nobody knows about, the universe conspiring to get her there through a series of bizarre incidents and coaxing from the strange guy. 

At the school things get even more interesting and surreal. We follow her journey at the school as she unravels what is going on, experiences as coming-of-age at the strange institute, and try to navigate social situations - all while taking classes that make her, and the other class members, to feel like they’re being brainwashed and reprogrammed. 

From the plot alone you might suspect that it’s purely surrealistic horror, but I meant it when I said it strikes an odd tone. There IS loss of agency synonymous with horror, but the book is thematically cohesive despite its weirdness. Perhaps it’s one of the most thematically calibrated pieces I’ve yet to read, actually. 

The post secondary experience and the internal mechanisms of youth changing, growing, evolving with knowledge and the fruition of the development of their bodies - basically all natural and systemic change that undergoes in the here and now through all learning and life cycle of the human body (especially puberty) - are literalized in the fiction.

The fiction would be thoughtful and interesting just in that myopic sense if that were all that was going on. 

It combines the scientific notions of the body with cerebral concepts on philosophy, and then mixes in magical elements as well. Change, and the potential of every person is the main focal point of the story. Of course, as it relates to Sasha. Her place in the world, in the universe, and the raw potentiality of Sasha nicely counterpoint the horror elements, and, thankfully, explain the wildly strange and problematic teachings the mentors inflict on students. 

Without spoilers I will say the magic system is so well designed and just blew me away. Everything about this was my jam. 

That isn’t to say it’s an _easy_ read; though I devoured it quickly. The concepts are illusive and heady. The book is broken up into parts and doesn’t otherwise have chapters, just paragraph breaks for new scenes, making it structurally a bit challenging depending on your reading habits. It could also be troubling and triggering for people. There’s esoteric harm that is certainly abusive to the teenagers, including, if I understood correctly, sexual assault of a young woman when she recounts her story to Sasha. 

It does make sense, so it’s not just gratuitous shock value crap, but it’s also not easily digestible, and I think that’s why it immediately signals those horror elements from the get go. Still, something to consider.

The ending of this book just. I can’t even. So good. This book works at a mythical story, as a critical reaction to academia, to the way society treats youth; but also a meaningful, self actualization of a person coming-of-age, facing off against an innermost obstacle, and hope in the unlikeliest of places (depending on your point of view). 

It’s so fucking good, y’all.

Maria

Vita Nostra вышла, когда я еще не читала young adult, так что добралась я до нее только сейчас – возможно, самой последней в мире. Но штош теперь, поехали.

Саша Самохина отдыхает с мамой в Крыму, никого не трогает, и тут за ней начинает следить очень стремный чувак. Саша бегает от него несколько дней, но однажды он всё-таки к ней подсаживается и дает странное задание. Саша, поразмыслив, соглашается, и довольно быстро узнает, что если от заданий отказываться, кому-то из близких будет плохо. Чувак заставляет её выполнять задания до конца лета, а потом находит уже дома и дает задание на весь год. А в июне сообщает, что ей надо собирать вещички и ехать в провинциальный городишко, где она зачислена в институт непонятно чего. А то хуже будет.

В институте Саша встречает таких же замученных, запуганных первокурсников, а также студентов старших курсов – хромых, трясущихся и одноглазых – и начинает учиться какой-то необъяснимой хренотени, сначала просто из страха за близких, а затем её выбрасывает на новый уровень реальности. 

Какой-то ревьюер на Goodreads написал, что это «Гарри Поттер, которого мог бы написать Кафка», и мне это определение нравится (возможно, из-за эпизода, где героиня местами покрывается хитином, как насекомое). Хотя по-моему, наиболее интересная тема в этом романе – даже не упражнения на поле преобразования материи в энергию, а тема воли и страха. Всю первую треть книги – пока Саша выполняла вступительные задания и обустраивалась в институте, меня немного подташнивало от того, как страх и ощущение беспомощности и бесконечной ненависти к мучителям заполняли героиню, а затем и её однокурсников. Позже в книге Саша спросит своего главного абьюзера – зачем вы меня запугивали, рассказали бы сразу, что к чему, и я бы сама училась. А он ей ответит – нет, не училась бы. Чтобы достичь тех результатов, которые были нужны, мотивация должна быть по-настоящему сильной, и это мог быть только страх. 

Многие пишут, что сравнивать Vita Nostra с Гарри Поттером не стоит – мол, они совсем разные, но мне кажется, авторы намеренно проводили какие-то параллели со знаком минус. Там есть и письмо про зачисление в институт, на которое Сашина мама реагирует как дядя Вернон («никуда ты не поедешь»), но из соображений полностью противоположных, и унылая дорога с чемоданом, контрастирующая с волшебным прибытием Гарри в Хогвартс, и эпизод с закольцованным временем, как у Гермионы – когда Саша начинает фэйлить предмет, преподаватели помещают её в «день сурка» до тех пор, пока не наметится прогресс. И при этом обе книги в итоге приходят к одной точке – к тому, что такое любовь.

Думаю, в книжном клубе было бы довольно любопытно порассуждать про этот роман в абсолютно разных парадигмах – а теперь давайте в библейском фреймворке посмотрим, а теперь давайте вспомним Фердинанда де Соссюра и ассиметричный дуализм языкового знака, а теперь – в парадигме теории мотивации Дэвида Макклеланда! 

В общем, совсем не жалею, что прочитала, детишек вот только жалко.

Aleena Korell

"You taught me to be afraid," Sasha said, gripping the phone.
"No. You knew how to be afraid without me. Everyone knows that. I simply directed your fear, like an arrow toward the target."

There is no great explanation for why I enjoyed this book. It's the most intense 400 pages of literally just reading about someone studying that I never knew existed. And here I am at 2am trying to figure out what to say about it.

Lexicon meets The Name of the Wind is the best I can come up with. But there's no real way to describe Vita Nostra. It's about a special school, yes, and about a special student. But Sasha isn't really driven by heroics or noble aspirations. Most of Sasha's decisions are driven by fear, all throughout the book. Fear, and something that might be love. But the themes of fear and love weave tighter through the story as it goes along and converge at the end in one final decision. 

I had to think about it for a bit, but I actually love the ending. Unexplained but self-contained. And with the significance of words in the story, I feel the translation from Russian was perfect, and if I missed anything due to a different language, I didn't feel a loss. 

Hopefully the next two in the series are translated soon!

Our life is brief . . . The definitive English language translation of the internationally best-selling Russian novel - a brilliant dark fantasy combining psychological suspense, enchantment, and terror that makes us consider human existence in a fresh and provocative way. 'A book that has the potential to become a modern classic.' Lev Grossman, best-selling author of The Magicians Our life is brief . . . While on holiday at the beach with her mother, Sasha Samokhina meets the mysterious Farit Kozhennikov under the most peculiar circumstances. The teenage girl is powerless to refuse when this strange and unusual man with a sinister air directs her to perform strange and uncomfortable tasks. He rewards her efforts with a strange golden coin. As the days progress, Sasha carries out other acts for which she receives more coins from Kozhennikov. As summer ends, her new domineering mentor directs her to move to a remote village and use her gold to enter the Institute of Special Technologies. Though she does not want to go to this unknown town or university, she also feels that somehow it's the only place she should be. Against her mother's wishes, Sasha leaves behind all that is familiar and begins her education. As she quickly discovers, the institute's 'special technologies' are unlike anything she has ever encountered. The books are impossible to read, the lessons maddeningly obscure, and the work refuses memorization. Using terror and coercion to keep the students in line, the school does not punish them for their transgressions and failures; instead, their families pay a terrible price. Yet despite her fear, Sasha undergoes changes that defy the dictates of matter and time; experiences which are nothing she has ever dreamed of... and suddenly all she could ever want. A complex blend of adventure, magic, science, and philosophy, filtered through a distinct Russian sensibility, this astonishing work - brilliantly translated by Julia Meitov Hersey - is reminiscent of modern classics such as Lev Grossman's The Magicians, Max Barry's Lexicon, and Katherine Arden's The Bear and the Nightingale, but will transport them to a place fantastical and new.

Jennifer

Preliminary review: (full review with favourite book quotes to be added later this year)

For someone who don't really enjoy books with heavy horror elements & translated work, I'm pleasantly surprised!! I basically gulped down this book within a single day because it's so good <3

To put it plainly Vita Nostra is an impressive dark academia masterpiece: it's immersive, beautifully written, detailed, and at times philosophical. Despite its slow pacing and dense prose, my doubts were lifted really early on and I grew to like the main character Sasha within the first 100 pages. She's bright, hardworking, and has hidden talents: to name a few of her relatable traits. In addition to this, her solid character arc are also demonstrated through the tough academic schedule at Torpa.

In addition to Sasha's resilience and autonomy throughout the novel, I also enjoyed the writing itself: the poetic ways to convey thought processes and how we understand the world around us & ourselves & acquire knowledge. While the teaching process the Institute that Sasha attends is very strict and controlling, this also raises plenty of thought provoking questions with regards to knowledge: how do we learn what we know now and how do we take control of what we take in?

Usually I find excessive horror / dark elements quite distracting in a book, but in Vita Nostra these aren't really an issue - thanks to the nuanced and well-developed characters and themes. There were characters whom I wasn't really sold into initially but eventually grow to like because they demonstrated redeeming traits through their time at the Institute - and it's indeed a rare feat.

To sum it up, I'm still processing but I have certainly found my next favourite dark academia read with Vita Nostra. It's dark. It's a wild ride to read within a single sitting. But it's also a book rich with substantial materials: magic, science, and philosophy. I finished this a couple days ago and I couldn't stop thinking about this underlying question - the intricacy of one's process of acquiring knowledge & tapping into their potentials.

So if you are looking for something with dark academia aesthetic and could put up with the dense prose, the slow pacing, and some horror elements, reading Vita Nostra is going to be a very rewarding experience.

N.B. This book contains following triggering content: vomiting, blood mention, drug mention, alcohol, emotional blackmailing / coercion, and violence

(4.5 stars out of 5)

Moray Lyle McIntosh

A highly original book that is difficult to pin down for a satisfactory description. Urban fantasy? Sci-fi? Speculative? Weird? It has elements of many of this but doesn’t fit neatly under any label.

While on holiday with her mother in a small seaside town, Sasha Samokhina meets the unsettling Farit Kozhenikov who gives her a series of bizarre tasks to complete. Sasha feels powerless to refuse and Kozhenikov promises that failure will result in dire consequences. After failing her entrance exam to university Sasha discovers that she has been selected for the mysterious Institute of Special Technologies, where the lessons are inexplicable, the teachers terrifying and the older students damaged. The what, why and how of what is happening are all equally obscure as Sasha begins a bizarre and disturbing process of mental and physical metamorphosis as everything she knows about time and matter disintegrate.

Esoteric and metaphysical, the spiralling plot and lack of answers make for a frustrating read that part of me wanted to abandon, but that’s all part of the Dyachenko’s devious writing. The reader experiences Sasha’s own bewilderment, and both her desire and her inability to escape, picking apart the reality of her situation right beside her.

A few of the sections drag on a little too long after their purpose has already been achieved, making the pacing uneven and the story sometimes gets caught up in its own sense of mystery, edging over into self-indulgence. But it’s also clever, absorbing, challenging and infuriating. Harness your patience and it is well worth a read. I hope that the rest of the series is translated into English in due course.

my_bookalicious

I was reading a book with words I could understand, words I knew, words that existed. Words created the phrases, they made sense if I read them separately. But the story didn’t make any sense at all.

Vita Nostra

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