Olga Grušina Ordre des livres

Cinderella meets Marriage Story in this beautifully written, powerful reimagining that picks up thirteen years after she and Prince Charming said 'I do'.

Totally original in conception and execution, Forty Rooms is mysterious, withholding, and, ultimately, emotionally devastating. Grushin is dealing with issues of women's identity, of women's choices, in a way no modern novel has explored so deeply. When our protagonist finds her children grown and her husband absent, she must evaluate the choices that led her away from her bohemian poet dream and into a comfortable marriage. Was it a life well lived? A life complete? Does such a life really exist? This ambiguity is the core of this provocative novel.

Anna is on her way home from work on a cold winter's day when she sees a crowd queuing at a kiosk. Though a queue is not an unusual sight in a Russian city, this appears different. There's a rumour that famous exiled composer Selinksy is returning to conduct his last symphony for one night only - and this kiosk is selling tickets.

Podmanivá kniha ruské autorky (1971), žijící ve Washingtonu, byla na Západě přijata s velkým nadšením (2005) a je hodnocena jako mimořádné dílo navazující na nejlepší literární tradice Ruska. Hlavní postava románu, v mládí avantgardní malíř a později umělecký kritik, si v sovětském Rusku postupně vybudoval skvělou kariéru. Přichází však doba ,perestrojky' a nejen vnitřní, ale i vnější tlaky nutí talentovaného, ale už rezignovaného muže, aby promýšlel a revidoval svá životní rozhodnutí i postoje.

Stepping out into the dusk of an warm evening, esteemed art critic Sukhanov feels on top of the world. But the year is 1985 and the air is heavy with change. His future is haunted by doubt. Beset by visions of a past he gave up, he questions his choices: in swapping a life as a brilliant underground artist for comfort did he betray his dreams?