The debut novel by Kira Yarmysh, Alexei Navalny's press secretary, is a finely crafted work of fiction where the past intertwines with the present, reality is sometimes inseparable from fiction, and the heavy door of the detention center becomes the boundary between two very different, yet inextricably linked, worlds.

From the moment the iron door of women's cell No. 3 slammed behind her, Anya found herself in a completely different world, existing parallel to ours but operating by its own rules. And life here feels different. Ten days in jail for participating in an unauthorized anti-corruption rally seems like a trivial sentence, but time in this strange place also flows differently. Five cellmates—five vibrant personalities, five recognizable characters, each with her own pain, her own conviction, her own worldview, and her own stories—sometimes frightening, sometimes tragic, sometimes incredibly funny. These stories paint a grand picture of a country existing somewhere outside. And on this side of the heavy door lies heavy tobacco smoke, a dim light bulb, and an increasingly thin line between reality and dream. Impeccably written dialogue and a superb sense of humor make this novel captivating and, despite the seriousness of the subject matter, not at all difficult to read.

Abstract

First came the unsanctioned anti-corruption rally, then came the hands of a riot police officer who unceremoniously yanked Anya from the crowd and threw her into a paddy wagon. Then the dirty and shabby Tverskoy police station and the escort to court, on the way to which two government officials will simultaneously scold the girl for participating in protests and berate the entire system in general and specific officials in particular. Then there will be the trial and the sentence. Ten days, a very short sentence, and Anya hoped she would remember this episode as a funny misunderstanding. But these ten days will include stories of cellmates, memories from the past, strange dreams that are becoming more and more real, and a reality that increasingly resembles a dream or a delusion.

Authors: Kira Yarmysh