new publication
Hungarian translation published by Slovart
The subtitle of Aleksei Slapovski’s most recent book THE UNKNOWN is: „Novel of a Century 1917 to 2017“. And indeed, the story begins with Nikolai Smirnov’s entry into his diary on the 17th December 1917 and ends with a letter from Gleb Smirnov to his father Victor in 2017. Thus the novel is also a family saga spanning five generations. No judgement of individual fate, instead empathy with many members of the family who recognize that they are on their way into the unknown.
In its polyphonic, multi-faceted concept a courageous response to recent political reflexives in Russia where a single version of the so called patriotic past is printed in the school books.