The Most Anticipated Literary Novelties of the Year
The year 2024 promises to be a challenging one for the book market, much like the two preceding years. However, there continues to be a plethora of literature in Russian – both domestic and translated works. We’ve selected eleven books for you to keep an eye on. They are diverse – some authors enjoy worldwide fame, while others are just beginning their journey to popularity. One thing is certain: there will be no shortage of excitement in the coming year.
Salman Rushdie, “The Knife”
One of the most famous and controversial writers of our time survived an assassination attempt in 2022. A fanatic Islamist attacked him with a knife due to the novelist’s statements about his faith. Rushdie was seriously injured. Now, the author is releasing a book reflecting on the incident. He contemplates art, life, and the crime that occurred.
Rushdie is one of the most significant writers of our era, so one can expect an impressive response to violence with art, as he himself expressed it. The book is being published in Russian by Corpus Publishing House.
Pavel Leonov, “Enemy Lessons”
The confrontation between the USSR and the USA defined the second half of the 20th century. Several times, superpowers teetered on the brink of nuclear war, and all elements, including space, became the battleground for this, fortunately unfulfilled Armageddon.
Tensions permeated the ocean’s depths. The underwater fleets of the Soviet Union and the United States kept tabs on each other, preparing for annihilation. This book, being prepared for publication by “Pyaty Rim” publishing house, will delve into this aspect of the Cold War. The text is based on documents that were non-existent in Russian for a long time. Hence, “Lessons” threatens to become one of the most crucial military-historical premieres of the new year.
David Ball, “The Sword and the Yataghan”
A good historical novel never goes out of style. This time, we have an epic narrative about the events of the 16th century in Malta. During those times, the island in the Mediterranean was the epicenter of the struggle between Christian Europe and Berber pirates backed by Turkey.
Crusaders, slave traders, corsairs, and at the center of it all – the grand siege of Malta by the Turks in 1565, a battle that decided the fate of Europe. It was a bloody and grand epoch, and this will be a grand adventurous historical novel. The Russian translation of “The Sword and the Yataghan” is being published by Azbuka-Atticus.
Irina Klinskikh and Others, “Sector Gaza”: Drafts and Manuscripts of a Legend. Notes, Hits, and Unpublished Songs, Unique Photos”
“Sector Gaza” was one of the iconic bands of Russian rock and almost the most popular. Yuri “Hoi” Klinskikh passed away prematurely, leaving behind the status of a living legend.
Now, “Bomba” is releasing a compilation of materials for the numerous fans. It includes photos from the personal archive, manuscripts including previously unpublished drafts, as well as drawings and notes made by Klinskikh while composing songs.
The collection turned out to be intriguing not only for devout “Sector” fans. It includes all kinds of artifacts from the 90s and, in general, strives to create not just a narrow-focused product but a portrait of an era on paper. The time wasn’t the jolliest, but it was undoubtedly colorful.
Michael Cunningham, “Day”
Cunningham is a writer widely known in his homeland, America. A Pulitzer Prize for the novel “The Hours,” “PEN/Faulkner,” adaptations. For the last few years, he hasn’t released anything until returning with a new novel. It is dedicated to life and the disintegration of a family during the spread of the coronavirus, yet the word “pandemic” isn’t used at all.
Western critics have already lauded the new work and its author, emphasizing the ability to convey a sense of unimaginable melancholy. One review begins with the words, “He is America’s most elegant writer…” Well, Russian readers will also have the opportunity to verify this.
Ma Wei, “The Tang Dynasty”
In our country, we’re weakly acquainted with the history of China. The Tang Empire lasted for almost three centuries during an era when Europe emerged from the Dark Ages, while our country was still in its infancy. It was the golden age of medieval China, a time of glory for the Celestial Empire when peace reigned across most of the country, trade flourished, and China embarked on the path of technological progress.
The collapse of the empire due to internal turmoil was a cataclysm for Asia, comparable perhaps only to the fall of the Roman Empire for Europe. For Russian readers, this book is all the more valuable since we are rarely treated to good works on the history of China.
Brandon Sanderson, Robert Jordan, “The Coming Storm”
Jordan is one of the pillars of fantasy, the author of the multivolume “Wheel of Time” series. He wrote this classic epic saga from 1988 and intended to finish it, but he passed away in 2007. However, he left behind numerous notes, records, and drafts. Thus, Brandon Sanderson, also a prominent figure in the genre, took up the task. According to many who have read it, the result even surpasses the work of the “original” author.
Although “The Storm” was released quite some time ago, there hasn’t been an official translation until now. Thus, this gap is being filled, and the story, started by Jordan long ago, will reach its conclusion. There are two more books in the series that have been written but not yet published in our country.
Stanislav Kuptsov, “Alexander Alekhine: Life as War”
Alekhine was a great chess player in a crazy era. Besides queens and pawns, his life included world wars, combat medals, injuries, the Cheka arrest, emigration, a new world war, occupation, a boycott from the chess world due to his behavior during the war, and a bizarre death, yet he remained an undefeated chess champion.
So, the biography of the great chess player will not only focus on his profession. He played on many boards simultaneously—not just in sports but also in life. Kuptsov intends to showcase Alexander Alexandrovich in all his glory and in all aspects against the backdrop of a turbulent and even insane era. The book is being published by AST.
Rinara Nagaeva, Darina Erokhina, “Mythical Creatures of the Tatars: Cunning Spirits, Generous Deities, and the Bird of Happiness, Khorryat”
“Mann, Ivanov and Ferber” plans to delight readers with a rare bird—a Tatar bestiary. Although Tatars are the second largest ethnic group in Russia, we are not spoiled with a vast number of works on their mythology.
Nagaeva and Erokhina tell the stories of 30 creatures from Tatar myths—winged horses, water mothers, and other wonders. The publication will be excellently illustrated, so the journey through the labyrinths of tales that have reached us from the banks of the Volga and Kama rivers promises to be captivating and visually pleasing.
Robert Sawyer, “Oppenheimer: An Alternative”
Sawyer has amassed a collection of fantastic awards during his lifetime, including the Hugo and Nebula awards, and his works are actively and eagerly translated into Russian. This time, he decided to try alternative history.
Oppenheimer and a team of scientists, from Einstein to von Braun, unite to prevent a natural cataclysm that is meant to engulf the Earth.
In the native language, “Oppenheimer” has already been released, and it is being prepared for publication in Russian by fanzon. The book appealed to both fans and scientists, and the confrontation between human intellect and the impersonal might of the Universe is a topic that will never become outdated.
Maria Semenova, “Brothers,” the third book
Semenova is the matriarch of our fantasy genre, an indefatigable author and popularizer of Slavic motifs. “Brothers” might not be as well-known a series as “Wolfhound,” familiar to all connoisseurs of the genre, but it’s the same Semenova—with beautiful language, moral dilemmas of heroes, and native motifs. In 2024, the concluding volume of the trilogy should be released. Then it will be time to start something new.
By Evgeniy Norin