| Synopsis: |
An accomplished cyber sportsman sets on a mission to spend a few days in a small provincial town. He posts an advert in local newspaper looking for a girlfriend to help him spend a thousand dollars and soon starts an unconventional romantic relationship with an emo-girl named Ella. She is the only one that does not look like a gold-digger to Max. The sweetest thing in any new relationship for Max is not sex, not even the first kiss, it is those last few seconds just before the kiss, when it is clear that the kiss is about to happen. Even if the actual kiss fails to materialise later for whatever reason, this moment of anticipation, this incredible moment, silence, slight numbness, adrenaline rush, the chill, the convergence of the lips, as if by accident...And then this feeling of warmth and euphoria starting to spread in the body. As Max's affair with Ella continues to evolve, a string of suicides hits this seemingly happy and quiet town. Suicides follow a pattern and affect young people about to turn twenty one.Set in modern day Russia and written by four times Debut Prize finalist Andrei Kuzechkin, this novel offers an intriguing detective story, based on author's own personal experiences and investigations revealing, on one hand, many failures of modern society to hear and understand young people, and inability of young people to face reality and grow up, on the other. Complex issues affecting kidults - adults refusing to grow up - are explored in this book amongst other things. Skilfully written narrative includes actual suicide notes, posts and other messages, in the form of song lyrics, videos and blog entries left by those young people who chose to stay forever young. |