The Return

The amazing characteristic of the great prose of a true master is that it captivates from the very first pages and does not let go until the end. Veronika Podgurskaya is a new heroine; she was not present in the previous novels of Elena Katishonok. But the feeling of long-standing acquaintance with her arises immediately—such are the accurate details and precise specifics of everyday life. Veronika has retired. «What time required has accumulated over the years and lay in several capacious plastic containers: letters, photographs, newspaper clippings. It was necessary to sort through the clutter, throw away the unnecessary so as not to doom the children to burdensome concerns. Two boxes of photos, scarcely closing: „America“. A smaller box, „Before America“». The brother stayed in the hometown, which is «before America». They hadn’t seen each other for half a century. They got in touch, arranged a meeting, and a plane ticket was purchased. Now Veronika is to return to a past she does not know and to immerse herself in a present that evokes feelings far from tenderness. «...And yet the road leading home turned out to be too long...» — a line by Joseph Brodsky the author chose as the epigraph to the novel.