Distortion

The heroes of this book live in a world that is measured not only by exact and real quantities. In this world, there is a place for the strange, the frightening, and the bordering on horror. By bringing the image to absurdity, Kanabeев tells about today's reality as clearly and accurately as possible. A new language for a new reality. ...here is a popular blogger who photographs trash in dumps, and in his spare time creates garbage from people who throw away too few things. ...here is a boy who has one eye instead of a face. And this eye allows one to peek a little into the future, which is not always pleasant to see. Kanabeев's prose resembles the prose of early Viktor Pelevin and simultaneously of Clive Barker. From the former, he takes the rigor and conciseness of the absurd style, and from the latter, the excessive imagery and imagination. For those who love playing computer games, the closest comparison would be with the Silent Hill game series. “Kanabeев has imagination; he writes in a lively—clear, transparent—Russian language and thinks about people—about the world, about life—about all that one sees around oneself every day. In general, this is the formula for good prose. But besides that, Kanabeев also knows how to mix total irony and piercing lyricism into a powerful cocktail—which makes his stories already brilliant prose.” — Vadim Levental “Kanabeев knows how to talk about the main things immediately, briefly, and very vividly. Here is a combination of contrasts of the subtlest perception of life and cruelty, black humor and the beauty of the world—a gripping combination that cannot leave the reader indifferent.” — Anna Gutiyeva, literary editor, writer