Bitter Quest. Volume 1

Publication of the book "Bitter Quest" in two volumes!
Quest novel. Test novel. Reinterpretation novel.
“Bitter Quest” is an incredible experiment aimed at immersing modern young people in the Soviet era of the 1970s. For writing this work, Alexandra Marinina organized focus... groups of contemporary youth and described their real reactions in the book.
You will discover how Generation Z would behave in the realities of the era of “developed socialism”.
This novel is for everyone who does not live in the present but thinks about the future while reminiscing about the past...
Imagine that you found yourself in the USSR. The good old seventies: stability and peace, free education, lunch in the cafeteria for one ruble, ice cream for 19 kopecks… A dream?! Well, the Quest will show…
The organizers selected several boys and girls to participate in a rather unusual experiment—a journey to the 1970s. In the house where the volunteers will live, the way of life of the era of “developed socialism” has been fully recreated. They read plays by Maxim Gorky, eat Soviet food, wear Soviet clothing, and suffer from boredom at “Komsomol meetings,” deprived of their smartphones and other gadgets. On the surface—a simple amusing adventure. But what is all this invented for? And how will it ultimately end for each of them?

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“Marinina not only writes detective novels but also answers eternal questions. The author treats her readers as a kind and experienced teacher towards students who need support, hints, and guidance on the right path. Optimistic and practical in her didactics, Marinina poses the question of 'how to live' and strives to help the reader find their way to a better life in the modern world. With her detective stories, Marinina writes a contemporary novel of 'education of feelings': the main goal of the author is education through entertainment.” — Anatoly Vishensky, Grinnell College, USA

“Many novels by Alexandra Marinina have been adapted into films in Russia, and in Germany, they have been transformed into radio plays. Given that the goal of these adaptations is to captivate audiences and listeners in the same way that readers are captivated, both the film and the radio play are not just additional artistic works but also interesting interpretations that have penetrated the secret of Alexandra Marinina's success.” — Sarah Hegyi, University of Cologne, Germany

“In the dialogues of artistic and trivial literature, one can find various ways of stylizing 'orality' to achieve the impression of spontaneous conversation. The everyday speech in A. Marinina's novels is characterized by an extraordinarily high degree of liveliness, which is expressed, among other things, in various forms of addressing interlocutors, different shades of politeness, and the emotionality of the vocabulary used.” — Wolfgang Stadler, Leopold-Franzens University, Innsbruck, Austria.