Everything You Need to Know

"Everything You Need to Know" is the diary of a fictional character, a mathematics graduate student who recently emigrated to America. A young man who once adored science, now unable to lift a pen, tries to claw his way out of a state of loneliness and meaninglessness. He dissects his life in search of his "genuine" self: "What does a person have that is inexplicable from a biological point of view?" He seeks a purpose for existence: "If there is no destination, what is the point of living? I have no desires, no aspirations - only impulses." In attempting to make sense of these questions, seemingly being a highly rational person, the protagonist undergoes a mystical experience after which he begins to feel like a prophet. The main character writes a novel about his revelations, about his ideas. But his philosophy is convoluted, contradictory, and destructive: both for his personality and for those close to him.

The concise sentence style, a certain "reporting" nature of the text, the openness and sincerity of the narration - all of this allows for a deep immersion into the protagonist's psychosis. Before you is a diary, a case history, a snapshot of the thought process. Everything that (he? I? you?) need to know.