Center of Gravity

«Center of Gravity» - the debut novel by Alexey Polyarinov, a writer, translator of D. F. Wallace, and a specialist in American postmodernism. This is a novel about the present - about the development of 1T technologies and their unpredictable consequences, about contemporary art and the confrontation between man and system.

Its heroes grew up in the 90s. The book opens with a story told from the perspective of a boy named Petro: first friendship and affection, problems at school, a detective story about searching for a mysterious lake - the magical tales of his mother become an organic part of the narrative. However, new narrators step in - his brother Egor, their half-sister Marina, friend Greek - each of whom has their own distinct viewpoint on events. Fragments of manuscripts and interviews invade the text. The story rapidly transforms from a family saga into a dystopia with elements of cyberpunk.

Experimenting with form and structure, creating a novel within a novel, the author ultimately brings all the threads together, and the mosaic canvas becomes a coherent picture.

This edition is supplemented by a preface by the author.