Doves, or Outdoor Games

The new book by Pavel Krusanov, the author of «Angel's Bite», «American Hole», «Dead Language» and other equally unexpected and discussed works, this time is about hunting. Yes, about hunting in its classic, Turgenev sense. But Krusanov wouldn't be Krusanov if he limited himself to a banal presentation of hunting stories about trips for waterfowl and game birds. Yes, that is present in the new book, and it is told in such a juicy, vivid manner and with such expertise that you feel as if you are actually, like in a computer simulation, stepping into the hero's wading boots and squelching through the swampy muck in anticipation of a lucky shot. The book is actually broader, deeper, and more remarkable than just about shooting a gun. And the geography of this book is not only Pskov region near Nivorzhovo. There is also the Peruvian selva with its secrets and nighttime fears. There are many other paths along which the author leads us, immersing us in the complex, sometimes unpredictable world of the human inner «I». And of course, the book contains magic, because, as the author said in one of the interviews: «Literature is not just a game of words and meanings, it is the heir to verbal magic, the magic of spells. Only in the case of literature, the miracle it conjures is of a special nature. After reading a talented book, the transformation does not occur outside, but inside you. As a result, even if only temporarily, you become different, and through you, the surrounding reality is slightly transformed».