Medea and Her Children

“Medea and Her Children” by Lyudmila Ulitskaya is one of the most interesting attempts to construct a new “family novel.” Here, everything comes together: the author’s unmatched ability to tell the stories of private individuals, free mastery of mythological layers, relevance, and even ideological depth. The main character is childless Medea Sinopli, a namesake of the ancient Medea, who is also a kind of deity for the entire large extended family. But instead of killing, she collects, connects, and binds fragile intra-family ties with her blood.