Witnesses of Existence

Denis Beznosov's novel "Witnesses of Existence" is a polyphonic reflection on catastrophe and totalitarianism. A chorus of voices woven from monologues, streams of consciousness, newsreels, and propaganda videos captures the history of destruction. Real phenomena are pushed to the limit, and what happens conflicts with familiar logic. The world in a state of catastrophe appears disjointed, and the reader is left to piece together the picture of the whole. The text features real characters — documentary filmmaker Ivens, artists Gerhard and Klein, aging actor Buster K., and furniture designer Wegner. But its main substance is a polylogue of four unnamed individuals who find themselves trapped, deprived of the opportunity to ever leave their refuge.