Rome Turbina is fourteen years old. Everything is intensified, the world is undergoing a test for falsehood and failing it, the unshakeable collapses, the familiar breaks, the new frightens. “Yes, mom, I am a sensor. A malfunctioning touchscreen.” Parents, from whom one cannot expect understanding. A friend, with whom everything is complicated. Teachers, making noise out of nothing. And she, a stranger from the trolleybus in an elfish hat and with a bag that says “I am not Pushkin.” Finding her, finding oneself, and surviving a crisis will be helped by Ruslan and Lyudmila. Only they are not Pushkin's heroes, but Chilean squirrels from a pet store. The new text by Eva Némesh is written in rhythmic prose — perhaps the best form to reach 14-year-old sensors, who need to hear: you are not alone, and you will cope. Eva Némesh is a three-time winner of the Kniguru Prize and the winner of the Book of the Year Award (2023). Her stories “Subtitles” and “Turn Off Spelling” were published by Samokat.
