ELKOST International literary agency - Elena Kostioukovitch will be a guest of Book Forum and Literary Festival in Lviv, Ukraine

Elena Kostioukovitch will be a guest of the 19th Lviv Book Forum and 7th Lviv Literary Festival that will take place on September 12-19, 2012 in Lviv, Ukraine, where she will give a master-class on Italian Cuisine, and a presentation dedicated to literary translation.

A schedule of Elena's events in Lviv is as follows:

- on September 13th, at 15.00 at the Festival Stand: presentation of the project "Literary Tour 2012".

- on September 14th, at 14.00 at the Danila Galitsky Library: "Profession: literary tranlsator. Public lecture by Elena Kostioukovitch and Maksim Amelin"

- on September 16th, at 11.00 at the Biancо Rosso Restaurant: Culinary master class by Elena Kostioukovitch.

Lviv Book Forum (Ukrainian: Форум видавців у Львові) is the biggest book fair in Ukraine. Its slogan is Amor librorum nos unit.

For details please see: http://bookforum.ua

http://www.segodnya.ua/regions/lvov/Na-Forume-vo-Lvove-vystupit-SHenderovich-i-ugostyat-ledyanym-salatom-.html

Featured titles

Two sisters and Kandinsky, a novel by Vladimir Makanin (2011)

Rights sold:

Makanin’s novel Two Sisters and Kandinsky (2011) is a special genre structure based on the sophisticated play of classical and modern hybrid forms. Besides the genre definition as “a novel” stated by the author and specifying it as “a scene of life” oriented to Balzac genre form, the reportage and essays inclusions are significant in the novel as well. Dramatic code is actualized there not only in its classical variant, but also in the form of puppet theatre, contemporary talk-show, and other genres of film and television.

In Makanin's previous novel about the Chechen War, Asan (2008), the concept of "betrayal" had a structure-forming function. His next novel Two Sisters and Kandinsky (2011) placed the concept of "betrayal" into the context of a story of an individual human being and of the Russian society of the 20th century, when a snitch (betrayer) was the most important figure in the state. In Makanin's prose, in contrast to the narrow political interpretation widespread in the society, almost all types and kinds of betrayal are present: starting from betrayal in personal relations between a man and a woman, betrayal of a friend, violation of a social contract, betrayal of a strata or a state, and coming to the most terrible in the opinion of the writer ego-betrayal, i.e. oblivion of one's ideals and principles (the most terrible in the opinion of the writer). We may affirm that the dyad "loyalty betrayal" is the core in Makanin's world view, and "loyalty" is almost of a sacred character, and "recovery" of the society is possible only if it returns to a new "sacrum".

Baize-Covered Table with Decanter, a novel by Vladimir Makanin (1993)

Rights sold: China - LITZIAN, France - GALLIMARD, AWorld English - Readers International,

Winner of the 1993 Russian Booker Award

Baize-Covered Table with Decanter describes one man's psychological torture as he faces an impending visit to be interrogated at the Table for a perceived, minor infraction. Makanin describes in some detail each character present at the Table, their purpose, techniques, and psychology. He also descibes in flashbacks the physical torture of suspects in Soviet days past and the mental torture of some as they are forcibly drugged in state mental hospitals. The book contains a few sections with an adult material not appropriate for minors; one scene in particular describes the sexual abuse of a corpse and is really quite disturbing.

Makanin does a good job describing the moral corruption of Russian/Soviet society. Neighbor is turned against neighbor. Bribes and sexual favors are freely exchanged. Fear rules. It seems no one is immune to this societal degradation.

Baize-Covered Table leaves the reader with the impression that, although the Soviet torture methods may have diminished in recent years, psychological torture that breaks a person's spirit, mind, and body may persist... there will always be a Table in Russia.

"...it is all of Solzhenitsyn compressed into 144 pages" -- Kevin Tole, GoodReads