Author: Marina & Sergey Dyachenko
Genre: Fantasy
Series: Yes (The Metamorphosis Series)
Note: Originally published in the authors' native Russian, the book was translated into English in 2012. Sadly, it is the only book in the trilogy that has been translated thus far.
Brief Summary:
Sasha Samokhina is a sixteen-year-old girl who loves the beach more than any place in the world. Little could she know that it was on the beach that her life would end...
While on vacation with her mother, Sasha is approached by a mysterious and somewhat sinister man, Farit Kozhennikov. Farit compels her to perform bizarre and seemingly meaningless tasks for him and warns her that to disobey would result in dire consequences. Fearing for herself and her family, she has no choice but to obey.
Courtesy of Farit, Sasha soon finds herself whisked away to the unknown village of Torpa to enroll as a student at the Institute of Special Technologies, The lessons are impossible, the pace grueling, and the teachers bordering on abusive. To make matters even more confusing, no one will tell Sasha (or any of the students for that matter) exactly what it is they are trying to achieve. Time will tell...one way or the other.
Here is what Goodreads had to say:
The definitive English language translation of the internationally bestselling Ukrainian novel—a brilliant dark fantasy with "the potential to be a modern classic" (Lev Grossman), combining psychological suspense, enchantment, and terror that makes us consider human existence in a fresh and provocative way.
Our life is brief . . .
While vacationing at the beach with her mother, Sasha Samokhina meets the mysterious Farit Kozhennikov under the most peculiar circumstances. The teenage girl is powerless to refuse when this strange and unusual man with an air of the sinister directs her to perform a task with potentially scandalous consequences. He rewards her effort with a strange golden coin.
As the days progress, Sasha carries out other acts for which she receives more coins from Kozhennikov. As summer ends, her domineering mentor directs her to move to a remote village and use her gold to enter the Institute of Special Technologies. Though she does not want to go to this unknown town or school, she also feels it’s the only place she should be. Against her mother’s wishes, Sasha leaves behind all that is familiar and begins her education.
As she quickly discovers, the institute’s "special technologies" are unlike anything she has ever encountered. The books are impossible to read, the lessons obscure to the point of maddening, and the work refuses memorization. Using terror and coercion to keep the students in line, the school does not punish them for their transgressions and failures; instead, their families pay a terrible price. Yet despite her fear, Sasha undergoes changes that defy the dictates of matter and time; experiences which are nothing she has ever dreamed of . . . and suddenly all she could ever want.
A complex blend of adventure, magic, science, and philosophy that probes the mysteries of existence, filtered through a distinct Russian sensibility, this astonishing work of speculative fiction—brilliantly translated by Julia Meitov Hersey—is reminiscent of modern classics such as Lev Grossman’s The Magicians, Max Barry’s Lexicon, and Katherine Arden’s The Bear and the Nightingale, but will transport them to a place far beyond those fantastical worldsl/quote]
My take:
There is no denying that the book is mesmerizing. That being said, this reader was often as much in the dark about what was going on as the main character seemed to be. It reminded me of the movie Mother! where the symbolism was brutally captivating but you found yourself scratching your head and wondering what the plot was. Just as in the movie, I felt that it was a bit too vague and symbolic to make much sense at all.
Of course, that could be just me. I don't normally like loose ends, just tell me the story please and leave all the highbrow stuff for others far more patient and educated than myself. I'm not saying I hated it, because I didn't. But I don't think I would rush to read it again.
