Natalia Theodoridou

Kazka pochinajetsja z Agnes. Koli Agnes vtratila vlasnu ditinu, jiji zaprosili do velikogo majetku dogljadati za nemovljam mistsevogo lorda. Prote z ditjam schos ne tak: nigti rostut zanadto shvidko, shkira pakhne zemleju, a v ochakh vidnijetsja temnij lis. Ditina virostaje z khlopchika v junaka, todi staje cholovikom, i ves chas za nim nibi khodit nazirtsi... chuma. Dereva vsikhajut vid korinnja, plodi gnijut na gilkakh, misto povstaje proti nogo. Cholovik bere druzhinu, jaka narodzhuje jomu sina. Ale tragedija povtorjujetsja znovu j znovu, i zreshtoju sim'ja usvidomljuje, scho tse same voni sijut dovkola zlo. Druzhina za druzhinoju, smert za smertju, poshest za poshestju - kozhna zhinka, jakoji torkajetsja cholovik, staje primaroju. Primari zlivajutsja v khor, jakij iz vidchajem kliche opovidachku, poki vona namagajetsja rozpovisti - u nashomu duzhe realnomu sviti, - scho zh naspravdi z neju stalosja. Primari pogodzhujutsja v odnomu - u tij nesprostovnij istini pro cholovika, tsogo mogutnogo pana, jakij kokhav jikh i odna za odnoju pririkav na zagibel: jakscho pidesh - pomresh, ale jakscho pomresh, to zalishishsja. Prigolomshlivij i nezabutnij debjutnij roman Nataliji Teodoridu "Kisla vishnja" porivnjuje vikovi sistemi genderu j vladi, doslidzhuje stari vipravdannja poganikh cholovikiv i zaplutani prichini, cherez jaki mi zalishajemosja v putakh chudovisk, jakikh ljubimo.

'An extraordinary, hallucinatory accomplishment' KAREN JOY FOWLER'[A] reminder about what it means to be alive . . . with razor-sharp prose and diction so precise' MORGAN TALTY'Read it and be changed' B. PLADEKSomething terrible has happened. In a mysterious apartment filled with ghosts, our unnamed narrator attempts to explain this to her child - how do I talk about this? she wonders. The truth must become something beautiful. We must begin with a fairy tale. And so she begins to construct a beautiful fairy tale for her child - one that begins with a strange baby boy whose nails grow too fast and whose skin smells of soil. As he grows from a boy into a man, a plague seems to follow him everywhere. Tragedy strikes in cycles - and wife after wife, death after death, plague after plague, every woman he touches becomes a ghost. These ghosts call out desperately to our narrator as she tries to explain, in the very real world, exactly what has happened to her. And they all agree on one thing, an inescapable truth about this man, this powerful lord who has loved them and led them each to ruin:If you leave, you die. But if you die, you stay. A debut novel as emotionally poignant as it is fiercely smart, Sour Cherry is an arresting debut examining toxic masculinity through its chorus of women - deconstructing the idea of what makes someone a monster.

The tale begins with Agnes. After losing her baby, Agnes is called to the great manor house to nurse the local lord's baby boy. But something is wrong with the child: his nails grow too fast, his skin smells of soil, and his eyes remind her of the dark forest. As he grows into a boy, then into man, a plague seems to follow him everywhere. Trees wither at the roots, fruits rot on their branches, and the town turns against him. The man takes a wife, who bears him a son. But tragedy strikes in cycles and his family is forced to consider their own malignancy--until wife after wife, death after death, plague after plague, every woman he touches becomes a ghost. The ghosts become a chorus, and they call urgently to our narrator as she tries to explain, in our very real world, exactly what has happened to her. The ghosts can all agree on one thing, an inescapable truth about this man, this powerful lord who has loved them and led them each to ruin: If you leave, you die. But if you die, you stay. Natalia Theodoridou's haunting and unforgettable debut novel, Sour Cherry, confronts age-old systems of gender and power, long-held excuses made for bad men, and the complicated reasons we stay captive to the monsters we love.

'An extraordinary, hallucinatory accomplishment' KAREN JOY FOWLER'[A] reminder about what it means to be alive . . . with razor-sharp prose and diction so precise' MORGAN TALTY'Read it and be changed' B. PLADEKSomething terrible has happened. In a mysterious apartment filled with ghosts, our unnamed narrator attempts to explain this to her child - how do I talk about this? she wonders. The truth must become something beautiful. We must begin with a fairy tale. And so she begins to construct a beautiful fairy tale for her child - one that begins with a strange baby boy whose nails grow too fast and whose skin smells of soil. As he grows from a boy into a man, a plague seems to follow him everywhere. Tragedy strikes in cycles - and wife after wife, death after death, plague after plague, every woman he touches becomes a ghost. These ghosts call out desperately to our narrator as she tries to explain, in the very real world, exactly what has happened to her. And they all agree on one thing, an inescapable truth about this man, this powerful lord who has loved them and led them each to ruin: If you leave, you die. But if you die, you stay. A debut novel as emotionally poignant as it is fiercely smart, Sour Cherry is an arresting debut examining toxic masculinity through its chorus of women - deconstructing the idea of what makes someone a monster.

Editor Jared Shurin has gathered the very best work published by British and British-based authors in 2019, producing a diverse and surprising set of stories full of wonder, wit, delight and malevolence. They range from traditional to contemporary fantasy, written by a mix of established authors and new voices.