Summer list: exciting books to read at the dacha

A new poignant word about childhood, deprived of the protection of reasonable adults. The child, prince of summer and the sun, god of cats and insects, finds himself in the test of human old age. This warm and funny story about a boy and a grandmother by “The Heavenly Postman Fedya Bulkin” is revealed from a new perspective. What themes and symbols are hidden behind this childhood story?

Immerse yourself in the picturesque hinterland of western Ireland, where quiet rural life and rare idyll reign. Calvin Hooper, a middle-aged former policeman from Chicago, accidentally finds himself in this quiet corner of the village, where he meets locals. Having moved to the island, he dreams of picturesque landscapes, fresh air and sincere communication with witty locals. However, his plans are ruined when a local teenager asks for his help in finding his missing brother. In this investigation, Kelvin will have to understand how and why everything here has been arranged as it has been since the dawn of time. Will he be able to face the most charming and colorful devils in a quiet village pool?

A book that can formally be classified as diary prose. This work mixes philosophical reflections, mystical insights, subtle descriptions of nature and everyday life, as well as deep observations of a growing child. “Summer” envelops, exposes and burns. How can you not be mistaken?

A unique combination of a love story with fantasy elements. Going fishing in a forest lake in eastern Lapland, Elina Yuliyaakko finds herself in a whirlwind of adventures, where she meets not only people, but also ancient creatures: watermen, bog beeches, chuckles and others. The once usual fishing turns into a real test, where love collides with betrayal, the wisdom of nature and the power of mythology. The parable novel is accompanied by a description of the Nordic nature, which seems to revive the prehistoric world, blurring the boundaries between myth and reality. And man and nature turn out to be inextricably linked. Hunting a small pike or is it still great love, accidental betrayal, overcoming and forgiving oneself?

A dacha horror about a village suddenly cut off from the outside world, where terrible things begin to happen to its inhabitants. The road ends in a forest, connections are lost, neighbors behave strangely, and summer seems like an endless nightmare. Hiding from the madness of the outside world among the cozy greenery is a dream that turns into a sweet dream … a nightmare! What to do if you can never leave your dacha again?

“It is a novel that comes entirely from 19th-century Russian literature, but the era of decadence and the Silver Age seems to be walking on its heels, and modernity leaves traces in the margins.”

The story is about a girl Tusa, born in an unfree world, ready to do anything for freedom. As a long-awaited child in the family of Prince and Princess Boryatinsky, she seems to destroy the ideal image of the family, different from everyone else. She is not subject to social norms, she is unpredictable. This is a story about how difficult it is to be free in a limited world. What choice will Tusya make in a world where every step is calculated and predetermined?

Immerse yourself in the world of Kiya Clark, a sensitive and intelligent young girl living in North Carolina. More precisely in the North Carolina swamps. Since childhood, her home has been in harmony with nature, where her friends are birds, fish and animals. But this is not a story about Snow White or Maleficent. When the death of a local playboy shakes the town’s tranquility in late 1969, attention is drawn to Clarke as the prime suspect. The natural world goes against social norms and she must learn how much she is willing to give in and compromise. The beauty of nature, growth and loneliness, relationships between people and murder. Was it there?

Zhenya and Ilya’s youth begins in their grandmother’s dacha, a place like the Garden of Eden. It is there, still young and innocent, that they taste the forbidden fruit of brotherly love, followed by inevitable exile. Their expulsion from this paradise becomes a symbol of a difficult life that does not meet their expectations of youth, total routine and disappointment in Russia in the early 2000s. Since childhood, my wife was told that she had to succeed: become a translator, get married, have children. But life turned out differently. At thirty, she has neither husband nor children, only alcohol problems and an irresistible desire for her cousin. Ilya also dreamed of becoming a real man, but life turned into an endless cycle, devoid of meaning and joy.

The heroes of the novel are afraid to live their own lives, and is it possible to find happiness when the world is burning?