"Witch hunt" in post-war Germany and stories from Khabensky's childhood: what books were published in November

Paula Hawkins, Smoldering Fire (AST)

Paula Hawkins is best known as the author of the popular novel The Girl on the Train: it has been translated into 40 languages ​​and sold around 23 million copies worldwide.

Her new book is another thriller, but this time the plot revolves around the murder of a young artist.

The police suspect his girlfriend of the crime, but it gradually turns out that other heroes had a motive.

“In this book, I first of all wanted to reveal the idea that no tragedy happens by itself, in isolation from everything else.

A childhood accident can backfire ten years later, and your whole life can go downhill if you trust the wrong person at the wrong time.

I wonder how we become who we are: how we choose, what to hold on to and how these things can hurt us, ”says Hawkins.

The publisher promises that the dark and intense novel will surprise the reader with unexpected plot twists.

The detectives exchanged glances.

Browstaya shrugged.

“I'll go get her some water,” she said finally.

A moment later, Laura heard her scream, but not from the kitchen, but from the bathroom.

- Sir, will you come here for a minute?

The bald man got up, and Laura felt that she was seized by panic, and she was no longer laughing.

“Wait, I didn’t let you in,” she said, but it was too late.

Laura followed him to the bathroom, at the threshold of which was Browstaya, pointing first to the sink where she left the watch (undoubtedly belonging to Daniel Sutherland, since his initials were engraved on the case back), and then to her T-shirt lying in the corner, smeared with blood ...

“I cut myself,” Laura explained, feeling her face burn.

- I told you.

I cut myself when I climbed out the window.

• Paula Hawkins, Smoldering Fire

• © AST

Pyotr Mamonov, "On Dense Earth" (AST)

The book "On Dense Earth" is a collection of poems by the Soviet and Russian musician and actor Pyotr Mamonov.

Mamonov became famous as the founder and soloist of the "Sounds of Mu" group.

He also performed a number of memorable film roles.

One of the first projects with the artist's participation was Rashid Nugmanov's film "Needle".

Collaboration with Pavel Lungin had a great influence on Mamonov's acting career.

Together, the filmmakers worked on the films The Island, The Tsar and Taxi Blues.

I am leaving alone.

Evening.

I notice everything.

The grass is

sleeping

, the shoulders of the ravines are

peeling and burning.

No clouds visible.

Exactly

over the river and white.

The distant shore cuts the

cloudy glass with the

edge of the

sky.

The river is sleeping.

Dark and smooth.

The wind froze in the reeds.

The day has melted without a trace,

silence rings in my ears.

• Pyotr Mamonov, "On Dense Ground"

• © AST

Tatiana Khabenskaya, "My Admiral" (AST)

Tatyana Khabenskaya, mother of the People's Artist of Russia and the new artistic director of the Moscow Art Theater named after A.P.

Chekhov Konstantin Khabensky, in his book shares memories associated with his son.

Among other things, she talks about meeting her future husband, the childhood of Konstantin Khabensky, his first steps in the profession and projects that brought the actor wide fame.

Some fragments accompany the comments of the artist himself.

“Memories are good because (unless they are dry facts and figures) they are superimposed on other memories and turn into something third, already similar to a work of fiction based on real events.

So, you are holding in your hands my mom's memories.

I allowed myself only a few comments "in the margin" so that you do not forget that these are memories! "

- this is what Konstantin Khabensky says about the book.

- Mom, can I draw a clock?

- Of course!

I answer, working vigorously at the washing machine.

Comes running in five minutes.

- Can I - can I draw a cuckoo clock ?!

- Of course, of course you can!

- I allow with a light heart.

- Can I draw a big clock?

- Can!

In another ten minutes.

- Is it possible - big, big?

- Can!

I reached for the laundry, rinsed it and went to look at my quiet artist.

Balancing on the back of an armchair, grimy, disheveled, sticking out his tongue from effort, he was finishing painting a "cuckoo clock" on the snow-white wallpaper.

Something not quite round, with a beak, but really oh-oh-very large!

Hot with inspiration and work, with shining eyes, Kostya asks:

- Mom, do you like it?

• Tatiana Khabenskaya, "My Admiral"

• © AST

Yu Nesbo, "Rat Island and Other Stories" ("ABC-Atticus")

Rat Island and Other Stories is the second collection of works by the Norwegian writer Yu Nesbo.

The first included seven crime stories, one way or another related to the theme of jealousy.

In the new book, the author reflects on the death of civilization and what his contemporaries are like.

Foreign critics call the stories of Nesbø "chilling" and among the merits of the book they note unexpected plot twists, vivid characters and a laconic style of storytelling.

The author's plots, according to experts, are stunning and exciting.

“Nesbø explores the darkest criminal minds with grim pleasure and puts his killers where you least expect to find them,” reads a Vanity Fair review.

• Yu Nesbo, "Rat Island and Other Stories"

• © Azbuka-Atticus

Charles Solomon, James Baxter, Tomm Moore, Ross Stewart, The Legend of the Wolves (MYTH)

The artbook "The Legend of Wolves" will be interesting not only to fans of the cartoon of the same name, but also to animation lovers in general.

The pages of the book tell about the creation of a painting from the moment the idea was born until the end of the work.

The artbook contains numerous sketches and illustrations that appeared as the authors of the project thought over the heroes and locations.

In addition, the book contains interviews with animators, directors and other members of the team working on the cartoon.  

The animated film "The Legend of the Wolves" is set in Ireland in the mid-17th century.

In the vicinity of the city of Kilkenny, cases of wolf attacks on people have become more frequent.

The hunter is trying to catch predators, but he cannot cope with his task.

One day, his teenage daughter decides to help her father and leaves home for the forest, where many discoveries await her.

The project was nominated for an Oscar for Best Animated Feature.

Kilkenny in the film is a vibrant community where people live a normal life, despite the wolves in the nearby forest and the invading troops in the city.

“When you draw an old house, it should look habitable, not an Ikeevian replica.

The house needs history and some peeling paint.

This will make the characters more solid, ”explains scene supervisor Leo Weiss.

- When you design streets, buildings, walls, it is curious to think about, say, the structure of the then market.

What products were sold?

Were there boulders and straw underfoot to absorb moisture?

All this helps to create a more believable image. "

Many artists made sketches and photographs in the city.

They tried to capture in the memory the details of the architecture and how the light played on the stones.

“It's interesting to see what details people pay attention to,” continues Weiss.

- Someone will add a niche in the wall, where the candles brought by the votive used to be placed.

It seems like a trifle.

But how it deepens the space!

Without a niche, it would be just a stone, boring wall. "

• Charles Solomon, James Baxter, Tomm Moore, Ross Stewart, The Legend of the Wolves

• © MYTH

Karla Naumburg, “How to Stop Lying on Children.

Education without stress, tantrums and guilt "(MYTH)

Carla Naumburg, Ph.D. from the USA, is constantly researching the topic of parenting.

She, a mother of two girls, calls parenting the most important and hard work she had to cope with.

Naumburg notes that communication with children influenced the direction of her professional activity - she was the author of many articles and three books on this topic.

In her new work, Karla Naumburg teaches parents to recognize in time the approach of emotional outbursts and not to be lashed out by their children. The author also promises to help readers cope with the stress and shame that appear after a hysteria, if it still could not be contained.

“How so? - you say. - Does my child have a prefrontal cortex? Then what part of the brain controls this insane little creature? " Good question! Without going into details, this is the limbic system. You also have a limbic system. It is located in the center of the brain and includes the amygdala, hippocampus and hypothalamus, as well as all the neural pathways along which information from these regions passes. (She said that their names are funny.) The functions of the limbic system are several, but you can imagine it as your inner three-year-old. The limbic system is responsible for strong emotions and triggers the "hit, run, freeze or hysteria" response. (If you have forgotten how three-year-olds can be hysterical, tear off the cheese stick from the wrong end.)real or perceived threat, overload and intense annoyance, the limbic system enters the scene. Needless to say, in situations where we break down, it is the limbic system that plays a central role.

• Karla Naumburg, “How to Stop Lying on Children.

  Education without stress, tantrums and guilt "

• © MYTH

Monica Black, A Land Possessed by Demons: Witches, Healers and Ghosts of the Past in Post-War Germany (Alpina Non-Fiction)

The book by historian Monica Black traces the origins of the interest of the inhabitants of post-war Germany in the occult, rooted in the Middle Ages.

The author talks about the role of healing, witchcraft and other irrational phenomena in people's lives and tries to find a logical explanation for the attention to such things.

So, according to Black, in Germany in the period from 1947 to 1965 there was a "witch hunt", and many citizens attributed some of the events to the influence of demons.

In addition, there is information about a "healer" known at that time, including one who offered the services of an exorcist.  

“The book is full of examples related to specific destinies, the narrative is easily perceived and captures no less than any other mystical thriller,” says the official annotation.

On the streets, speculators traded foil balls at fabulous prices. Local businessmen were ready to provide "the exact address of the miracle worker Gröning" for 50 marks. There is evidence that one September day the healer was the only topic of conversation on tram 22 in Munich. As one man said, if Gröning had to leave Germany because of a "bureaucratic misunderstanding", a "storm of indignation" would erupt. He is “the most popular person in all of Bavaria,” the pensioner said. The young woman called him "a simple, humble person of the people." Others found the subject of the conversation laughable. “I will put my faith in Gröning when he relieves me of my chronic lack of money,” one passenger joked. However, at least a few people saw in what was happening something more forbidden, something reminiscent of another time,when their fellow citizens were fascinated by another character promising to fix everything that tormented them. As one elderly passenger remarked, "The piper-rat-catcher has only to play - children are running from everywhere."

• Monica Black, "A Land Possessed by Demons: Witches, Healers and Ghosts of the Past in Post-War Germany"

• © Alpina non-fiction

Arik Kershenbaum, A Zoologist's Guide to the Galaxy: What Terrestrial Animals Can Tell About Extraterrestrials - And About Ourselves (Alpina Non-Fiction)

In his book, based on the physical and biological laws of the universe, the zoologist Arik Kershenbaum describes what intelligent representatives of other planets can be.

He reflects on their appearance, modes of movement and communication.

Kershenbaum's research was inspired by animal observation.

He studied their communication features and in his report asked the question: "If the birds could speak, would we notice it?"

The author tried to find clear criteria for the "language" of animals, and later began to consider signals from space in the context of this topic and wonder whether they might be a language unknown to earthlings.

As far as humans are concerned, our specific intelligence has evolved over the plains of the African savannah to solve problems that are characteristic of the African savannah.

We know how to catch a tennis ball without solving Newton's equations of motion, since the skills of throwing and catching developed naturally in us - for many generations we have thrown spears and caught animals.

But a blind mole living underground may not understand at all what "catching" is, and may not even imagine that this concept exists at all, until some mole mathematician, capable of abstract insights like Einstein, develops the equations of motion for purely theoretical basis.

We find it difficult to perceive ideas that lie outside our sensory experience, and sensory experiences of aliens are likely to be different from ours.

• Arik Kershenbaum, A Zoologist's Guide to the Galaxy: What Terrestrial Animals Can Tell About Aliens - And About Us

• © Alpina non-fiction