"Turn Off the Lights and You'll See the Stars" by Mark Levy (ABC-Atticus)

The world-famous master of love stories Mark Levy has written a new book, which can now be read by Russian fans of his work. The writer has many recognized novels in his piggy bank, some of which have been filmed, in particular "Between Heaven and Earth", "Everyone Wants to Love" and "Where Are You?".

"Turn Off the Lights and You'll See the Stars" is a book about two lonely and completely different people who meet on an ocean liner. The protagonist Jeremy is not rich and for a long time dreamed of leaving his past life and going on a ship to a happy future, where he would become a jazz performer. Unlike many on deck, he cares not only about the final destination, but also about the process itself: he watches the ocean and nature with tears and delight, even in bad weather.

Adele Glymps notices Jeremy and senses a kindred spirit in him. The girl works as a master watchmaker, so she has money for a first-class cabin. Despite different lives, social status and destinies, the characters discover new facets in each other and get closer.

"They've been on the road for two hours. The farther they drove away from the city, the better Adele's mood became. She had a very good time with Jeremy. Even when he was silent, lost in thought, he reassured Adele. Dark; and then, as she passed a village, Adele suddenly realized what was happening to her: she was really happy, it had not happened for so long that she could not remember the last time she had been so happy. She held back a smile that was about to bloom on her lips and slowed down.


"I'm starving to death. Would you like to grab a bite to eat?

"Great idea, haven't eaten anything since morning," Jeremy said. "I'm inviting you to dinner."

"I thought you had lost your voice." I accept your invitation, and tomorrow it will be my turn to pay.

The thought that their trip together would continue made Jeremy beam.

"On condition that you entertain me with conversation tomorrow," she added.

  • "Turn Off the Lights and You'll See the Stars" by Mark Levy
  • © ABC-Atticus

"The Last Errands" by Cueve McDonnell (MYTH)

The detective comedy The Last Errands is the fourth book in the Dublin series, which also includes the novels The Man with One of Many Faces, The Day That Never Comes, and The Angelic Job. Production company Avalon and director Chris Addison are making a series based on this detective series.

The novel "Last Errands" is set in Dublin. The protagonist Paul Mulcrone and his girlfriend Bridget have recently opened the MKM Detective Agency, but it is already on the verge of bankruptcy due to the constant intrigues of competitors, as well as the questionable methods of work of their colleague and friend Bridget, Detective Bunny McGarry, famous for his explosive temperament.

In addition, the characters are weighed down by an inexplicable phenomenon in the face of a "raised from the dead" agent of the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Bunny was sure that he was underground in the mountains, but suddenly his ghost appears and begins to drive McGarry crazy, constantly reminding him of the past. Nevertheless, these mysterious events have an explanation, as well as answers to questions that will make the characters rethink their lives.

Turning to the left, Bunny passed the grinning figure of Zayas, who was leaning against the wall of the garage.

"Well done, detective. You're good at maintaining the illusion of normalcy. Keep up the good work and try to stay calm.

Bunny ignored him, trying to focus on something else. Today is Sunday. Who did he select for Sunday's game from Team St. Jude? Of course, this will not affect the results, but still?

Zayas sat a step behind.

"Do you think the bodies have already been identified?" After all, it's been a few days.

"You're not real," Bunny hissed through clenched teeth and quickened his pace.

"Of course. I am your mind, losing control of itself due to understandable stress. But because I'm not real, I don't stop being a problem.

"Stop chasing me."

"I'm not chasing you.

Bunny stopped abruptly and looked back. Zayas is gone. But across the street, Bunny spotted a man with long red hair walking a collie dog. The man looked at Bunny and turned away. Bunny went forward again."

  • Final Errands by Cueve McDonnell
  • © MYTH

Archetypes in Russian Fairy Tales, Elena Zhurek (AST)

A practicing family psychologist and author of the book, Elena Zhurek, with special attention to detail, analyzed well-known fairy tales. This book is a manual for adults, an opportunity to analyze yourself, your psychological state and even see the "second bottom" of your favorite stories. Familiar characters appear in the book in unusual ways.

Zurek explores a variety of topics, from parenting mistakes to relationship problems. For example, the fairy tale "Geese-Swans" in the understanding of a psychologist is a story about brothers and sisters growing up in the same family. More precisely, it is about how the eldest child loses his childhood and his own self in an attempt to grow up quickly and please his parents.

On the example of "Morozko", the theme of the "convenient child" and the victim is studied, and on the basis of "The Wolf and the Seven Goats", parental control is told.

"Three Cute Little Pigs is an old, British fairy tale, but dear to the hearts of many generations of Russian children who were brought up on it. And, as usual, ancient, folk tales were written in an era when they were not as careful about the tender children's psyche as they are now. No one cared about age restrictions and what it was too early for children to know and what could already be told. From a very early age, they showed the harsh world as it is – there are predators and prey in nature, all living things eat other living things. Natural selection in all its glory without any fuss. Harsh times and manners! And how is it possible to do this with children? Whether it's the case now – carefully and gently, so as not to frighten the children with excessive naturalism and wildness of the laws of nature. That's what happened with this fairy tale – it was edited a little bit to fit modern ideas about the world and upbringing. In the old version, how is it? There the Wolf devoured the poor piglets with an appetite without a twinge of conscience. And little Naf-Naf didn't break off in the finale – he boiled the enemy in a cauldron, avenged his murdered relatives, feasted on wolf bones and rejoiced. Wild medieval beasts! Well, how can you tell such horrors to children at night? So they embellished the modern version a little. And the lazy piglets survived — they took refuge with their hard-working brother. And they didn't terrify the wolf much either, so they bathed him in warm water in a cauldron, and let him go in peace. Not a single animal was harmed."

  • "Archetypes in Russian Fairy Tales. What a childhood trauma Koshchei has. How did the separation of Kolobok go? Why Wisdom Didn't Save the Frog Princess from an Abuser, Elena Zhurek
  • © AST

Lost in Eden by Eshkol Nevo (ABC-Atticus)

The novel by the popular Israeli writer Eshkol Nevo is divided into three different stories, which, at first glance, are unrelated, but after getting acquainted with each of them, the reader will be able to find a common meaning.

In the first story, Death Road, the protagonist Omri, during a post-divorce journey through Bolivia, makes an acquaintance with a married couple, Ronen and Mora, and unwittingly becomes involved in their relationship. This strange alliance is rapidly moving towards a deadly end.

The second novel is called "Family History". It tells the story of an elderly widower doctor, Caro, who, to his surprise, begins to develop feelings for a young doctor-intern, Liat. The arrogant and narcissistic girl knows her worth, and the main character notices that she is smart, well-read and well versed in medicine, and involuntarily begins to distinguish her from the crowd of everyone else.

The third part bears the title of the whole novel. It tells the story of a married couple who, according to tradition, went for a walk through a fruit plantation on Saturday morning. They have been married for about 18 years, often quarreled over domestic and personal issues, their children have already grown up, but this morning there was an idyll between them. Nevertheless, the walk ended in grief: the husband went to the toilet and did not return. The desperate wife will have to analyze their entire lives, try to solve the mystery of her husband's disappearance and save the family.

In the original, Eshkol Nevo uses the word "pardes" in the title of the novel, which translates as "fruit plantation". However, the interpretation of this concept is quite extensive. For example, in the Hagiga there is a story about four men who entered the Pardes (an allegory of the Garden of Eden), but only one of them managed to leave the place successfully. The lives of the others were doomed: one died, another went insane, and a third became an apostate.

"Well, what does she write? My lawyer asked, drumming his fingers on the table to the rhythm of three-quarters.

I was silent for a few seconds.

The risk Blight took shocked me.

It was clear to me that she was entrusting her fate to me, so that I, in turn, would entrust my fate to her. The trick is completely transparent. Still, it had an effect on me.

I felt it physically. It was as if a huge wave had struck me in the chest – pity, surprise, the desire to save her – and immediately covered me, down to my earlobes.

I waited for this wave to subside.

And he told the lawyer what Mohr was proposing. In general terms.

He swallowed all the words he was going to call her—they literally went down his throat—and said:

"Seriously, you're not going to consider that possibility, are you?"

I didn't say anything.

"Are you laughing at me?" He asked incredulously.

I was silent.

"Listen to me," he said. "Are you listening?" As your lawyer, I have a duty to warn you: if you admit that you were there with them, anything else is possible.

I nodded.

"You'll be charged with perjury at best and aiding and abetting murder at worst.

Я кивнул.

— Учитывайте, что эта девушка... как бы это сказать... не мать Тереза. Она легко изменит свои показания и обвинит вас в том, что именно вы столкнули её мужа в пропасть.

Я кивнул».

  • «Пропавшие в Эдеме», Эшколь Нево
  • © Азбука-Аттикус

«И жили они долго и счастливо», Алёна Селютина (МИФ)

Алёна Селютина пишет прозу с 13 лет и воспринимает процесс создания книг как сеанс у психолога. «И жили они долго и счастливо» — фэнтези-роман, основой для которого послужил русский фольклор.

«Мне захотелось поговорить о том, что, на мой взгляд, должно являться основой любого брака: об уважении, поддержке, праве оставаться собой и безопасности. И о верности в самом широком понимании этого слова», — приводятся слова автора на сайте издательства.

В центре книги — Василиса Прекрасная и Кощей Бессмертный, которые уже много лет женаты. Оба они трудятся на Западно-Сибирское отделение Управления по надзору за магией и магической миграцией. Возглавляет контору Баюн. Дома же ждут супругов доберманы Мунин и Хугин.

Работа у героев нелёгкая, и периодически на них сваливаются разные проблемы, среди которых, например, пропажа старой ведьмы, которая живёт на окраине болота, и появление в её доме двух неизвестных детей.

Кощей и Василиса счастливы в браке, но внезапно нагрянувшее прошлое и работа становятся для них серьёзным испытанием на доверие и прочность союза. 

«Чёрный джип Кощея стоял у ворот Конторы. Интерьер машины был зачарован на чистоту, и можно было не бояться, что болотная грязь с сапог нанесёт хотя бы малейший урон идеально чистым коврикам, натёртой до блеска полированной обивке или светлой коже сидений.

Машину мужа Василиса любила, в ней ей всегда становилось спокойно, здесь от неё ничего не зависело, и она ничего не решала: едешь и наслаждаешься. Так что она откинулась на спинку сиденья и устало прикрыла глаза. От долгой прогулки по болотам, тряски на псе из огнива и пытки стульями в кабинете Баюна ломило всё тело. Время было уже за полночь, страшно хотелось спать. Кощей выглядел не лучше. Он не торопился заводить машину, вероятно, давая себе время собраться с силами — они жили в небольшом коттеджном посёлке за городом, и до него ещё нужно было доехать, — и просто сидел, уставившись в невидимую точку на руле.

"You know," Vasilisa sighed tiredly, looking through her barely open eyelids at the brightly burning street lamp. "Nastya told me how she sometimes helped Sokol with his work. So, listen to it, it's all romance and funny incidents. And I was even a little happy, after all, the two of us hadn't been on calls for a thousand years. I thought that this time it would also be interesting and romantic. And as a result, I was frightened, and you were bitten... What's wrong with us?"

  • "And They Lived Happily Ever After" by Alyona Selyutina
  • © MYTH

"A reader on a couch. Manias, Quirks and Weaknesses of Book Readers, Vitiello Guido (AST)

In this book, the author communicates with the reader as if at a psychologist's session, but with humor, and explains the habits, neuroses and mania of book lovers. The writer immerses himself in the world of readers from all over the world and explains why some people like to underline various quotes from this or that work, while others are afraid that at least one spot will appear on the book, what can be learned about a person by looking at his home library, what bibliomania is, and much more.

As the writer declares, his book is dedicated to neurotic readers. For example, those who sadly lend a book to someone, polyamorous and monogamous readers, as well as those who are ashamed to admit to unread classics.

"In any case, the neurotic reader's relationship with books is similarly filled with all sorts of rituals and taboos, compared with which, once we have decided to adhere to evolutionary theory to the end, the Ten Commandments are a splendid example of enlightened thought and advanced view of the world.

The first commandment is, "Thou shalt not throw away." Have you ever tried to throw even the lousiest book in the trash? The second you're about to let it go, you're sure to feel a supernatural force that keeps you from doing it. It is even stronger than the will of the angel who stopped Abraham's already raised hand as he prepared to kill his son Isaac. And no matter how hard we try to rationally explain what is happening (i.e., to stuff your neuroses and anxieties into a rational shell), one thing is clear: this is a reflex action tied to superstition.

  • "A reader on a couch. Manias, Quirks and Weaknesses of Book Readers, Vitiello Guido
  • © AST

"Witches. Salem, 1692 by Stacy Schiff (ABC-Atticus)

Pulitzer Prize-winning historian Stacy Schiff has written a book about one of the most mysterious events in American history. The Salem mystery has spawned almost as many theories as the assassination of John F. Kennedy.

The story of the witch hunt began in Massachusetts in the winter of 1692, when the daughter of a priest suddenly began to convulse and scream in agony. The first execution by hanging was recorded in June, and the last in September. There were even dogs among those accused of witchcraft.

Those horrific events were the last echo of the Middle Ages in a new era. The author of the book examines in detail what happened in Salem, while revealing some secrets. She describes the persecution of witches deeply and with psychological accuracy, thereby presenting the reader not just dry historical data, but a real detective investigation. As historian John Demos has noted, "The book leaves an indelible mark. It's emotionally powerful."

Before reading, Schiff provides readers with an opportunity to familiarize themselves with the main characters appearing in the story. In addition, the book contains illustrations related to the theme.

"At the end of July, a Salem resident noticed that God had shown his mercy: not a single case of smallpox had been recorded for a whole year. The Lord, however, sent them a new trial. To do this, he apparently chose as a punishing angel a well-meaning Andover farmer who was desperately trying to save his dying wife, who had borne him ten children in twenty years. At first, Joseph Bollard made a claim against his forty-nine-year-old relative. Does it have anything to do with the unusual "painful sensations" that have been plaguing Elizabeth since spring? A relative dabbled in fortune-telling and black magic, but could not help. He didn't know anything about it.

Bollard appealed to the authorities, who, remembering Spanish practice in the early 16th century, advised him to send a horse to fetch the Salem seers. It was almost certainly the niece of Parris and Mary Walcott. At Elizabeth Bollard's bedside, the girls began to writhe in convulsions. Directly or indirectly, they pointed to the frail Anne Foster, an Andover widow of seventy-two, the one who had been in a mid-flight accident.

  • "Witches. Salem, 1692 by Stacy Schiff
  • © ABC-Atticus

"A true history of magic. From Stone Age Rituals and Druids to Alchemy and the Wheel of the Year, Marina Golubeva (MIF)

Ph.D., writer Marina Golubeva has collected in her book the world history of magic in a generally accepted context — from ancient times to the Renaissance.

In total, there are four main parts in the work: "Magic in the World of the Middle Ages", "The Magical Heritage of Pagan Europe", "Magic as a Science", as well as "Ceremonial and Ritual Magic: From Holy Miracle Workers to Necromancers and Witches".

The author of the book believes that ancient magic is myth in action and people's practical view of the world. From the book, the reader will learn about the types and laws of magic, the prerequisites for the emergence of sorcery and the time of its origin. In addition, Marina Golubeva talks about where such teachings as alchemy and astrology originate, as well as shares knowledge about magic rituals and artifacts that were once used.

"According to the myth of the ancient origin of alchemy, people were taught this art at the dawn of time by fallen (damned) angels, who, according to one biblical story, had intercourse with earthly women. The damned revealed the secret of transmutation to their lovers so that they could turn any metal into gold. In one of the manuscripts, written on behalf of an unknown priestess who called herself Isis, this woman boasts of her relationship with the fallen angel Amnael. In gratitude for the pleasure he received, he taught Isis the "art of alchemy." However, there is no information about alchemy in the Old Testament texts; The Hebrew prophets don't seem to have done it either, and neither did their wives.

After reading the manuscript of Isis, late antique natural philosophers linked the origins of alchemy to ancient Egypt and its dark mysteries and cults. And that, too, is only half true. No less popular were the stories that the founder of the alchemical art was Hermes, nicknamed Trismegistus (Thrice the Greatest). Who he was (and whether he really was) is not known for certain. Some adherents of alchemy called him a great sage and magician of antiquity, who took the name of an ancient Greek god. Others considered Hermes to be an incarnation of the ancient Egyptian god of science and magic, Thoth."

  • "A true history of magic. From Stone Age Rituals and Druids to Alchemy and the Wheel of the Year, Marina Golubeva
  • © MYTH

"My terrible joys. The Story of My Life by Enzo Ferrari (AST)

The autobiography of the famous Italian engineer and racer, the founder of one of the most expensive car brands - Ferrari - has been published in Russia.

Enzo Ferrari's path to fame was winding. As is often the case, his personality was often discussed in the media, which led to many myths about his fate. In order to free himself forever from false labels, Ferrari decided to write a book about himself and tell the world the truth.

The first version of the book "My Terrible Joys. The Story of My Life was published in 1962 by Cappelli. Over time, the author reinterpreted and supplemented it, and in 1980 an edited and more detailed autobiography was released. The book, published in the Russian Federation, combines both versions. In addition, it contains an essay by Enzo Ferrari's second son, businessman and vice president of Ferrari Piero Ferrari, as well as a glossary with the names of famous racing drivers.

From the autobiography, the reader learns about Enzo Ferrari's childhood dream, the difficult periods of the two world wars, the founding of Scuderia Ferrari, the race with Alfa Romeo, the deep grief after the loss of a child, the crisis, the threat of bankruptcy and many other events and people that influenced the life of the legendary personality.

  • "My terrible joys. The Story of My Life by Enzo Ferrari
  • © AST