I. Antonova, «The Ghost Ship»
I read «The Island of Charon» by Alexandra Kryuchkova in one breath. I am shocked. In my opinion, it is a masterpiece! I haven’t read anything like this before. It is a modern parable with a deep philosophical meaning, hidden behind a transparent, well-balanced form. The author offers her own concept of immortality.
The main characters have something in common with the characters of Alexander Grin, with the little prince of Antoine de Saint-Exupery and with the sad mermaid of Hans Christian Andersen. Assol can be guessed in the protagonist’s features, although, instead of the happy «Scarlet Sails»10, she is destined to meet the Ship full of Ghosts.
The boundaries between reality and fantasy are so blurred that the plot twists and turns are impossible to predict! There are no random details in the book, they are all deeply symbolic, and the Greek myths, passed through the heart, gain a second life. Poems are harmoniously interspersed in prose, giving the story a special intimacy11. However, the entire text is pure poetry! It seems that a magical film about the worlds of water and sky, love and death is unfolding before your eyes.
Of course, Kryuchkova’s prose deserves the highest praise. Surely, it will be translated into many languages and brilliantly filmed!
Irina ANTONOVA,
member of the Union of Writers of Russia,
laureate of literary awards
The newspaper «Poetograd» No. 4 (400), 2022.
http://www.poetograd.ru/arch.html
https://reading-hall.ru/publication.php?id=30662
Посвящение / Dedication
ОСТРОВ ХАРОНА / The ISLAND of CHARON
«Тогда отдало море мертвых, бывших в нем, и судим был каждый по делам своим…» (Откр. 20:13—14)
«Then the sea gave up the dead that were in it, and each one was judged according to his works…» (Rev. 20:13—14)
«Блажен и свят имеющий участие в воскресении первом: над ними смерть вторая не имеет власти…» (Откр. 20:6)
«Blessed and holy is he who has part in the first resurrection: over them the second death has no power…» (Rev. 20:6)
«Не жалейте жертв и не осуждайте палачей – они не существуют на Земле сами по себе, но безошибочно вычисляют друг друга, даже находясь в противоположных точках планеты, и идут навстречу всю свою жизнь, чтобы исполнить предначертанное им Свыше…»
«Do not pity the victims and do not condemn the executioners, because they don’t exist on Earth by themselves, they unmistakably calculate each other, even being in opposite parts of the planet, and go towards each other all their lives to fulfill the destined for them from Above…»