13 Minutes of Joy

The first book of the new nostalgic series “Bright Yesterday,” dedicated to the 1990s and 2000s.

Moscow in the late nineties and early 2000s—the time of big changes, cassette music, and student freedom. Here lives Eufrosinya Vasileva—a person who is sure that being happy is not really meant for her. And yet, at least 24 moments of true happiness were in her life—rare, dazzling, and painfully important. Before her death, she returns to them and lives them again—one after another.

In the first part of the duology, Eufrosinya recalls 13 minutes of sharp joy: children’s games with a white suitcase and a trophy Mars, first school crushes, studying at the journalism department of Moscow State University, and real friendship.

“13 Minutes of Joy” is a warm, touching, and ironic story of growing up, filled with recognizable signs of the times and small miracles that stay with us forever.

“13 Minutes of Joy” is a book about life made of little things: glances, conversations, chance encounters that—somehow—are remembered for years… Eufrosinya’s childhood and youth are the late Soviet Union, the nineties and the 2000s—a period I remember very well. But this vivid, lyrical work is not about an era; it’s about a person’s inner life, about those moments of happiness out of which a destiny is built.
Masha Traub