The Chronicle of the Hunchback

“The Chronicle of Gorbaty” is a new novel by Sofia Sinitskaya, a finalist of the literary awards “Big Book,” “National Bestseller,” “NOS,” and “Yasnaya Polyana.” The plot of “The Chronicle of Gorbaty” spans several centuries and is set in the city of Vyborg—from the time it was founded by the Swedes to the present day. Myriads of characters of different ages, ethnicities, and worldviews, not knowing each other, are tightly interwoven by fate: historical facts sit side by side with myths, and a documentary chronicle flows into magical realism.

“‘The Chronicle of Gorbaty’ is my confession of love for the city of Vyborg and for the entire Karelian Isthmus, with its harsh beauty and its surprising, full of drama, history. In the 12th century, a Swedish crusader, Thomas Gorbaty, came to these lands to instill in people love for Christ with fire and sword—but instead, he himself fell in love with a pagan woman, a Karelian weaver Medveditsa. They became the founders of a large family. Their descendants lived in Vyborg—Viipuri, defended their city during the Northern, Winter, and Great Patriotic Wars, but in the end they were forced to leave it forever.” — Sofia Sinitskaya