State of Mind – Peter

This is a novel for those who want to understand how human relationships are built—how love begins and why it sometimes dies.

People flocked to St. Petersburg who had trouble with luck. They thought that coming here was worth it only to have their “luck” last for the rest of their lives. They didn’t yet know that very soon St. Petersburg would enter their home, their bed, would always be near; no matter where they left this city, it would sit under their skin—like in the heroes of this story, where relationships at breakfast, lunch, and dinner are not only seasoned with the taste of white nights, but also with the tang of gray everyday life.

St. Petersburg is a place of emotions, passion, and feelings heightened to the limit. A city where relationships become a “minefield” and one wrong step can destroy both people. One of the brightest writers of the new generation, a connoisseur of elegant and flavorful prose, Rinat Valiullin will show you St. Petersburg that you’ve never known. A deep, sensual, and incredibly emotional story for true literary gourmets.

Relationships between a man and a woman: airy and free, like wind rushing down a broad avenue. Grand and majestic, like the facades of luxurious palaces. Mad and passionate, like waves of a river crashing against the granite that holds it. Mysterious and enigmatic, like dark backyard wells—cold and distant, like gray everyday life. Romantic and full of hope, like the white nights.

And in these relationships, the city plays an enormous role: it’s so easy to get into, but impossible to escape from. This city penetrates every home, every bedroom, every soul. Rinat Valiullin’s prose is a complex construction in which the psychology of relationships is revealed not so much through actions and deeds as through hints, glances, half-tones, and aromas. Every line of the novel is a key to the subconscious—a chance to look deeper into yourself and understand something about yourself.