Fear and Obsessions

A well-known writer and author of the novel “The Time of Women,” explores themes of the illusory nature of human existence and the creation of literary figures. At the center of the narrative is a heroine who, after finding herself in an unexpected situation at an unfamiliar airport, starts to listen to the world around her and invents new characters, drawing inspiration from the images of passengers and random strangers. The work is a deep metaphor for the interdependence between the author and their creations, as well as the potential influence of the text on the writer themselves.

Elena Chizhova, a master of psychological prose, is known for novels such as “The Time of Women,” which received the “Russian Booker” prize, as well as “The Master of Things,” “The Terracotta Old Woman,” and “Orest and Son.” In “Fear and Delusion,” the narrative is complex and non-linear, where reality and fantasy intertwine.

The main heroine, a writer from Saint Petersburg, goes to an international conference. Due to a forced landing of her plane in an unknown airport, she begins creating new characters and remembering long-forgotten events. Her invented images come to life: a historian turned official; an actress dreaming of a successful career; fantastic knights and a bishop. Each of them has their own stories and perspectives, which may differ from the author’s.

The novel explores how perception of reality can be distorted, and how fear can produce strange visions that are difficult to get rid of.