Advent

Little Stesha opens one window of an advent calendar every day, bringing Christmas closer. And her mother and father, Anya and Kostya, flip through pictures from the past, trying to understand what will become of them in the future. “Advent” is a novel about how music unites people and makes them different in their laughter. “There are such festive boxes with opening little windows, behind which they hide treats. ‘Advent’ is like such a Christmas box. The windows open—and behind them are people, each with their own story, each with their own plot. It’s as if these people aren’t quite real yet: they only have to become alive in the anticipation of Christmas. And the world around is chilled and dark, like an engraving, and time is ghostly. But people laugh—through their windows—with angelic laughter, or wild laughter, or desperate laughter. And in an amazing way, this laughter somehow shapes the plots, makes the stories sparkle like shiny Christmas ornaments.”