Izo

“Iso” is a short story that leaves a very strong impression after reading. This is a story about an insincere friendship, an emotional dependence that can form between people, about the inability to say “no” and stand up for oneself and one’s point of view, about self-doubt, bad company, and also—about relationships between parents and children.

“Katya had small almond-shaped eyes, and you couldn’t tell whether she was upset or not. Everyone’s eyes can be read that way—except Katya’s. No matter how you try.

Svetа drew people with almond-shaped eyes that conveyed nothing, and when her mother managed to peek into her notebook, she said: ‘No sense. I can’t see any sense! Back then, at least your portraits could convey a mood!’ And Svetа thought: ‘So it means I can draw Katya!’

Of all the people Svetа knew, Katya was unlike anyone else.”

In 2018, Yevgeniya Basova’s “Iso,” about unconditional acceptance—which sometimes blinds and can even destroy—took first place in the All-Russian literary contest “Kniguru,” and Yevgeniya Basova herself was nominated for the prestigious international Astrid Lindgren literary prize from Russia.

The book was narrated by theatre actress Sерафима Огарёва from Peter Fomenko’s Master’s Workshop.