At the Height of Spring

“On the Crown of Spring” is a book by the writer from Kalmykia, Tatyana Badakova. The author offers her memories in an original form—some kind of symbiosis of memoirs, short prose, and poetry.

Before the reader, vividly and colorfully unfold the stories of a girl, a young woman, and a woman within one family. Yet her life is also a reflection of the history of the Soviet and Russian state periods. Representatives of the sixties and seventies generation—the author’s own—were witnesses to many important events and big changes happening in our country: changes of leadership, regimes, the social system. That’s why the author has plenty to tell. The narration is in the first person. An interesting idea is the author’s letters to herself at different periods of her life. The shift from direct memories to poems and small lyrical sketches makes the book engaging.