Lyudmila Petrushevskaya is a recognized master of modern prose; her pen can handle everything—an up-to-the-minute novella, a delicate psychological tale, and… fairy tales, her favorite genre, as the writer herself says. A real fairy tale can be funny or a little sad, but it always has a good ending. So that everyone who reads them will feel happier and kinder. Petrushevskaya’s “true fairy tales” are about happiness that we all lack so much. And so they can be read by everyone: the very youngest and those wise from life. Besides, all the heroes of these tales are princesses and wizards, pensioners and television workers—and also Barbie dolls—our neighbors and contemporaries. In Petrushevskaya’s “true” fairy tales, as in ordinary fairy tales, miracles happen: magical objects end up in people’s hands, witches appear—but fairy-tale events occur in our present, unenchanted time.
Contents
New adventures of Elena the Beautiful
The story of the painter
The girl Nose
A fairy tale about clocks
The father
Willow—Whack
Nettle and Raspberry
Queen Lir
Prince with golden hair
Anna and Maria
The Golden Rag
Two sisters
Island of the Pilots
A foolish princess
Grandpa’s painting
Behind the wall
Princess Bellonozhka
Mother Cabbage
Black coat
A flashlight
Adventure in a space kingdom
The secret of Marilena
Little magician (novel)