IT'S TIME by Pavel Kostin (English Edition)

ISBN 9781907832185

Set on the shores of the Baltic Sea, on rooftops lit with mesmerizing orange sunset and in the darkest corners of urban night. We find real characters there with depth and ideas. A coming-of-age story, contemporary kunstlerroman and semi-autobiographical narrative, depicting the formation and development of a street artist and his conflict with bourgeois society values. Russian language edition avilable here >

From up on the roof, you can see everything. You can see life scurrying below you, and see it with a calm objectivity. No prejudices, no assumptions. That's what Max, the compelling narrator does: even when he is not sitting on a rooftop, he looks at life with intelligent curiosity, amiable openness and good-humoured equanimity. Max is not only a great companion for the reader — a calm presence at the centre of events — but the perfect lens through which to see a hidden world.

Through Max we meet a succession of intriguing characters-artists and dreamers with their own unique perspectives on life and formulas for happiness: Viktor, the photographer who finds beauty in the mundane; inscrutable Tanya, whose mystery attracts Max as much as her smile; Pyos, an artist who lost ability to see people around him and lives in a disappearing tower; Oksana, forever entangled in spontaneous and dangerous affairs; Gray, connoisseur of street-art and magic. And, at the centre of it all, the enigmatic Lady F, who appears out of nowhere to give Max little bits of comfort and advice. Her clairvoyant yet cryptic intimations lead Max, and us, through a procession of coincidences, adventures, and miraculous escapes.  Who is she? Guardian angel, Lady Luck, hallucination? Whoever she is, her wry and wise interchanges with Max are one of the novel's real pleasures. Whispers of magic get louder and louder, but, thanks to Kostin's clear and sober prose, with its amused detachment and adroit lyrical touches, we never stray into the world of fantasy or stock-in-trade magic realism.

Pavel's latest novel is more than just a product of his own imagination. According to his introduction, the book is written on the walls of his home city, Kaliningrad, by the city itself and by the street-artists living there. His new heroes are extraordinary young romantics, using their art to express ideas, not unlike our home grown talent in London including Banksy, Ben Eine, Cityzen Kane, C215, Roa. These characters are secretive. They live in their own world with their own philosophy and outlook on life. But how does one become such urban romantic? We see a freedom seeking artist in Pavel's new novel, we see his journey, his adventures, his dilemmas and his choices. What would you choose? The comfort of daily routine or the free spirit of art? For Pavel's characters this becomes a question of life and death.

Reviews more reviews >

This book is about new generation of young people, about new ideas, that everything is possible if one has faith. Very emotional, soulful, and sincere. Read it in one go. The ending both shocked and inspired, made me want to live and explore life.  Spirituality of the book brings memories of Haruki Murakami (村上 春樹), but I disagree with the final choice of the lead character.

Yevgeni Topunov, Cambridge, UK

A beautifully, lyrically crafted novel. If one could combine the contradictory ideas of a soul’s torments and the joy of life in one book – this would be the book. Coming from a young author, it was so refreshing to discover no cynicism or crude language so common to the young generation nowadays. It was a joy to read. You felt extraordinary compassion for the protagonist in his tormented quest, you rejoiced in his optimism, you were bound to feel what he felt. Just look at his description of waves coming to shore (my humble translation – the book is in Russian): 'The ubiquitous arrival of waves, one after another. It’s so calming, if you look at it. But the point is not this subtle murmur of waves. It’s the fact that after this wave there will be another, and then another. And so – forever. It never fails to calm me. Forever. Do my problems even have a meaning compared to this word…' But don’t get me wrong – it’s not just a descriptive novel of rumination: there is a plot here – skilfully designed and not resolved until the very end. Read more >

Irene Rudra, Texas, USA

About The Author 

Pavel Kostin is a hopeless romantic whose inspiration comes from simplest things: a glass of cool spring water on a hot summer day or sunset gradually turning urban landscape into a kingdom of orange and purple shadows, concealing in the darker corners the unknown, mystical, and philosophical. Pavel grew up in the last days of crumbling Soviet Empire. Times were hard, but his writing talent found its audience with release of his first novel The Runner which he completed while working for Russia's Narcotics Enforcement agency's press office in Kaliningrad. This is where Pavel came face to face with drug dealers, organised crime and ugly reality of urban life. From there Pavel's career in investigative journalism and media progressed further into local television where he hosted  Crime Chronicles TV show and became a popular presenter. But it is writing where Pavel's talents truly shine, giving us an opportunity to enter a magical world, skilfully painted by his pen.

About The Translator

James Rann is an award winning young British literary translator and linguistics specialist, an Oxford graduate with first class in classics and distinction in Russian. James lived and studied in Russia where he polished his knowledge of modern Russian and shaped up his unique understanding of both classical tradition of European literature and modern approach and literary innovation of Pushkin, Lermontov and Mayakovskiy. James' commercial experience includes editorial and translation work both in Russia and in the UK. In his doctorate work James explores the complex relationships between the Russian Futurists and the role of Alexander Pushkin in Russian society.

Pavel Kostin About His Novel

"IT’S TIME” is a book which has been written by the city. Not me. Not a man. The book appeared on the walls of the city itself, has grown along with structures and buildings over time. So I can say that the novel is written on the walls of my city. This relates directly to the plot ... but I am not going to spoil the fun for you here, I will just say that the secret is hidden in the urban art, street art, and my book about this partly.

There are many mysteries there, but what is mysticism? Who can reveal, where it ends and begins? Is magic real? I believe that magic exists and always existed, that it is present in each of us, lives in every moment of our lives, and it is is hidden from everyday sight, and only occasionally, sometimes, for one sparkling moment - she shows us her radiant self. I believe everyone experienced those moments at some point in their life. Do you remember one of your magic moments? My book is about this.

The city is inhabited by different people. Strange and funny. Ordinary and extraordinary. By those who make you want to yawn with boredom, and those that capture your imagination. People who cannot imagine how to break free from comfortable, warm and unbearably dull routine, and people who cannot imagine a day in it. People who repeat only what has been taught to them, and people who are always doing something new and want to build for themselves another life. Ordinary people and ... not so ordinary. Where would you place yourself? My book is about this, too.

The city has a surface and a bottom. The city has a day and a night. Bright day, tense, full of dust and bustle; night - dark and mysterious, full of beauty and charm. Day comes with work, rush and routine – it is time for business people.  Nigh brings opportunities for creation and the unknown – it is time to discover the unknown, time for artists and explorers. But beware, the seeker! At the depths of the night, there at the bottom, unchartered waters await with surprises and danger. Is it worth risking the dusty bustle of the day for the sake of coolness and beauty of the night? What would you personally choose? Predictability and comfort of routine or dangers of discovering the unknown? My book is about this.

There is noise and there is peace in the city. A continuous struggle and the romantic beauty, there is boredom and there is magic in the city. It’s a place to escape and a place where danger awaits. There is endless traffic and eternal peace. There are enemies and friends there. The city is you and there is street art in the city. That's what my book is all about.

Order "IT'S TIME" in English

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