LIT-CHAT Part 1: Discussion about Pavel Kostin's latest novel It's Time

We are discussing latest novel called It's Time written by one of Russia's most romantic contemporary Debut Prize writers Pavel Kostin. In our afternoon tea setting in Covent Garden here in London we have Natalie Meyer, literature critic from California who read and reviewed Pavel's latest book, James Rann who is currently translating IT'S TIME into English and your host Max Bollinger, the editor of Interactive Media and Urban Romantics.

Part 1 Kunstlerroman & Californian Sunshine | Download MP3

"This whole novel is about bursting out against a role, against the expectations laid out for us and against surroundings we've grown too comfortable in. That theme has been done before, of course, many times, the rebellion of youth against society, the need for immediacy and a return to our simple desires. But the way Kostin portrays this really struck a chord with me. Kostin often returns to his opening scene of the protagonist on the roof, watching the sunset and the horizon and the city. You begin to match it with Max's character: he is not crazy, he's just that sort of his person, that's what he does. Only later on in the novel are we forcibly brought back to that beginning and realize that there is in fact an underlying thread of urgency, an unanswered question, that Max takes it upon himself to discover, and that premeditated all of this.

Much of the book is a succession of impressions, of ruminations on life, on art, on reality, on our surroundings. The protagonist, Max, is reminiscent of a Fitzgerald-type narrator, pulled in every which way and wandering through the conflict of the story. Toward the end of the novel though we get struck with a realization, one which I didn't see coming probably more because I was absorbed in the protagonist's impressions and less because it wasn't predictable."

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

| Amazon.co.uk  | Amazon.com |  Waterstone’s | The Book Depository | Lehmanns  |  Blackwell’s |  WHSmith |

Order "IT'S TIME" in Russian

 Amazon.co.uk | Amazon.com |  Waterstone’s | The Book Depository | Lehmanns  | Blackwell’s |  WHSmith |