(Th)ings and (Th)oughts

Synopsis

Blurring the boundaries between fairy tale, satire, and philosophical fable, (Th)ings and (Th)oughts gathers a remarkable collection of interconnected stories from one of Russia's most original contemporary writers. A husband is revealed to have no soul, cars fall from the sky, skeletons appear in empty lots, and an ordinary man wanders through a surreal afterlife, confronting his own failures again and again. Throughout these strange and darkly comic tales, ordinary lives slip into the uncanny with unsettling ease.

Inventive, playful, and profoundly thought-provoking, Alla Gorbunova's stories explore love, alienation, faith, absurdity, and life in contemporary Russia. Drawing on the traditions of Gogol, Bulgakov, and Kharms while forging an unmistakably original voice, (Th)ings and (Th)oughts is a collection that is as enchanting as it is unsettling.

About the Author

Alla Gorbunova is a Russian poet and fiction writer whose work has been widely praised for its imaginative power, philosophical depth, and distinctive blend of realism and the fantastic. (Th)ings and (Th)oughts is translated from the Russian by Bela Shayevich, an award-winning translator of contemporary Russian literature.

Publisher
Deep Vellum

Publication Date
November 18, 2025

Format
Paperback

Pages
232

Subjects
Short Stories · Translated Fiction · Russian Literature · Speculative Fiction

ISBN
9781646054039