TITLES            AUTHORS            ABOUT            CONTACT            SUBMISSIONS
Diary of the End of the World 

Essay by Natalya Klucharyova




ORIGINAL TITLE:    Дневник конца света    

ORIGINAL PUBLISHER:    Suhrkamp, 2023

160 PAGES      

RIGHTS SOLD:    German (Suhrkamp), Italian (Stilo Editrice), Portuguese for Brazil (Kinoruss), Russian (Ivan Limbakh)

ENGLISH SAMPLE AVAILABLE


“A girl in my oldest daughter’s class said, “Raise your hand if you’re for the war.” Everyone raised their hand, but my daughter said, “I don’t know, my mom doesn’t tell me anything about it.” Despite the fact that we talk about it every evening. The fact that the girl’s mother works for the police gave added piquancy to the situation. Such a sweet lady, with a tattoo on her arm - something in Spanish about happiness. Whenever I get ready to go to a protest I imagine her searching me with her beautiful white hands while I, out of habit, try to make out what her tattoo says about happiness, like at parent-teacher meetings, but the second half of the phrase is hidden under her sleeve.”

A Paris-based literary agency
that represents authors 
writing in Russian

A unique insight into contemporary Russian society. 

The morning of February 24, 2022, begins for Natalya like any other day. Before, at the school gate, she sees her children's teacher cry. Since the start of the war on Ukraine, Natalya keeps a diary, noting what is happening within her and around her: how paralyzing fear, shame, and horror spread within her, while life continues around her as if nothing has changed. How people continue to take to the streets despite the threat of terrible punishments. How the suffering of Ukraine is perceived (or not). And how language and conversation come under pressure - how can one still talk and communicate in a country that prohibits the use of more and more words?

With a keen ear, Klucharyova maps the sphere of the unofficial in Russia. Diary of the End of the World is a courageous testimony that gives insight into a society that has become increasingly closed off.




Diary of the End of the World
thrives on the intensity of the awareness to which the author pushes herself. As oppressive as the facts it records, it is also an attempt at consolation, interwoven with delicate literary threads.
— Der Tagesspiegel


Klucharyova writes about how a society becomes accustomed to a state of emergency, how the fog of indoctrination by state media envelops it. The author's struggle for words contrasts with the indifference of her surroundings. This book is an important document.
— Berliner Zeitung


An important literary testimony.
— SWR2



© RUE DE L’EST, 2024



CONTACT


To request materials, inquire about rights, or get in touch, please email us at:

info@ruedelest.com


SUBMISSIONS


We are currently accepting submissions from authors. To submit your work, please send your complete manuscript along with a brief cover letter to: 
submissions@ruedelest.com

We apologize if we cannot reply to every submission. We will only contact authors whose texts are accepted.