Alexey Salnikov's novel "Occulttrager" is increasingly appearing among contemporary adherents of magical realism. Popular after "Petrovs in and Around the Flu," the writer continued to explore the hallucinatory aspects of reality, but this time emphasized the fantasy element: in his world, cherubic alcoholics and demonic influencers operate "undercover," and are connected by specially trained occulttragers. This setting, coupled with his signature style, allows both readers and, it seems, the author to temporarily escape the news and enter fantasy, but the novel is only partially therapeutic: too much of it rhymes with the present day. 

"By nature, angels can't stay on earth for very long. Perhaps they lack vitamins. Or maybe the environment is too toxic, God knows. A day or two—and then they're done."