Anna Starobinets “Silver Asholotl” M.: Stroki, 2023

An axolotl is the larva of an ambystoma and the title of a short story by Julio Cortázar, while a silver axolotl is a creature that can deprive one of one's reasoning but grants wishes. It's from a collection of short stories of the same name by Anna Starobinets; some have appeared before, but this title story is the first. It contains both recognizable post-February realities (traitor hunts and "child-sized" military uniforms) and the signature shift into the fantastic from familiar everyday situations. The experience of separation from a father or the miracle of an ironically reimagined goldfish, a special child or a boy from another planet, COVID-related delirium or the manifestation of a demonic entity? Starobinets provides two perspectives for each text, but in both the real and the fantastic, her characters find themselves in situations that test their (and our) humanity. 

"A lot can change in three months. Axolotl turns into a fish. The mother, who hates the father, asks him to come."