laureate ofВ literary awards
The newspaper В«PoetogradВ» No. 4В (400), 2022.
http://www.poetograd.ru/arch.html
https://reading-hall.ru/publication.php?id=30662
AВ detective fairy tale for adults
You shouldn’t be sure of anything, because «everyone has his own island here», although not always it is an island, and not everywhere…
Then, what is В«The IslandВ» byВ Alexandra Kryuchkova?
Is it a fairy tale for adults? – Yes, sure. It is full of romance and sadness of Antoine de Saint-Exupery and of «standing on the edge» from Max Fry.
Is it a mystery detective? – Undoubtedly. We see the classic dramaturgical «slide», a three-act scheme, and it keeps you in suspense till the end.
Is it a love story? – It’s also true. The emotions hidden beneath the outward calmness of the main character are going wild! Until the last breath and even after it, she is looking for earthly love and cognizes reality (well, or non-reality, as you like) in a not rational, not linear way.
«The Island of Charon» by Alexandra Kryuchkova is variegated and multifaceted, but that’s what makes it so remarkable! Besides, the brightest creative successes usually happen somewhere at the junction, and the genius manifests itself in something non-standard, going beyond the statistical average.
However, you shouldn’t be sure of anything, because…
…«everyone has his own island here!»
Boris Mikhin,
member ofВ the Union ofВ Writers ofВ Russia,
laureate ofВ literary awards
The newspaper В«PoetogradВ» No. 4В (400), 2022.
http://www.poetograd.ru/arch.html
https://reading-hall.ru/publication.php?id=30662
Magic captivity
(«The Magic Captivity of Alexandra Kryuchkova’s Prose»)
I am holding in my hands a philosophical and mystical thriller «The Island of Charon», which received several literary awards in 2021: «Ocean, Wind, Sand and Stars» after A. de Saint-Exupery (Open Literary Club «Response»), «Another Reality» after Leonid and Daniil Andreev (Creative Center «Clouds of Inspiration»), «Running on the Waves» after A. S. Grin (Moscow City Organization of the Union of Writers of Russia together with the Museums of A.S. Grin in Feodosia and Stary Krym), «Case №…» 2021 after Alfred Hitchcock and «The Book of the XXI Century» in the nomination «Wings» after A. de Saint-Exupery (Moscow City Organization of the Union of Writers of Russia together with Non-commercial Partnership «Literary Republic»)[1 - The newspaper «Literary News» / («Literaturnye Izvestia») No. 11—12 (197—198), 2021, «The results of the literary awards 2021» by the press-secretary of the Moscow State Organization of the Union of Writers of Russia, https://reading-hall.ru/publication.php?id=30044]. However, I’ve studied some reviews to decide whether to read it or not.
And I begin reading the book to the music from Christopher Nolan’s film «Interstellar», which appears almost out of nowhere and sounds like a refrain on that very Island. I recreate the reality of events, because it’s to this music that the reader is about to learn how tender the embrace of even the most horrible death can be.
«Everyone has his own island here…»
The music of the stars and planets places me to the space-time tunnel «Island» – «Island», one of them is in the Sun Book, and the other one is in the Moon Book. Christopher Nolan with his film crew beneath my windows of the hotel on Tatari Street in Tallinn, 2019, immediately came up to my mind. I was watching the process of making his new film «Tenet» from the inside.
Nolan was focused and serious. He gave the command toВ start.
And IВ see Alexandra writing her В«IslandВ»:
…The Creator, the Ocean, the Sky, the Wish Tree, the Moon Book and the Sun Book…
Yes, that’s right, like that – with a capital letter and nothing else.
And this is not an artistic technique, but the essence of the author’s values – the system of coordinates of her Universe, in which the main word «Love» turns out to be so impossibly huge and holy that it becomes unpronounceable!
However, it is Love that permeates everything and all around: a randomly met person without anatomical signs, and the Girl looking for her mother in the Ocean, and the Boy, her «little prince», asking for a lantern not for himself, but for the Girl, because on this Island every wish can be fulfilled by the Wish Tree, and even the barefoot Old Man, who has nothing left but black birds and other people’s memories, the fact that touches me to the core…
This fragile, not too sociable girl-woman with Tsvetaeva’s haircut, who frankly informs that all those, who has sunk into her soul, lie without moving a muscle, and they are YOU yourself (!), manages to achieve by an apparently simple but obviously magical narration a hail of my tears!
It is incomprehensible, but Alexandra Kryuchkova, who has already grown inВ her literary work toВ the level ofВ philosophical Thought, penetrating into the depths ofВ the Universe and leading us, readers, step byВ step along the Stairway toВ the Sky with each ofВ her books, remains inВ her soul aВ naive child, still discovering Love and Peace, Good and Evil, and surprising us with the purity and sincerity ofВ the pronounced, В«IВ WANT!В»
And MEВ TOO!
IВ want toВ visit this Island,В too!
The Island with no electricity, Internet, air conditioning, where В«our consciousness does not care if something happens only inВ thoughts or inВ reality, because the reaction ofВ the body is always the same.В»
The Island, where the water from the Lake ofВ Lovers is not usual, not mineral, but dead and not sparkling, because there is simply no other water there, however, you cannot drown inВ such water, because you can breathe inВ it!
The Island, where a Philippine fishman with Athos rosary hacks and glitches my time as if it could have any meaning on the Island of Magicians, because it is always the Full Moon on the clock, and this Time is the best (!), although only for catching Fish with a long nose and shamanic treats, such as blood with milk (!), the potion with a limited shelf life; the main thing is not to fall for the bait of black magicians, who put the spirit of a dead person into a bewitched one…
ToВ sail away!
To sail away from the world where it’s possible to destroy an ancient Gothic church for the sake of a coal mining, to suicide due to unpaid bank interest on a business loan, and it is not considered shameful to steal ideas – if it were someone else’s bag, then – yes… otherwise…
To sail away to the Island, where one’s dreams are memories, from which I would finally find out why «we were subconsciously so afraid of losing each other even before meeting in a new quality, that we put off all conversations for later…»
To the Island, where you’ll hardly be able to answer immediately the question of the Stargazer, «Do you really believe that you ended up here by accident?» But you’ll have an opportunity to think about the meaning of your life, although only until the high tide, creeping as quiet (!) water, like a loving monster, because «The Ocean comes here silently».
ToВ the Island, from which it is so difficult toВ disappear, because В«everybody has his own ferryВ», but it has the right never toВ come for you, because it does not have any schedule, or rather, it depends solely onВ you.
To the Island, where you can kill only your own selfish Self, and no theft is possible, because there is nothing to steal there, the most valuable thing is the light… of a lantern, and it is exclusively YOURS…
Of course, both the Island itself and its main characters, existing in reality, have their own beautiful names, but, as for me personally, they are no longer so important, because they would be displaced from memory by an amazing feeling of freedom (!) from the present, the past and the future, which I got while sitting, wrapped my legs in a plaid… or rather, in captivity – yes, in the magic captivity of Alexandra Kryuchkova’s prose.
Elena Tallenika,
member ofВ the Union ofВ Writers ofВ Russia,
laureate ofВ international literary awards
The newspaper «Literary News» («Literaturnye Izvestia») No. 11—12 (197—198), 2021.
http://litiz.ru/arch.html
https://reading-hall.ru/publication.php?id=30039
Another Reality
(В«Alexandra Kryuchkova revealed the secret ofВ CharonВ»)
I am familiar with the work of the famous Moscow writer Alexandra Kryuchkova not by hearsay. Back in 2012, I was lucky enough to be present at her personal literary evening at the House of the Near Abroad by A. Solzhenitsyn at Taganka, where she looked great in two capacities at once: as a poet and as a songwriter. Her performance inspired me so much that I wrote one of my most significant poems «I say you „hello“!», citated in the epigraph Alexandra’s words. Later, in January 2017, at the same House took place a presentation of the grandiose film «Holy Russia» by A. Kulyamin (based on the book «Holy Russia. Voices of Russian poets»), which features the heartfelt poems of A. Kryuchkova as well.
And now, a few years later, when, being the chairman of the jury and head of the Creative Center «Clouds of Inspiration», I got acquainted with her mystical thriller «The Island of Charon», submitted to the literary competition «Another Reality» organized in honor of mystical writers Leonid and Daniil Andreev, Alexandra Kryuchkova revealed herself to me in yet another capacity – as a deep and thoughtful prose writer.
The very title ofВ the book makes it clear that we are not going toВ have aВ trivial turning over ofВ mundane platitudes, but aВ journey into painstaking philosophical reflections. From the first pages, we are immersed inВ that very В«Another RealityВ», where the earthly life and death ofВ the main character are closely interconnected with invisible otherworldly Forces ofВ Darkness and Light, and the plot unfolds on aВ mysterious island, where В«everything is wrongВ», since it is located inВ the Astral World. But does an afterlife exist inВ principle? And if so, how is that World organized? What is it В«the judgmentВ» ofВ aВ soul? What price does each ofВ us have toВ pay for our deeds?
Unresolved tasks and unfinished works, mistakes made during life and affection for earthly things, and even unfulfilled dreams lead the soul to the island, whose lighthouse is the Wish Tree, but «The Wish Tree is a trap…»
And it is no coincidence that the owner of the Island lives in a house in the Cemetery of Memories – the reminiscences of dear to the heart people are haunting the main character.
Can the described by Alexandra Kryuchkova in «The Island…» be exactly like this in reality? We don’t know, but surely, each of us, approaching the last line, asks the same questions, to which the main character is looking for and finds answers. The author openly expresses her opinion on the possibility of cognition the Truth in a dialogue with Charon.
«…everything that surrounds you is an illusion. Only those who can refuse it will discover the Truth.»
«But the only way to understand completely what’s going on here is to go beyond what’s going on. So, theoretically, everyone who is here now needs to leave the Astral World?»
В«Correct. The character ofВ the movie will not see the whole movie until he moves himself inВ the auditorium.В»
Unlike most incoherent and far-fetched fantasy, «The Island», emerged at the intersection of genres (love story, detective, mysticism and philosophy), keeps the reader in suspense from the first to the last page. The search for mutual love leads to the investigation of one’s murder in the spirit of Alfred Hitchcock’s thrillers and ends with unraveling of Charon’s secret to realize the transition of the soul to the next step of the endless staircase to the Sky.
InВ my opinion, one ofВ the main goals ofВ the book is toВ convey toВ the reader the importance ofВ taking responsibility for his own deeds, since each person almost always has the freedom ofВ choice,
«But… pay attention to the fact that the Creator doesn’t act against your will and never deprives anyone of the right to choose.»
…as well as the importance of forgiveness, because the main character accepts the Creator’s plan for her own death and eventually forgives her murderer.
«I don’t wish you any harm… You are right. It was necessary for some reason. Goodbye…»
There is nothing superfluous inВ the book. All the events and dialogues ofВ the characters are carefully verified and thought out. There is no artificially built-in abstruse, В«The Island ofВ CharonВ» is easy toВ read, but at the same time it is aВ serious work that deserves attention no less than similar philosophical works inВ the field ofВ so-called В«Another RealityВ», from В«The Little PrinceВ» byВ Antoine de Saint-Exupery toВ В«The Rose ofВ the WorldВ» byВ Daniil Andreev.
According toВ the decision ofВ the jury ofВ the Creative Center В«Clouds ofВ InspirationВ», Alexandra Kryuchkova was announced the winner ofВ the В«Another RealityВ» 2021В competition after Leonid and Daniil Andreev. We wish Alexandra inexhaustible creative inspiration and new victories on the Literary Olympus!
Sergei Bersenev,
Honored WriterВ ofВ the Moscow City Organization
ofВ the Union ofВ Writers ofВ Russia,
Head ofВ the Creative CenterВ В«Clouds ofВ InspirationВ»,
laureate ofВ literary awards
The newspaper В«Literary NewsВ» (В«Literaturnye IzvestiaВ») No. 3В (201), 2022.
http://litiz.ru/arch.html
https://reading-hall.ru/publication.php?id=30735
The GhostВ Ship
I read «The Island of Charon» by Alexandra Kryuchkova in one breath. I am shocked. In my opinion, it is a masterpiece! I haven’t read anything like this before. It is a modern parable with a deep philosophical meaning, hidden behind a transparent, well-balanced form. The author offers her own concept of immortality.
The main characters have something in common with the characters of Alexander Grin, with the little prince of Antoine de Saint-Exupery and with the sad mermaid of Hans Christian Andersen. Assol can be guessed in the protagonist’s features, although, instead of the happy «Scarlet Sails», she is destined to meet the Ship full of Ghosts.
