Annie Ernaux: Female flashing in six slight works

Simple Passion is a brilliant yet boring example of emotional masturbation. I nearly fell asleep, so clichéd was the way in which her obsession manifested. Designed to keep a woman in her place?

Two Patches on the Asphalt

During WWII, the Glazers, like many Jewish families in Deliatyn, suffered their share of tragedies but their daughter Pepina miraculously survived. This is her story as told by Andriy Mysiuk and translated by Lidia Wolanskyj.

Signaling nothing, signifying too much

Putin wants to stop while he's ahead, that’s what his supposed “signaling” is all about. It means he doesn’t anticipate winning, at least not any time soon. No compromise, no returning territories or anything. It's simply calculated to make Ukraine look like the bad guys when we say “go to hell.” Too bad the western media is often playing up to him.

Congestive Heart Failure

When my chest feels
like it’s full of rocks,
I look up the symptoms
and tick every box.