Anna Berseneva
| Sovpadenia | Coincidences 3 Novels. AST. Moscow 2023. approx. 350 pages each |
The contemporary part of the first two books takes place in Russia (Moscow) and Belarus (Minsk, Polesie) 2019-2021. The historical part begins in 1924 in Belarus, and continues in 1926 in Algier, Paris, Moscow. The modern part of the third book is happening 2022 in Russia. The historical part (1930s-1950s) of the third book takes place in Russia (Moscow, the Far East), Belarus (Minsk, Polesie) and Germany. All plot lines are intertwined.
Vol. 2 The Sand Rose
A silver necklace with a sand rose goes to Sonia Artynova as a legacy. And it seems that this coincidence changes everything ... But Sonia does not know that such sudden turns in fate are a family legacy. Her great-grandmother once had to trade Germany for Russia, Crimea for Bizerte, an archaeological expedition for Tuareg captivity, Algeria for Paris... And it‘s not about wanderlust, it‘s about responding to evil in an effort to protect the most important values in life. From the 20s of the 20th century the heroes are thrown into the 20s of the twenty-first century, which only at first glance have nothing in common. In fact, then as now, a person must defy fate in order not only to save himself and his loved ones, but also not to lose respect for himself.
The modern line is connected with Sonia: her life is like anabiosis: she is not deeply touched or affected by the kitten handed to her by the neighbor boy; nor by Maxim, the man with whom Sonia spends her free time; nor by her work in a business literature publishing house; nor by social and political events. And even the meanness of her partner, who was frightened and did not protect Sonia from the thief who threatened her life, does not cause her strong feelings. Sonia wasn‘t like that before. But for eight years now, she has been like a blindfolded and ear-blinded person. The reason is the burn of her first love. Her chosen one was Boris Shakhovsky, a gloomy, handsome man and director of the Shakhovsky Publishing House holding company. A rich man of intelligence, brilliantly educated, he, unable to counteract the system, was forced to cover the false elections positively. Unable to forgive himself for this, he lashes out at Sonia and literally crushes her. During the pandemic, the parents of Sonia die. By taking a job as a nurse at a covid hospital where her brother and his wife Alesia are working, Sonia regains the meaning of her life. While working, she meets Roman, who is literally dragged out of the afterlife by doctors. And she decides to help her brother and his wife by bringing their son from Minsk. In Belarus, Sonia discovers that evil has tipped the scales. The regime‘s massacres of peaceful citizens who prefer freedom and democracy are tantamount to a slaughter of orcs. But all is not well in Russia either: the police think they can arrest Alesia, who is eight months pregnant, just because she does not have a passport: it was stolen. In the midst of the fear that the old life will no longer be, that one is helpless in the face of mass evil, Sonia becomes ill. She is helped by Roman who rescues her and Alesia during a police brutality. He turns out to be the man in whose presence Sonia feels safe and secure. Love flares up between them.
The historical line is connected with Sonia‘s great-grandparents Ksenia and Sergei: Xenia buries her mother, who died of consumption at a resort in Europe. Her father takes her to Crimea. But from there they are forced to flee with the Red Army com- missars. The father is an archaeologist. He gets the French Society of Archaeologists to sponsor excavations in western Sahara. When he suddenly dies there Xenia is left alone in the Sahara. Alone with the eternal sand. When she is rescued from the hands of Tuareg brigands, she realizes that she has fallen from one captivity to another. The Tuareg want to sell her as to a port brothel. A Russian wanderer, Sergei, intercedes for her, and they sail off to El Jezair. Sergei buys her documents. A spark flares up between Ksenia and Sergei. But, as the girl later realizes, Sergei‘s passion is more a release of tension than love. He shuns the girl, while at the same time caring for her. They arrive in Paris together where they enjoy some weeks. Before Sergei tells her that he has finally solved all his problems and tomorrow they will leave for England, where Sergei spent his childhood, Xenia is approached by the Russian secret service who want her to return to Russia. The option of not taking his „wife“ with him is impossible for Sergei – the NKVD knows what and who can be manipulated. First they unload in Minsk where they meet friends and where Xenia finds out that she is pregnant. Back in Moscow they are lodged in a service apartment, where the janitor and the driver are watching them. Sergei gives Xenia some information that she may one day use to possibly save themselves. While Xenia gives birth to a son, Sergei disappears for ten years. Coming back he confesses to her that he is, in fact, a murderer, that she should give up on him completely. But Xenia confirms her love, saying that she is ready to follow him even to hell. Sergei disappears again trying to help his friend in Belarus who is tortured by the NKVD. At the end Xenia blackmails the NKVD with the special information she has got about the activities of the NKVD organs in Europe. They tell her that Sergei is in Ussuriysk. The necklace with a sandy rose that Sonia inherits from Ksenia, had once been chosen by Sergei as a gift to Ksenia.
