Oleg Sivun

"Pertinent. Merciless. Distressing. BRAND is a text of infinite talent."
MARINA PALEI in NOVY MIR

"... inspiring reading. Like being whisked away by the current at great speed, eddying around the rocks from time to time or being whipped by the bushes on the bank as you whiz by, and before you realise what is actually happening, it sweeps you away again... A few decades ago we would have seen this as anti-Utopian but today it comes across as crystal clear realism. As new realism... which makes very disturbing reading. An extremely rare challenge for both the heart and the mind. And one which leaves a lingering aftertaste."
ELVINA MOROZ in ZNAMYA

"Oleg Sivun’s BRAND is dedicated to the Russia we all live in here and now – not the Russia of readers, not the superpower, but rather middle class Russia, the consumers whose mass consciousness is hopelessly addicted to the illusory glamour of ostentatious western brands. Yet this debut from St. Petersburg achieves even more, namely the expression of the younger generation’s attitude to life... This realistic, cold-blooded and sober view of reality has provided contemporary Russian literature with a desperately needed breath of fresh air."
DMITRI KOLESKINOV in LITERATURNAYA ROSSIYA