An Awkward Age

The title story of this collection, "An Awkward Age", spins the tale of a boy growing into adolescence, who appears to have been taken over by a colony of ants.

His diary, initially expressed in the barely literate tones of a young child, becomes more accomplished and assured as the protagonist matures, and eventually begins to give way to the voice of the ruler of the anthill.

Starobinets' style is flexible and direct, commendably unpretentious, and convincing.

Despite the self-evident strangeness of the stories, their recognisably modern Russian settings and their exploration of relationships renders them an insightful take on the contemporary condition of man - in Russia and further afield.