twelve languages, Give Me marks the debut of a literary wunderkind,

a gifted writer with a fine-tuned ear and unforgettable voice. The stories

in Give Me are bracingly authentic and deeply felt -- vibrant

snapshots colored by vodka, drugs, and young love that capture life at a

certain age in a specific part of the world while reflecting the universal

emotions of a generation. Too young to identify with life in the Soviet

era, the frank, funny, appealingly tough characters in Give Me are

forced to find their identities in the chaotic atmosphere of a country

recovering from systemic collapse. They reach out to each other in ways

that are sometimes affectionate, sometimes cruel, and always desperate for

connection.

A young soldier on leave from the Chechen war laments the meaninglessness

of civilian life -- 'all that goddamned self-expression' -- while his

girlfriend ponders the elegant arch of her best friend's eyebrows; a

teacher at a summer camp is appalled, disgusted, and frightened by her

out-of-control charges and the retribution she could suffer at the hands

of their powerful parents; love and loyalty become entangled as a young

woman sleeps with friends of her unattainable object of desire to feel

closer to him; a suicidal teenager finds salvation in the unlikely duo of

a beefy security guard and his Rottweiler; the object of a university

student's crush unknowingly pushes her buttons from afar when he neglects

to return her anonymous love notes; and Death visits an Internet chat room

after politely accepting the offer of a cup of tea.

Full of electricity, humor, controversy, and above all, humanity, these

pitch-perfect stories put to use the possibilities of language and

perception to give a glimpse of Russia's youth and their struggle to grow

up, find their way, and, ultimately, love.