Wound by Oksana Vasyakina

Grief becomes a journey in “Wound” by Oksana Vasyakina – after her mother’s death the poet carries her ashes from Moscow to Siberia, retracing memories along harsh highways and fragile landscapes. With raw candor, she maps loss, identity and art, demanding closure and rebirth. Raw, fearless, unforgettable – “Wound” is a testament to love and loss.

In the days after her mother's death from breast cancer, Oksana, a young queer poet, decides to return her mother's ashes to their working-class hometown in Siberia. It is a journey home that will take her through the raw, almost dreamlike emotions of early grief through to an acceptance of the wound that death leaves behind.

As she navigates the rituals of parting, Oksana feels her way through memory and heartache with a wry humour, reflecting on her complex relationship with her mother and on her own experiences of love, loss, sexuality and the search for home.

Powerful, lyrical and precise, this extraordinary debut is a novel which blurs the line between reality and creation. Wound is a both an exploration of grief and a journey towards love, happiness and creative fulfilment.

"Wound is a poet's novel . . . a primer on feminist thought for readers with Pushkin in their veins" European Review of Books

Translated by Elina Alter

Paperback