Russian Lessons
Ripol Classic, Moscow, 2016
The main character Svetlana Lapteva, enchanted with the story of Russian lessons given to Ludvig Wittgenstein by a certain Fanya Pascal in Cambridge, and encouraged by her friends of the International Women club, decides to give Russian language lessons in Paris.
Very quickly, Svetlana’s innocent, occasional hobby grows into a full-time job with various students. Unexpectedly, Svetlana realises how much she enjoys teaching.
She learns that her students are, in their own way, extraordinary people with extraordinary stories to tell. Learning Russian, realises Svetlana, is somewhere a test for eccentricity.
Her cadre of students soon increases to include a diplomat, a French chef, a surgeon and children of all ages. Everyone has a unique reason for learning Russian – a search for a long-lost father, helping the sick in Siberia, starting a soap manufacturing business in Moscow…
However, with time Svetlana tires of the many exotic adventures and the unpredictability of this humble profession. Due to an unfortunate chain of events, Svetlana decides to give up her lessons for a permanent job. She starts working as a secretary in a large law company.
One fine sunny day she receives a call from a new student imploring her to help him with a Russian exam. She knows she must say no, but, to her own surprise, she says something else.
The publishing house Ripol Classic released my novel Russian Lessons in 2016.
Where to find: Labirint, Librairie du Globe, Respublica
Elena Devos 