Kazakh trans author Mikita Franko writes about a queer Russian family, and of course you can only buy his debut in Russia if you're 18+ - you won't fiKazakh trans author Mikita Franko writes about a queer Russian family, and of course you can only buy his debut in Russia if you're 18+ - you won't find any sex scenes or extensive violence in the text, the subjective matter itself is deemed offensive. And to be even clearer here: This is a text about a kid, Miki, who is abandoned by his biological father and whose mother dies, and who then lives with his gay uncle, an artist, and the uncle's partner, a doctor, who have been in a stable relationship for a long time and who give Miki a loving home. Super-offensive stuff, apparently.
The title-giving (at least in the German translation) lie is that Miki can't tell anybody that he lives with two men, that he has parents/dads. The book shows the structural and individual homophobia in Russian society, and how it affects rainbow families and teenagers - there are many scenes that discuss how hate is installed in young people, including in educational institutions. Miki and his parents are under enormous pressure, which also leads to them lashing out at each other and wronging each other, out of helplessness, despair, and fear.
It is of course no coincidence that the main character is called Miki: The author Mikita Franko has explained that the book evolved from his online journal, which he wrote when he was suffering from severe depression. His readers encouraged him to turn it into a literary text, and Franko says that he's aware that the product is not perfect, but he loves his debut because it saved him as a person from going under.
And yes, it is a little raw and sometimes disparate, but to me, it doesn't matter either: It's an absorbing read, a highly political text that contains some hard-to-digest insights. There are many parts that are only there to make a point, but all these points still need to be made (unfortunately, and not only in Russia).
Franko has maintained that he aims to keep writing and evolving, choosing subject matters as they present themselves to him in his own experiences - and I'm sure we will get many more interesting books from him. Before the Ukrainian war, he has also stated that he has pondered writing about war - Franko, who apparently lives in Russia, would be a great voice to write about the current situation under Putin's regime....more
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