Svetlana Lavrova: There have never been such amazing mammals

In case you were wondering: there are no books for children or not for children. Except for a small segment for toddlers and specific stories about peers aged 7-9, there is no such thing as "age-appropriate" books (this relates to the Russian law on age-appropriate content of 2007.)

After all, this is the function of literature - and more broadly of art in general - to unite generations not separate.

While book people in Russia are surprised how it comes that, according to statistics, the main readers of Young Adult are adult people, we suggest you forget about the stupidity of books for children of certain ages and turn to serious things. Because there is nothing more serious than the funny.

This is what Svetlana Lavrova, the author of the sparkling novel "Trilobites Are Not To Blame" and the hooligan parody of "The Moonstone" - "Ruby for a Mastodon", tells us about.

Imagine if the Ice Age never happened, but what'd still happened was the Victorian era. What would that be like?

Svetlana Lavrova

H.S. What came first, the mastodon or the theme of Victorian England?

S.L. Initially, Victorian England came. Since childhood, I was terribly offended by Dickens, that he died leaving us unfinished "The Mystery of Edwin Drood", and in general that he didn't write more; it was not enough for me (all in all this was Dickens!) Then I started reading Collins, Bronte and all the rest, and completely lost in them. So I thought: "Even if it is a hundred times worse, I will write something slightly similar to Dickens." But since I cannot write it seriously, I simply will not be able to, it could only be a funny declaration of love to the Victorian era Dickens-like. One more thing, before that I had wanted to write about the Miocene. So two desires came together.

E.S. By the way, how did the Miocene form for you?

S.L. I generally like the Tertiary period. I like the Oligocene too, and the Eocene less, although it was warmer. I always regretted that there were no people in the Miocene. Such a climate, and what animals!

E.S. You are using some incomprehensible words. So I googled it - Oligocene was the last era of the Paleogene period. Eocene - Eocene-Oligocene extinction. What is this? What is this supposed to mean to me? Well, that is, for me it means you, but for this mythical average reader? (Of course, no one has ever seen them, and archaeologists have not even found his bones - unlike your animals, but still, what is all this).

S.L. Well, Lena, I don’t remember the dates, approximately, Miocene about 23-5 million years, Ordovician about 400 million. Before the Miocene, the Oligocene, before the Oligocene, the Eocene.

H.S. Oh no, not the dates. I wouldn't remember anyway.

S.L. In short – the kingdom of mammals. There have never been such amazing mammals. The dinosaurs died, so the little animals turned around. Let's overview my books: Ruby for Mastodon – Miocene, Piglets Don't Fly – Miocene, Trilobites Not To Blame – Ordovician, The Year of the Fierce Chicken – mentions glacial fauna, The Case of the Great and Terrible Bone and two other detective stories – almost glacial fauna. If no catastrophe happens, I'd also do something about the Permian therapsids.

H.S. Are you going to cover all the paleontology?

S.L. Not anymore for now.

H.S. If we were to compare the geography of your books. On your paleontological map there are Russia and England. It’s clear with Russia, but what about England? Some special love? And here’s another question: did “Ruby for a Mastodon” – or rather, the plot with the mastodon – have a chance of being born in Russia?

S.L. It is practically impossible for my mastodon to become a Russian. Unless he was born in the south of the Rostov region, where there were decent Miocene deposits. However, England was also smoothed out by the glacier and left without Miocene fossils. It’s just that I didn’t set myself the task of writing a novel about the Miocene. I wanted to write exactly like Victorian works, and not even the style, not a pseudo-historical forgery, but a large family at home, young ladies, a governess, a nonchalant cousin coming from India, a treacherous villain, a Hindu priest, crinolines, and so on. And the Miocene was secondary. English literature from Fielding to the Dickens era has been my love since childhood. And not only Dickens and Collins, but also Bulwer-Lytton, for example, and Gaskell. I love the entire era and the writers in it. Such a shame that I can't claim to know much about this period. But I'm trying, I'm reading on.

As for your question, if I ever sit down to write a story about the Holocene or the Permian period, then yes, the action will take place in Russia.

Trilobites are not to blame

H.S. "A Ruby for a Mastodon" is a parody of Wilkie Collins' "The Moonstone" - the world's first ironic detective story. They also say that "The Stone" was the first and longest detective novel. Well, that's what the critic Eliot thought. Why did the writer Lavrova suddenly seize on a parody, when she herself has so many original plots?

S.L. Because it's not a parody. It's more of a declaration of love. I've admired Victorian novels since i was 10. I wanted to write something like that, but so that the reader wouldn't think that I was a serious Victorian writer. Funny variations on a theme - that's what it is. I just wrote and enjoyed it, had a lot of fun. In general, it's no coincidence that many publishing houses refused to print Rubin. It's not clear what it is. Three publishing houses said: "We don't know how to sell this."

H.S. While the crowdfunding campaign for the printing of Rubin was underway, one of the readers commented on the book giving it a great definition of our favorite genre: tomidgerism. You know, it seems to me that this is already something scientific. Of course, I understand that you and I both choose eccentric comedy from the whole variety of genres, but just think about it: tomidgerism! Let's write a letter to the Academy of Sciences so that this term is introduced into literature.

S.L. No, I don't want to. It would take a long time to explain about Egan's heroes, about Tom and Jerry having Victorian roots and so on. I'm happy with an "adventure novel". And whether it's humorous or not is not so important. Our "product" is usually funny. Because otherwise we can't survive.

H.S. In a conversation with a colleague, I once said: "Adventure Press" makes books about people like you and me, about our families, our children. Her own family is so funny - you read about it on socials and don't believe that there are such smart children, such inventive parents and such incredibly funny situations. Such a talent of being silly! I asked my colleague why not write a book about their family, they honestly deserved it.

Well, she went: you know, I don't think that such books would have many readers.

I asked why. To which she replies: because no one will believe such stories!

I'm stupefied. I've always thought that the coolest thing in the world is the real (or at least plausible) stories that sound unbelievable, but here they are! To show people that IT IS POSSIBLE. Another life is possible, better, warmer, funnier. And that it is in our power to make it so. Then, all of a sudden, I get this. Well, it became a little clearer when a colleague added to the thought: I, she says, am a gloomy introvert, my job is all about people, I have kids, and often I just want quiet time on my own. Well, we all know how tired we are, how many of us burned out a long time ago, and, probably, there is no resource left for life. But I would like - as a publisher, as an author, as a person - for the last spark to always remain. That spark that makes you joke, and look for places where they do it.

I know, you're probably going to say something gloomy as well. Is that true that no one needs funny books now? People don't have the strength, the time, everyone has suddenly become serious, do they? Why is it so hard for us? And what do you think we should do about it?

S.L. My readers need funny stuff. I see it meetings them. Funny stuff is not needed by many publishers who love dark teenage fiction of social agenda, many critics, many adult writers. Adults in general are serious. Funny stuff scares away many of them. But most of my readers are children. They are still normal people, they laugh. That is why I work for them. "Ruby for a Mastodon" is a more or less adult work (well, you can read it from the age of 12-13, there is nothing harmful in it, it just won't be interesting before that). But my readers' mothers and teachers have been asking me for so many years to write something for adults, and when I did, no one would publish it, except for the brave "Adventure". Because, again, it is not the right format. It does not fit anywhere.

Life is a pretty funny thing. I laugh a lot in life, and I'm not in danger of burning out yet.

You write about the last spark – no, I still have a pretty big fire, God forbid I live to see the last spark. So I write about how I manage to live – it’s funny. Maybe it will be easier for someone to live with my books.

We also believe that our books will make someone's life easier. That's why we make funny books.

Svetlana Lavrova's works will open by clicking on the image.

Ruby for the Mastodon

Trilobites are not to blame