A large part of this book is just stumbling blindly alongside Sasha and waiting for everything to be made clear, which it never really is. There are recognizable elements from traditional coming of age novels, but it isn't a bildungsroman there are hints and whispers of magic but it isn't really fantasy there are some classic Magical School tropes but it isn't remotely comparable to Harry Potter and it's filled to the brim with philosophical references but its maddeningly esoteric approach is strangely alienating even to readers who are interested in its central themes. Honestly, the marketing team has my sympathy for this one, because I don't think I've ever read another book that so staunchly defies categorization. But it's also the most singular and enchanting and darkly horrifying book I have ever read. This doesn't follow any kind of narrative formula that will be familiar to many western readers - it's bizarrely lacking in conflict, resolution, plot twists, and structure. Thus begins the wildly unconventional journey that the Dyachenkos take the reader on in Vita Nostra, which has safely earned its distinction as the most unorthodox book I have ever read. She reluctantly agrees to this strange task, and as soon as she's back on shore that first morning, she starts to vomit gold coins. She is eventually confronted by this stranger, who entreats Sasha to wake up at 4 am every morning, go to the beach, take off all her clothes, and swim to a buoy and back. At the start of this novel, 16-year-old Sasha Samokhina is on a seaside vacation with her mother, where after a few days she finds herself stalked by a mysterious man with pale skin and dark glasses.

Vita nostra dyachenko