The Incredible Events in Women's Cell Number 3

By Kira Yarmysh

Winner of a PEN Translates Award
Named a Most Anticipated Book by Literary Hub

When Anya is arrested at a Moscow anti-corruption rally under false pretences, she is given a 10-day sentence at a detention centre. Her cellmates are five other ordinary women arrested on petty charges.

Ten listless days stretch before Anya and, as she appeals her sentence and recalls her progress from apolitical youth to informed citizen, she is troubled by strange, dreamlike visions, and wonders if her cellmates might somehow not be as ordinary as they seem.

A brilliant exploration of what it means to be marginalized both as an independent woman and in an increasingly intolerant Russia in particular, The Incredible Events in Women's Cell Number Three introduces one of the most urgent and gripping new voices in international literature.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Serpent's Tail
• Release date: Jun 1, 2023
• ISBN: 9781800817548

Kira Yarmysh

Kira Yarmysh has been Russian opposition leader Alexey Navalny's press secretary since 2014. In connection with her work for Navalny she has been arrested several times and spent fifty days in prison, and is currently living abroad in exile. This is her debut novel.

Reviews for The Incredible Events in Women's Cell Number 3

[dokfintong · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

translated by Arch TaitThis book didn't grab me and, although Arch Tait is a well-respected translator, I wonder if part of my antipathy doesn't come from the style he chose for this English edition. I am not certain, though, that I would have liked it no matter who translated it.Anya is arrested on a political charge and received a sentence of 10 days. The book is a diary of her experience in the detention center in a communal cell with 5 other women. Outside of meals and baths and allowed phone calls, there is very little to do during her incarceration and so the women talk about themselves, their lives and whatever. The women's stories trigger Anya's recollection of her past in a series of flashbacks. She begins to have vivid dreams and to hallucinate about her cell mates. I didn't find it very interesting.I received a review copy of "The Incredible Events in Women's Cell Number 3" directly from the publisher.