Syuzanna Shyule

В свободном падении

Elena Levina, Syuzanna Shyule

In Soviet Russia the Altaic shepherding family Urmatov were heroes. Father Kara was showered with honours for regularly exceeding expectations. For his son Boris and his daughter Marina, though, those days are just a memory. Unemployment is now rife in the entire region and worries are drowned with vodka. Marina sets up a small private bakery, baking day and night to ensure the family survives. When debris from a Proton M rocket crash-lands on the mountain pasture, narrowly missing the cabin, Boris and Marina demand a large sum of compensation money from the Russian space agency Roscosmos. Their claims remain unanswered and instead of the much-hoped-for improvement in their lives, the family is beset by more disaster.