(Un)Clean Minsk: A collection of mystical stories

"(Un)clean Minsk" is a unique collection of fantastic and mystical stories where reality intertwines with legends and urban mysteries. Fifteen Belarusian female authors invite the reader to discover the capital from another side: to meet mermaids in the Svislach, ghostly figures near the Opera, to look into mysterious alleys and avenues. This book is for everyone who loves Minsk and wants to see it through the prism of myths and fantasy, to discover the magic that lives in everyday life.

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Anything can be imagined: a mermaid's tail in the dark waters of the Svislach, a ghostly silhouette of a ballerina near the Opera House, an extra statue at the Gates of Minsk, and bloodthirsty passengers in a late-night taxi. Are you sure you imagined it? Be careful! Don't tell anyone you hear a bell ringing on the platform, don't argue with the confectioner at the "Tsentralny" supermarket, and watch the stars: they don't disappear for no reason…

The collection includes stories by participants of the Belarusian fantasy society "Writer's Drawer". Fifteen female authors, fifteen works – fifteen different worlds. However, all of them are somehow connected with Minsk, its history, distinctive and interesting places. Together with the characters, the reader will stroll along the avenues and streets of the capital, visit the Minsk Sea and Victory Park, meet mystical and inexplicable phenomena... The writers rely on Belarusian mythology, but do not retell textbooks, instead creating their own artistic images and plots.

"(Un)clean Minsk" is a miracle that is only possible where love for the city and the skill of writers meet. True magic, woven from the whispers of the streets, the memory of houses, and the ability to notice echoes of the mystical. This journey will change the city for you forever, from the very first page. Talented, diverse, mystical and touching – everything to make you love Minsk (and literature) even more with all your heart.

Yana Mia, writer