{"product_id":"vita-nostra-a-novel-isbn-9780063054158","title":"Vita Nostra: A Novel","description":"\u003cp\u003e“Vita Nostra” — a cross between Lev Grossman’s “The Magicians” and Elizabeth Kostova’s “The Historian” [...] is the anti-Harry Potter you didn’t know you wanted.” — The Washington Post\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“Vita Nostra has become a powerful influence on my own writing. It’s a book that has the potential to become a modern classic of its genre, and I couldn’t be more excited to see it get the global audience in English it so richly deserves.” — Lev Grossman\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eBest Books of November 2018 — Paste Magazine\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe definitive English language translation of the internationally acclaimed Russian novel—a brilliant work of metaphysical and dark fantasy combining psychological suspense, enchantment, and terror that makes us consider human existence in a fresh and provocative way.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eOur life is brief . . .\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eSasha Samokhina has been accepted to the Institute of Special Technologies.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eOr, more precisely, she's been chosen.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eSituated in a tiny village, she finds the students are bizarre, and the curriculum even more so. The books are impossible to read, the lessons obscure to the point of maddening, and the work at this strange magical school refuses memorization. Using terror and coercion to keep the students in line, the school does not punish them for their transgressions and failures; instead, it is their families that pay a terrible price. Yet despite her fear, Sasha undergoes reality-bending changes that defy the dictates of matter and time; experiences which are nothing she has ever dreamed of . . . and suddenly all she could ever want.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eA complex blend of adventure, magic, science, and a philosophy that probes the mysteries of existence, filtered through a distinct Russian sensibility, this astonishing work of philosophical fantasy and speculative fiction—brilliantly translated by Julia Meitov Hersey—is reminiscent of modern classics such as Lev Grossman's \u003ci\u003eThe Magicians\u003c\/i\u003e, Max Barry's \u003ci\u003eLexicon\u003c\/i\u003e, and Katherine Arden's \u003ci\u003eThe Bear and the Nightingale\u003c\/i\u003e, but will transport them to a place far beyond those fantastical worlds.\u003c\/p\u003e | \u003cp\u003e“Amazing book. Dark Harry Potter on steroids with a hefty dose of metaphysics.” - \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eAliette de Bodard, award-winning author of The Tea Master and the Detective\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“\u003cem\u003eVita Nostra\u003c\/em\u003e is utterly fascinating. Readers will crave to learn what’s next, and they will be wrong every time. This story is bold and refreshing and demands a higher plane of thought from both characters and from readers alike. It’s like a drug; the more you read, the more you have to read. A unique premise, mind-blowing magic system, and spellbinding conclusion makes this one of the best reads of the year.” - \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eCharlie Holmberg, bestselling author of The Paper Magician\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“\u003cem\u003eVita Nostra\u003c\/em\u003e is utterly fascinating. It’s like a drug; the more you read, the more you have to read. A unique premise, mind-blowing magic system, and spellbinding conclusion makes this one of the best reads of the year.” - \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eCharlie Holmberg, bestselling author of The Paper Magician\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“\u003cem\u003eVita Nostra\u003c\/em\u003e has become a powerful influence on my own writing. It’s a book that has the potential to become a modern classic of its genre, and I couldn’t be more excited to see it get the global audience in English it so richly deserves.” - \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eLev Grossman, New York Times bestselling author of The Magicians\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“Dark and foreboding, this fantasy, translated from Russian, is more of philosophical treatise on growing up and the nature of reality than an adventure tale. Readers willing to challenge themselves and slowly digest this deep book will enjoy it immensely.” - \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eBooklist\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“This goes magnificently into an adult direction that will blow the reader’s mind. It twists and turns between wonders and horrors, taking a reader on a magical, psychological trip that won’t be forgotten.” - \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eScifi Pulse\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003e“Vita Nostra\u003c\/em\u003e is a dark, enthralling fantasy quite unlike any other. . . .  One part coming of age tale, one part contemporary magic school, and a sizable part dark reality, \u003cem\u003eVita Nostra\u003c\/em\u003e is a beautiful, aching, nearly debilitating fantasy that bruises, and thrills, the heart.” - \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eNew York Journal of Books\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“The Dyachenkos have produced a remarkable novel and one that will linger long afterward in the reader’s thoughts.” - \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003ePopMatters\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“It is a thought-provoking, twisting tale that has highs and lows, unlike anything that most U.S. readers will have experienced. It is brilliant and well worth the time.” - \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eSFRevu\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“\u003cem\u003eVita Nostra\u003c\/em\u003e takes the trope of young people selected for a school for magic and transforms it into an unnerving, deeply philosophical coming-of-age tale. [...] Hersey’s translation is plain and straightforward, a wise choice that enhances the deep strangeness of this trippy, vivid novel.” - \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003ePublishers Weekly (starred review)\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“This dark, ambitious, and intellectually strenuous novel will feel like a fresh revelation to fantasy readers glutted with Western wish-fulfillment narratives.” - \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eKirkus Reviews (starred review)\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“Imagine that Hogwarts has opened a satellite campus inside Harry Haller’s Magic Theater from \u003cem\u003eSteppenwolf \u003c\/em\u003eby Hermann Hesse, and assigned Kafka, Dostoevsky and Rod Serling to oversee the curriculum.” - \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eBookPage\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“Vita Nostra” — a cross between Lev Grossman’s “The Magicians” and Elizabeth Kostova’s “The Historian” [...] is the anti-Harry Potter you didn’t know you wanted.” - \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eWashington Post\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“\u003cem\u003eVita Nostra\u003c\/em\u003e is the purest version of the magical academy fantasy setting.” - \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eManhattan Book Review\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“\u003cem\u003eVita Nostra\u003c\/em\u003e reminds us that language and knowledge are the greatest powers, and it’s through the word that we’ve shaped everything around us.” - \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003ePaste Magazine (Best Books of November 2018)\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Harper Voyager","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":44889394381029,"sku":"NP9780063054158","price":19.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/1842\/7735\/files\/9780063054158.jpg?v=1730231154","url":"https:\/\/k12savings.com\/es\/products\/vita-nostra-a-novel-isbn-9780063054158","provider":"K12savings","version":"1.0","type":"link"}