Some people would have difficulty answering this question, but I had long ago decided for myself that the best book I have ever come across is “The House In Which ...” Mariam Petrosyan. This is a novel about a shelter for orphans with disabilities, which established their own laws that separate it from the whole world. And these laws are far from rules of conduct. These are literally the laws of the universe, the device of their mini-universe.
The inhabitants of the shelter were divided into groups and from time to time they like to fight for power, which is not particularly expressed in anything. Some children who can paint perpetuate the history of the house and its inhabitants on the walls. Others, specially trained, know how to “read” these drawings and tell others about the predictions that so few artists left. By and large, the main character is not a separate character, but their unique, distinctive society. However, even the house itself can be called the main character, because it actively affects the plot and does not directly communicate with children, expressing its will.
In the process of reading, we learn the background of the main actors: who got their nickname and why, why someone became the local “king”, but not particularly happy, and, most importantly, we better begin to understand the local reality. At first it seems that the children simply bored out some “rules of life” out of boredom, but then you come to the realization that sometime the “Longest Night” will come, that for some people the time runs completely different than for others, that the director has no power over educators, and educators over children. All these interweaving of reality with magic are perfect for a book in the genre of magical realism. And, despite how much the reader is drawn into this new world, nothing lasts forever, and even the House. Towards the end of the book, the heroes face the most difficult choice that will forever change their lives. They must decide whether they can live in a reality devoid of magic, devoid of bizarre rituals, a reality in which people do not gather in a room once a year, turn off the lights and start telling each other the craziest stories. But many, of course, are not ready to make such thoughtless compromises with fate and decide to go into a different reality with the House itself. Still others, in turn, move away from civilization and live in their secluded commune, preserving the traditions and histories of the House.
That is why I love this book - it will always remain in your head. I will never forget that you need to respect and be afraid of “walkers” and “jumpers”. That the evil director can be turned into a little girl. The fact that somewhere still a lonely artist paints pictures that no one can understand. And all of these paintings depict what is happening in the House.
