The Disappearing Act by Maria Stepanova review – a poetic exploration of Russian guilt

<p>Written from exile after the full-scale invasion of Ukraine, this autofictional blend of memory and fable tracks a changing sense of self</p><p>M, a 50-year-old novelist living in an idyllic place by a lake, is&nbsp;travelling to a literary festival to give a talk. A sequence of events, mostly beyond her control, leaves her stranded in an unfamiliar town. It’s dead quiet, except for a travelling circus camped on the outskirts. M checks into a hotel, ignores&nbsp;her phone and wanders around, reminiscing about books read,&nbsp;films watched, museums visited.&nbsp;Some of these recollections are&nbsp;grounded in fable; others are vividly realistic. Among the latter are memories of her&nbsp;childhood and youth, spent in a “country that no longer exists apart from on old maps and in history books”.</p><p>M describes the country she comes from as a “beast” waging war against its neighbour. We can guess her meaning without turning to the author’s biographical note. Maria Stepanova – whose masterly <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/books/2021/apr/07/in-memory-of-memory-by-maria-stepanova-review-a-family-history">In Memory of Memory</a><em> </em>combined family memoir, essay and fiction – left her native Russia after its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022. We might&nbsp;also wonder how closely The&nbsp;Disappearing Act tracks her own life. But the novelist M is not here to discuss autofiction – she has more important things to reflect on.</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/books/2026/feb/18/the-disappearing-act-by-maria-stepanova-review-a-poetic-exploration-of-russian-guilt">Continue reading...</a>