★Chinese,Armenian,Estonian,Italian,Bulgarian,Slovakian,Romanian,
Lithuanian,Catalan,Czech,Malayalam,Macedonian, Hungarian rights sold!
★Shortlisted for the 2021 Russian Big Book Award!
★From Yasnaya Polyana Prize winner Narine Abgaryan, whose works have been translated into more than ten languages and published!
★"Simon" tells the story of four extraordinary women who discover themselves, and Narine Abgaryan invites readers to visit the mountain village in Armenia, she portrays the transformation of women characters here under war, social and psychological trauma in 20th century Armenia with unflinching honesty, heartfelt warmth and gentle humor.
★Narine Abgaryan’s novel also talkd the topics: female sexuality and reproduction, female body image, and the trauma of misogyny in the context of war, poverty, culture and institutions. Full of tragicomedy and wise goodwill.
★Film rights sold!
★Theater rights sold!

Set in the mountain village of Byrd in Armenia, "Simon" tells the story of a later generation of women in the Soviet Union who will come of age. With unwavering honesty and petty humor, Narine Abgaryan connects her novels to the various traumas of the twentieth-century Armenian genocide, civil war, two world wars, and the Soviet regime. All of above left its mark in the characters: many women lost their fathers in World War II, their mothers were left with the scars of war, starvation and overwork, brides were kidnapped and stigmatized as rape, women were denied their rights. Social customs and laws complicate their already difficult lives. But their communities are not dehumanized: a compassionate doctor protects a mentally ill patient from a vindictive husband, a neighbor stuffs much-needed money into a woman's pocket, a mother-in-law stands on the side of the daughter-in-law who cheated on his own son. The people of Bird Town, from the good-natured cop Ilya to the old Katynka to the village idiot Vardanush - the keepers of every secret, are struggling with how best to protect the infancy Baby, how to disguise the blue ears of a corpse, offered advice and really cheered for it.

The novel begins with people coming to pay their last respects to 79-year-old Simon. Simon, the mason, who dies in a small Armenian town, enjoys the respect of the citizens, but is also known for his passion. To send him off on his final journey, all the women he had ever loved gathered at Simon's house. Each of them has their own story. Simon is a frail, worldly but kind-hearted man who meets all women at critical moments in their lives, providing them with first sexual pleasure and much-needed emotional sustenance. Simon is not a saint: Simon, as we can see from the clips of the stories the women tell, is a man who accepts his failures. Although Simon showed early hopes of becoming a draftsman, he dropped out of architecture school and married the long-suffering Melania, who was tormented by Simon's affair. At a pivotal moment in his life, he chose to sulk rather than act decisively to condemn himself and the women who loved him, which made Simon and Melania even more miserable.

After the other guests leave, the four women drink with Melania and tell their stories, each of which makes up a chapter of the novel. Sylvia, suffering from a painful, undiagnosed vaginosis, endured a marriage to a close man who abused her, sent her to a shelter, and severed her from her baby daughter all contacts. Eliza was abandoned by her own mother and married a man who was fascinated by another woman. He looked down on Eliza and even told her that she smelled disgusting. Sophia is a spoiled girl who, against her family's wishes, deliberately marries a man she doesn't approve of. She experiences multiple miscarriages and despairs from her long-term desire to conceive a child. Susannah's abduction and rape on the eve of her high school graduation ruined her chances for love and a better life, and Suzanne's difficult family stood out even in the prevailing poverty and disorder at the time.

Despite the brutal nature of some of Simon's themes, it also exudes warmth and human kindness. Narine Abgaryan is interested not only in the individual lives of women, but also in the way in which these lives grow together to perpetuate the eternal cycle of life: we are born from the water, the voice of the mother is recognized as the voice of the sea, and death is the return to the depths of the sea .

【Author】Narine Abgaryan

“In today’s world, there are wars in different places, why are wars going on all the time, why do humans make so many mistakes, this is the work of our generation. We have different places to live, different stories, feelings and mindsets , but we our tears and blood are the same, the pursuit of happiness is the same, and the joy and sorrow we feel are the same." - Narine Abgaryan

Born in Armenia in 1971, Narine Abgaryan grew up in a family of doctors and teachers. The grandparents were refugees from Western Armenia. Graduated from Yerevan State University of Linguistic Studies and obtained the Russian language and literature teacher qualification certificate. Narine has lived in Moscow since 1993.

The Guardian called Narine Abgaryan - one of the brightest writers in Europe. Her words have the power to penetrate the soul. Narine Abgaryan's book has been translated into 23 languages ​​and has sold over 600,000 copies! Narine Abgaryanis a loyal reader of One Hundred Years of Solitude. Her works are dedicated to restoring Armenia in the long history and deep memory, which is the destination of her soul.

"Manyunya's Childhood" is the author's debut, and is also the winner of the 2010 Best Manuscript and Russian Literature Award. Its adapted script will be staged in SamArt and Omsk Youth Theater, and also been adapted into a 10-episode TV series of the same name in 2021! Her literary work "Three Apples Fall from the Sky" won the Yasnaya Polyana Award! Authorized to publish in 13 countries! "Simon" shortlisted for the 2021 Russian Big Book Award! Her children's work "The Graffiti Story of Semien Andrei" won the "Little Nose" award at the 2013 New Literature Award and was named the best children's book of the last ten years in Russia! "The Giant Who Dreamed of Playing the Violin" was named the best children's book by the Papmambuk portal. She also authored a collection of excellent works such as "People Who Are Always With Me"!