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[Alexandr Korol]

I’ve been trying to capture that world my entire life. Because it’s magical, unique. But I’ve also lost it. And I made a list — of what causes it to fade, what should be avoided in order not to lose it. And I made another list — a kind of mold — of what should be done to enter that world, because I love it so much. It’s a completely different way of perceiving the world, a different angle of perception, another dimension, another frequency. My novel “Alternative History” is that other world — it’s something otherworldly. I remember someone once asked me: “Alexandr, I’m full of anxiety, all kinds of thoughts, noise in my head, bad thoughts, harmful urges. I feel drawn to all that darkness. How do I fight it? What should I do?” And I said: just read “Alternative History.” Because if I start talking about everyday human life — I fall into that world of everyday human life. I start feeling like them, hurting like them, getting sick like them. But if I start talking about “Alternative History,” then I enter the world of “Alternative History.” And everything is completely different there. That’s why I don’t like engaging in conversations about what’s going on in people’s lives — because I immediately end up in their world. Just imagine: even a simple conversation or thought can transport you to another world — you don’t even need anything physical. So if you talk about something deep, something otherworldly — you’re plugged into that world. But if you talk about something dark or low — you fall into a world of dark and low things and people. If I were to read someone’s mundane question right now, from the world of people with problems, sins, and vices — and if I even began to answer it — all this vacuum, all the magic, would vanish. But if I only reflect, only have conversations, only answer questions about my books, “Alternative History,” then I’ll always stay in that corner, in that vacuum, in my world.