Kukolka, the debut novel by Lana Lux, is a moving story that takes place in Ukraine in the nineties. The main character is seven-year-old Samira (nickname Kukolka; little doll in Russian), who lives in a house with no electricity, hot water or a toilet. Despite her meagre existence, Samira is satisfied: she has her own sofa bed and she has a job that she is good at: begging. A mercilessly realistic novel about exploitation, violence and intimidation, about a life on the edge of society.

Although the novel is not autobiographical there are elements of Lux’ own life. Lux grew up in Ukraine and experienced the rise of poverty in the early nineties following the disintegration of the Soviet Union. It was at this time that she developed a fascination for people on the edge of society. “ I always wondered how those children got into that situation? I asked myself the same question when I saw prostitutes outside my window in Berlin, some of them were obviously minors. What was it like for them the first time? What were they thinking of? ” Once the idea for the novel came to Lux she felt obliged to do research into child abuse and international trafficking of women and at that point, there was only one thing left that she felt she could do; get the story written down.

Lana Lux about her novel: Am Anfang ist dieser Mensch ein kleines nacktes Baby. Doch was passiert mit ihm? Niemand wird als Kanzlerin geboren und auch nicht als Prostituierte. Es sind viele kleine Schritte, die man geht, oder man wird geschubst.

Lana Lux will be one of The Chronicles during the festival this year