Little Foxes Took Up Matches

Katya Kazbek's first novel is a book borne out of her experience of living in a world in which nothing is fixed but struggle, humor, and the unreality to be found in the reality of everyday life. Told with precision, empathy, and a non-jaundiced eye for the absurdity inherent in being different in a world that doesn't necessarily cherish it, Little Foxes Took Up Matches, is an auspicious debut, eminently cherishable.--Hilton Als
I am in love! Little Foxes Took Up Matches is an utterly spectacular modern myth. This rapturous coming-of-age, equal parts wit and grit, weaves a spellbinding tale about having the courage to incite a revolution in oneself. With this debut Katya Kazbek proves she is an absolute legend in her own right.--Afia Atakora, author of Conjure Women
Absorbing and unremittingly honest, Little Foxes Took Up Matches is a magnificent journey with a thunderous effect that both injures and mends. Kazbek writes this fascinating story with eloquence, human understanding and compassion. She illuminates post-soviet Russia's contradictions in prose as undeflected and fearless as the contradictions themselves are piercing and violent. It's nothing short of exceptional that anyone can write original, brilliant, and witty prose in a language not their own; we marvel at a Vladimir Nabokov, a Joseph Conrad, a Jhumpa Lahiri, a Katya Kazbek.--James Cañón, author of Tales from the Town of Widows
Sexuality, family bonds, and hope are all explored delicately in this unforgettable debut.-- "Debutiful"
A rich and moving look at a child in the midst of self-discovery. As dark as a Brothers Grimm fairy tale--and as magical.-- "Kirkus, Starred Review"
Many have tried and failed to summon the magic Katya Kazbek wields here as matter of factly as a switchblade. A relief, really, to read a debut novel as original as this--as cunning, wild and free.--Alexander Chee, author of How to Write an Autobiographical Novel
A luscious modern queer fable drawn in post-Soviet Russian red lipstick. Kazbek's dreamy family of misfits forged in the feminine occult will stay with you forever. Brava!--Sophia Shalmiyev, author of Mother Winter
Sometimes in the face of perversity, neglect, and growing up in a rundown Moscow flat one-bedroom too small, one needs to do their own myth-making. And in this unflinching, yet achingly humorous look at millennial Russia, Katya Kazbek celebrates a wonderfully heroic self-deification. Proving we can become the gods and goddesses this world truly needs.--Paul Beatty
An unpredictable love story that is mesmeric, totally original, and deeply, deeply touching, Little Foxes Took Up Matches examines our competing human instincts to belong and to escape. Kazbek has reinvented--and bewitched--the coming-of-age genre, and I can't wait to succumb to whatever magic she writes next.--Courtney Maum, author of Costalegre
Katya Kazbek's Little Foxes Took Up Matches is a stunning and transformative novel that shows us the playful possibility and subversive quality of queer myth-making. With humor, heart, and expansiveness, Kazbek forges a new language to belong inside and reinvents storytelling. This book will swallow you and shelter you. It's pure magic and will rearrange you from the inside-out.--K-Ming Chang, author of Bestiary
A Russian satire, a queer myth, an enchanting coming of age story--Little Foxes Took Up Matches is one of the most original, and charming, debuts I've read in some time. Katya Kazbek writes with wit, heart, and the needle-prick of life.--David Ebershoff, author of The Danish Girl and The 19th Wife
A coming of age story that is at times chilling and in equal moments heartfelt, and at the center of it, Mitya is simply trying to find his own way. Kazbek writes with a kind of urgency that makes her novel a true standout. Every page sparks with energy in this ambitious and original debut.-- "BuzzFeed"