»Perhaps the most moving and shocking release of spring 2021: Sasha Filipenko's prophetic debut novel The Ex-Son, available for the first time in German, depicts the hell of the Lukashenko regime.«

»A powerful, dense, surprisingly sincere text.«

»Despite its brevity and Belarusian style, you are holding a really big Russian novel – perhaps the one that literature has been awaiting for years.«

»It seems to me that a cult writer of the first twenty years of the 21st century has appeared in Russia, replacing Viktor Pelevin.«

»When I had opened the book by Sasha Filipenko, I saw a great novel about the events taking place today in Belarus.«

»If we leave out Svetlana Alexievich, who is already a classic, today the leaders of the literary course are Algerd Bakharevich in the Belarusian-speaking segment and Sasha Filipenko in the Russian-speaking segment.«

»The book is extremely lyrical. I don't think I've ever read anything better about a grandmother's love for her grandson.«

»Filipenko’s novel is emblematic of the wound which, even six years on from its first appearance, continues to bleed heavily.«

»A brilliant novel that undermines the facts with humour.«

»In this novel, too, the young author impresses with his considerable imaginative talents and stylistic force. A must read!«

»The Belarusian author Sasha Filipenko depicts all this and more in his new, witty, acerbic, combative and outstanding novel.«

»The Ex-Son was published in Russian back in 2014; a significant detail, because the novel has lost none of its topicality«

»This literal irony of history  is densely narrated, with humour and bitter solemnity.«

»Sasha Filipenko made us more closely acquianted with Belarus and its history. The fact that his book remains topical even seven years after its publication shows how dire the situation is«

»Filipenko’s metaphor is impressive: it’s as though it wasn’t Franzisk in a deep sleep, but the world around him.«

»Highly topical, skilfully narrated and deeply moving.«

»The Ex-Son couldn’t have appeared at a more fitting time than the Lukashenko twilight in Belarus.«

»In this novel, humorous and bitter in turn, Filipenko depicts a country living in a state of paralysis, beneath a blanket of fear.«

»And yet The Ex-Son envisions the end of this dictator: almost a Good Bye, Batka!«

»This novel is first class, narrated with drama and suspense.«

»Filipenko describes the rebellion of his people against dictator Lukashenko with enchanting humour, full of wit and yet full of grief.«

»The Ex-Son is proof that Filipenko is one of the most exciting Russian-language authors of our time.«

»A bold, ink-black reckoning with the Lukashenko regime.«

»One of my favourite books from this year’s spring releases.«

»Filipenko’s style captivates with its subtle irony and bitterly serious black humour.«

»Filipenko’s style is clean and unadorned.«

»Filipenko employs a timeless style of political satire comparable to the Absurdism of Frenchman Eugène Ionesco and other playwrights.«

»Filipenko's book is a roman à clef, offering aggrieving insight into the situation of the Belarusians.«

»Filipenko employs a timeless style of political satire comparable to the Absurdism of Frenchman Eugène Ionesco and other playwrights.«