Reed Grachev.
Four Stories. Artist Alexandra Paperno

Stories by the Leningrad underground writer illustrated by Alexandra Paperno.

Reed Grachev (1935–2004) occupied a unique position between two literary worlds. On the one hand, he was a recognised member of the official Soviet literary establishment; the promising author of a slim collection of short stories (Where Is Your Home?, 1967) and the translator of Antoine de Saint-Exupéry and Albert Camus. On the other hand, Grachev was also an active participant in the Leningrad underground. The stories collected in this volume transcend both generation and personal experience: they evoke a childhood marked by uncertainty, anxiety, and hope—a childhood that, in one form or another, belongs to everyone.

All photos: Anna Zavozyaeva

Alexandra Paperno (b. 1978) is an artist working across painting, installation, photography, and video. She studied at The Cooper Union in New York from 1996 to 2000.

Grachev’s stories are illustrated by the artist Alexandra Paperno, for whom discovering Grachev’s writing was a deeply formative experience. “Even Reed’s saddest stories,” Paperno observes, “are life-affirming in their own way because of how they are written.” Paperno’s photographs and abstract drawings echo Grachev’s narratives, drawing attention to seemingly ordinary details while reflecting on complex emotional experiences.

The stories are accompanied by an afterword by Mikhail Kotomin on Grachev’s life and literary legacy, as well as an essay by Daria Atlas, the curator of the children’s series at V–A–C Press, which explores Alexandra Paperno’s artistic practice and creative approach.

The V–A–C children’s publishing series develops the tradition of Soviet book illustration, which saw leading artists play a defining role in shaping the visual culture of their time through their illustration of children' s books.