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Vladimir in Love

Lara Vapnyar

‘He regretted not buying the flowers.’

Wound

Oksana Vasyakina

‘Into the carrot-coloured bag, alongside my clothes, I put the box with Mama’s urn.’

An excerpt from Oksana Vasyakina’s Wound, translated from the Russian by Elina Alter.

The Color of Balloons

Dainerys Machado Vento

‘None of these people give a shit that a flock of birds is going to choke to death on those balloons, be they pink or blue.’

Fiction by Dainerys Machado Vento, translated by Will Vanderhyden.

A Child’s Book of Death and Dying

Abraham Verghese

‘A fine morning mist had rolled down over Addis Ababa from the Entoto mountains, leaving a sheen on the lawn between the apartment buildings'.

Oldladyvoice

Elisa Victoria

‘I hope I never have to miss a playdate for catechism.’

An excerpt from Oldladyvoice, translated from the Spanish by Charlotte Whittle.

Epistle to the New Age

Gore Vidal

‘I’m Bishop of Macedonia, as you will know in time if you are not lucky enough to be in time already.’

Dispatches from Ambassador to Brazil, Earth

Juan Pablo Villalobos

‘In Brazil it is crucial not to be Argentinian. Add that to our Earth mission’s proceedings manual under the topic ‘Cultural Affairs’.’

Second Dispatches from Ambassador to Brazil, Earth

Juan Pablo Villalobos

‘Forget about football: queuing and stamping are Brazil’s national sports.’

Brazil: A User’s Guide

Juan Pablo Villalobos

‘The Brazilian banking system was created by a Czech writer called Franz Kafka.’

Final Dispatch: End in Pizza

Juan Pablo Villalobos

‘Those are not prisons, they are condominiums for rich people. Or at least that is what rich people think.’

Better Protect America

Padma Viswanathan

Padma Viswanathan on the absurdities of the US Border Patrol Agency. ‘The new security was going to be unpredictable, by design.’

Exit Strategy

Ivan Vladislavić

‘The corporate storyteller is having a bad day.’

The Appointment

Katharina Volckmer

‘I know that I can trust you, and that death is silent. It’s never the loud things that kill us, the things that make us vomit and scream and cry. Those things are just looking for attention.’

Wheels of Progress

Gemini Wahhaj

‘Now Bangladesh survives only on aid, on other people feeding its people.’