My Life as a Prodigy Child
Как я был вундеркиндом
by Владимир Машков
A book for children and for adults, too:
A prodigy child must be the best pupil. A prodigy child must play the piano. A prodigy child must speak foreign languages. A prodigy child must be an outstanding mathematician. A prodigy child cannot have a pet: no time for that. A prodigy child has no friends: no time for that, either. A prodigy child has no spare time at all...
This is the story of a little boy who is forced to be a prodigy child. He does not want to be one, but his Mummy and his Daddy and especially his Granny all think he should. The boy tries his best, because he loves his parents and grandparents, and he even comes to like being an infant prodigy, but he also comes to understand that he has no childhood.
The story is both funny and sad. The tricks and turns the boy resorts to would make you laugh, but... He is a honest little one and does not like deceiving his parents, and that makes the story sad. The movie made after the book is just funny. I like the book better...
The book is written in Russian and worth translating.
© Dodo