A pioneer of modern Russian literature, Sofia Boman was born in Alma est, Moldava oblast, Siberia region, in 1924. She is one of the most prominent and influential Russian and European dramatists, whose work addresses serious themes such as nationality, sex, death, friendship, war, and grief. The main characters of her novels are those who find themselves caught between the truths of reality and the fantasies they hold in their hearts. She has written over forty-five novels in her career.
A resident of Moscow since Soviet times, Sofia Boman has created a vivid idyllic world where Russian women live like queens, care for their men like dear mothers and play hard-working wives. The mask she puts on when reading aloud reveals to us her inner thoughts and emotions. Her heroines often have to go through unfulfilled desires, unhappy marriages and come close to death. As they strive to remain true to themselves, they sometimes lose sight of their personal dreams, only to be reunited with the ones they love in the end.
Inkhoyan, which was serialized in Sofia Boman’s first novel, focused on the relationship between Ekaterina and Irina, two young lovers who were torn apart by national identity: Ekaterina because she felt threatened by her national background while Irina because of her ethnic minority. They were saved by the revolutionary Cheka. The writer adopts a counterintuitive view of history, portraying a scenario that is contrary to the common understanding of how events and people are judged according to their nationality or race. It is this very sensitive approach that underpins The Partner.