Mouse
Author
Banned in Russia
A blood-curdling quest to escape zombie apocalypse in 2020 Moscow, after Putin’s immortality experiment goes awry.
In 2020, an infected mouse escapes from the Institute of Functional Immortality, where technology for Putin's immortality is being developed. This results in a devastating zombie apocalypse that sweeps through Moscow, leaving behind a trail of destruction and death. Millions of people die, becoming zombies. The infected have heightened senses of hearing and smell, but their vision and motor skills are severely impaired, which makes an escape possible, if far from easy.
The story follows three different groups of characters: Seva (15) and Kostya (10), two brothers trapped in their apartment, their parents killed, looking for a way to get out of town; Asya, a girl dressed in a full-length pink mouse costume, who is also trying to escape the city and return to her hometown –finding romance along the way against all odds; Lavr, an 80-year-old doctor of biological sciences, and his prison guard, Tonya, stuck in a flooded field outside the prison where Lavr is kept on charges of treason.
The three groups set off from different parts of the city, all heading in the same direction while trying to escape. The story unfolds through three parallel narratives, each group facing various dangers and challenges. Along the way, they visit the Pushkin Museum, escape from a deranged cannibal, traverse metro tunnels, climb rooftops, and hij ack a train. Eventually, they converge in the final chapter, where their paths intersect and their fates become intertwined.
The novel ultimately explores the themes of survival, hope, and human connection in the face of adversity, while offering a sharp social critique of contemporary politics through its satirical depiction of the brutal deaths of well-known political figures.
Banned in Russia as a threat to national security, The Mouse has sparked international attention ever
since, fueled by the audacity of the ban and Putin’s own statements about the pursuit of eternal life.
A bestseller on the underground book market, the novel spread across the internet, and beyond
Russia, Philippov became a symbol of the fight for free speech, drawing widespread global media attention.
Ivan Philippov's The Mouse: A Masterpiece of Freedom and Reflection
With a story that is both gripping and sharp, Philippov denounces, under the guise of fiction, a regime obsessed with control and immortality. Dive into the world of this novel that shakes up the codes and questions the limits between freedom of expression and censorship.
Ivan Philippov's The Mouse is much more than a zombie novel: it is an ode to freedom and an uncompromising critique of an oppressive system. By mixing suspense, humor and reflection, the author invites us to question our own society and the limits we impose on artistic creation.
The book is a captivating and uncompromisingly genre-true read that keeps the reader hooked until the very end, while remaining unquestionably authentic in its depiction. From the city's toponymy to restaurant interiors, electric train management technology, and the interior design of the Pushkin Museum's rooms, everything is precise, true, and recognisable. This authenticity turns reading into a pleasure that rivals watching a blockbuster. A very timely book – I wish millions of fellow citizens would read it. It's an outstanding ingredient in the vaccine against rabies.
— Alexander Rodnyansky,
a Ukrainian producer with four Oscar nominations in the Best Foreign Film category
This is a right book in these hard times. There’s much heroic in the text, as the genre requires. And we need heroism today. Moreover, there are many Dostoevskian descriptions of streets, buildings, and even metro stations in the text. To me, who desperately misses Moscow, it was intriguing to read about the city, even if it is being demolished in the book.
— Dmitry Nizovtsev,
an independent journalist
Book details
Freedom Letters
Novel, 2024
277 pp
Rights sold
French Editions Blueman
Estonia Sinisukk (auction)
Czech Jota
Literary awards
Coming soon