The Incredible Events in Women’s Cell Number 3

Yarmysh’s provocative debut offers a jaundiced view of life in a Russian detention center. Anya Romanova, 28, is arrested after being in the wrong place at the wrong time at a protest rally, and is sentenced to 10 days in jail. There, she meets a motley group of women: Katya and Diana are in for driving without valid licenses, as is Maya, whose been trading on her plastic surgery enhancements for a life of luxury with various wealthy boyfriends. Natasha swore at a cop; Ira refused to pay alimony. Behind bars, it’s a dreary environment: the inmates are fed and allowed to shower at the mercy of the capricious staff, a radio blares at all hours, and the exercise area is a sad enclosed square. As the days wear on, Anya starts hallucinating about her fellow inmates, imagining narratives for them that distract from the power of Anya’s own unfolding backstory, which involves abandonment by her father at nine, being shipped off to another family as a teen, and later having a troubling internship at the Foreign Ministry, where she has a run-in with a sexual predator. Though there are rewards in the revealing look at how Russia metes out harsh punishments for small crimes, the mystical elements make this a bit muddled. (Feb.)