"Fall in Love in 90 Seconds" by Asya Lavrinovich, summary Automatic translate

The novel was written and first published in 2019. This humorous student story tells the story of young people who decide to test psychological theories about love through their own experiences. The text’s central message is that true feelings are born not from fashionable clothes, but from the ability to always remain true to oneself. In 2020, the work was nominated for the All-Russian Reader’s Prize.

Student disputes

The main character, Alena Goroshkina, is a nineteen-year-old student studying philology. She’s a cheerful girl with a great sense of humor. Her cozy room is filled with a huge collection of stuffed animals. She constantly finds herself in awkward situations. Her parents and close friends often jokingly call her childish.

Her friends Ksenia Tsareva and Petya love to tease their friend. Petya has secretly had a crush on Ksenia since first grade. Ksenia is interested in popular psychology and one day read an interesting theory. According to this theory, it takes exactly ninety seconds for the human brain to develop a liking for someone. Tsareva sincerely believes in the immense power of first impressions. She confidently asserts that guys always pay attention solely to good looks.

The young couple make an unusual bet. Alena must prove she can charm a complete stranger in a minute and a half. The only condition is that the guy must ask for her phone number. To win the bet, Ksenia undertakes a complete makeover of her friend’s usual image.

Change of image

Ksenia borrows the keys to her older sister Nastya’s spacious apartment. She also buys some very expensive designer clothes. Her friend forces her to wear tight high-heeled shoes and elegant designer dresses. Alena is given a beautiful, fictitious name: Helen Grokholskaya.

According to a well-crafted cover story, Helen is a cold, high-society girl. Alena feels extremely uncomfortable in this pompous role. She’s used to wearing simple jeans and comfortable sneakers. However, her passion for sports prevails over her inner doubts. The friends immediately head to a trendy bar for their first workout.

At the bar, Ksenia forbids her friend from eating her favorite garlic croutons. She forces Alena to drink a martini and laugh coquettishly. Alena laughs too loudly and unnaturally, reminiscent of a villain from an old cartoon.

The other side of the coin

At the same time, the story of student Dmitry Belov is rapidly unfolding. Dima is a very attractive guy from a wealthy family. He studies international relations. Dima is tired of materialistic girls who only value other people’s money.

His best friend, Yaroslav Elizarov, was an insecure, straight-A student in school. Yaroslav wore braces and old clothes, causing girls to completely ignore him. Later, his sister, Sveta, helped him change his style. Now Yaroslav is absolutely convinced that beautiful girls only look at fashionable clothing. Dima categorically disagrees.

The guys also decide to bet a thousand dollars and some collectible sneakers. Yaroslav makes Dima wear the most ridiculous old clothes from his school stash. He wears a stretched-out orange sweater with a sunburst on it, a silly T-shirt, and his grandfather’s glasses. Dima must approach the glamorous beauty in this ridiculous outfit.

At a bar, Dima accidentally bumps into his former friend, Alena. She’s acting very clingy and constantly wants to take photos with him. To scare her off, Dima starts acting extremely strange. He takes some tangerines out of his pocket and challenges Alena to a ridiculous competition. It works, and Alena quickly loses all interest. It’s at that moment that Dima glances at the next table and sees Alena for the first time.

Meeting at the mall

The next day, a transformed Alena and a disguised Dima collide in an empty shopping center. Alena, in a green minidress, struggles to walk straight in her high heels. Nastya’s designer shoes are incredibly painful for Alena’s feet. Walking is so painful for the student that her trusted friend Petya is forced to carry her on his back.

Despite this torment, Alena doesn’t give up and continues to follow Ksenia’s plan. She limps through the sales floor, waving an expensive bag. Dima, disguised as a quirky guy, notices her. He deliberately approaches this striking woman to quickly fulfill the terms of his bet.

The students sit down at a table in a cafe and begin to chat. Dima orders carrot cake, much to Alena’s surprise. Despite the utter absurdity of the situation, they find common ground. Dima asks Alena for her phone number. Both participants sincerely believe they’ve won their respective bets with ease.

Ridiculous dates

A long series of funny and awkward dates begins. Alena diligently continues to pretend to be a wealthy city lady. Dima very convincingly imitates the behavior of an awkward young man. Each new encounter between the characters is accompanied by amusing incidents.

Alena invites Dima to a home-cooked dinner at Nastya’s luxurious apartment. She attempts to cook a complex French-style meat dish with an unknown béchamel sauce. Her culinary skills are nonexistent, and she suffers a crushing defeat. Dima tactfully saves the situation and takes charge of the cooking.

Their next date takes place over a game of table tennis. Dima deceives Alena, claiming he’s completely inept at holding a racket. In fact, he has a rank in the sport. Alena, meanwhile, has been training with her father at the dacha all summer and is very determined. She takes on the game with enthusiasm, hoping to easily beat her clumsy beau.

Behind the masks of their fictional characters, they gradually open up to each other. Alena sees Dima as a caring and incredibly intelligent companion. Dima enjoys Alena’s kindness and childlike spontaneity.

Secrets come out

Maintaining the original cover story becomes increasingly difficult. Friends actively interfere in the characters’ lives. Soon, a very interesting detail comes to light: the glamorous Sveta Elizarova is secretly helping Petya.

New romantic connections quickly form within student groups. Petya begins a flamboyant courtship of Sveta. Stern Ksenia Tsareva suddenly becomes close to Yaroslav. It turns out she’s been secretly in love with him since a very young age.

Ultimately, the entire grand deception comes to light. The denouement comes completely unexpectedly for everyone involved. Dima invites Alena to ask him any four questions. She asks about croutons and the mysterious Gustav Petrosyan. Alena had previously called Petya by this fictitious name when trying to get out of an awkward situation. Dima answers all the questions with utmost honesty.

The guy arrives at Alena’s on a powerful, beautiful motorcycle. He’s wearing his normal, modern clothes. He honestly admits that he recognized Alena from their very first night at the bar.

Alena also tells the whole truth about her real life. Dima confidently declares that Ksenia’s theory was fundamentally flawed. It really did take him just a few seconds to fall in love. But it was the real Alena and her radiant sincerity that attracted him. Designer clothes and manners were completely irrelevant.

Summer day

The finale depicts the events of one warm summer day. Three pairs of friends are having a great time after watching a movie together at the cinema. Petya is absolutely happy with Sveta. Ksenia is now officially and openly dating Yaroslav.

Alena and Dima continue their strong relationship. They joyfully walk down a rain-soaked street, holding hands tightly. The students realize that true happiness lies in the simplest things and brief kisses under a blooming linden tree.