Daddy Astro is a rabbit who gives birth to a dog and a cat, he holds forth in 'rabbitish' and his message is that art is everywhere. They jump from a poster on Mia's wall, and help her to discover that she is an artist too, in this novel replete with delightful drawings, imbued with the joy of creativity and the power of "Miagination."

 

Alexander Iskin (born in Moscow and based in Berlin and Mexico City) has made a name for himself with his innovative approach to art and the blending of various media. His works provide immersive, multi-dimensional experiences that dissolve the boundaries between forms of art. Combining complex themes with an emotional and often spiritual dimension, he creates space for reflection on culture, identity, and technology. In this debut novel, Iskin continues to explore themes of perception of reality and the impact of the digital world, while emphasizing the importance of painting as a means to explore and represent evolving realities.

He lives in Mexico City and Berlin.

"Alexander Iskin's exciting new novel, Rabbits Are Strange, When You Are A Stranger, draws a reader into an unexpected, delightful, world —a world where the characters awaken to their own creativity. In the topsy-turvy world Iskin creates, 'Cosmo was a dog who pretended to be a cat, while Retro was a cat who pretended to be a dog.' The rabbit who gave birth to them is Daddy Astro. With the help of interwoven playful drawings, Iskin drew me right into his world, where a young female human being named Mia learns that art is everywhere. Mia playfully uses Astro, Cosmo and Retro and their many friends to help her discover that even she is an artist with her own 'Miagination.'" — Kevin Arnold, Poet and Novelist

"Lewis Carroll and Aldous Huxley may come to mind, but Rabbits are Strange, When You Are A Stranger claims its own territory as a 21st century masterwork. It is a charmed realm where the creatures most authentic are animals. 'What is Art?' Mia asks. Astro holds forth in 'rabbitish': 'It's a world that is more than a world. It contains all realities. It includes everything from the smallest ant to the biggest maple tree, and everything is interconnected. Art is a giant glowing spider web of opportunities.' Alexander Iskin has created a mosaic of light-infused lyrical prose, a fully imagined and realized world laced with humor and illustrations, where even those charged with pitting an invasive technology against the vulnerable seem redeemable. Fable, allegory, magic realism, fantasy—I hesitate to classify the novel. That's up to you, the reader." — Stephanie Dickinson, Author of Harlow Smith Postcards: Icons in Black and White