Lena Eltang. The Escape of the Blackberry. A Novel

Lena Eltang's debut novel was shortlisted for the National Bestseller Prize and the Andrei Bely Prize, and critics called it "the best Russian novel of recent years."
"The Escape of the Blackthorn" could be called the diary of a traveling student, the online journal of a new Werther, the monologue of a lover, or notes from a madhouse. It could also be called a mystical detective story: it features a monastery labyrinth, archaeologists, thieves, deceivers, and even artifacts that can grant secret wishes but take lives in exchange. The characters in this book don't call each other on the phone—they read each other's mail, write emails, pass love letters through the hotel porter, and leaf through the pages of a medieval manuscript.
Who are all these people? How did they become entangled in a story that cannot be explained, but can be told—in a way that erases space and time?
So what does the word "escape" in the book's title actually mean - a reckless escape from captivity or a weak sprout on a thorny stem?