What you’re really celebrating on birthdays is your survival. People pat you on the back for not getting run over or stabbed or having a heart attack for an entire year. And in a year like we’ve just had, that kind of boost feels entirely justified. I’m lucky enough to be here for another birthday, although not even the biggest birthday cake could sweeten the awful bitterness left by the past year, and the dim prospects on the horizon.

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In honor of my birthday, I'm sharing my colleague and spiritual guide Hanzo's favorite joke:

Full disclosure: the model in the picture is my pet rabbit, and Autocorrect is the name of my new short-story collection (which will be out in English in 2025). Image by Olena Smyrnova

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*Hat tip to Nurit Glazer Chodik for sending the meme

Translated by Jessica Cohen