Solovyov and Larionov: From the award-winning author of Laurus

Description

Solovyov, a young scholar born into obscurity, arrives in St Petersburg to have his thesis topic handed to him: the story of General Larionov. Dismissive at first, his subject soon intrigues the young scholar, even obsesses him: this is no ordinary General. Not only did Larionov fight for the monarchist Whites during the Civil War, he did so with bloody distinction. So how did he manage to live unharmed in the Soviet Union, on a Soviet pension, cutting an imposing figure on the Yalta beaches, leaving behind a son and a volume of memoirs? The budding young historian sets off to Crimea to look for some lost pages from the General's diary, and on his journey discovers many surprises, not least the charming Zoya, who works at Yalta's Chekhov Museum. With wry humour, philosophical seriousness and a ground-breaking narrative style, Solovyov and Larionov is a genre-defying historical detective novel that explores a fascinating period of Russian history.

Eugene Vodolazkin was born in Kiev and has worked in the department of Old Russian Literature at Pushkin House, St. Petersburg, since 1990. His second novel, Laurus, won the National Big Book Award and the Yasnaya Polyana Award and was shortlisted for the National Bestseller Prize and the Russian Booker Prize. He lives with his family in St Petersburg, Russia. Lisa C. Hayden is a literary translator whose translations from the Russian include Vladislav Otroshenko's Addendum to a Photo Album and Marina Stepnova's The Women of Lazarus. Her website, Lizok's Bookshelf, focuses on contemporary Russian fiction. She lives in Scarborough, Maine.

'[A] wry and whimsically humorous historical detective story.' * Times Literary Supplement * 'Absorbing, darkly witty, history-soaked pages for literary and historical fiction fans.' * Library Journal: Reading Around The World: 12 Top Spring Titles for the Library Market * 'Vodolazkin has produced a romanticized hero's quest that affirms the "indivisibility and harmony" of history and personal fate. In the face of overwhelming death tolls, he insists on making space for mythology.' * Wall Street Journal * 'Simply cannot be ignored... A smart and often humorous account of contemporary Russian life that reminded me several times of his fellow citizen Svetlana Alexievich's nonfiction.' * LitHub * 'There is sprightly, funny satire here and, beneath it, a surprising vein of poignancy.' * Kirkus * 'An ambitious first novel. It is to Vodolazkin's credit that he pulls it off, creating a substantial, beguiling work that engages the reader on several levels, encompassing a detective story, historical events and even a little romance.' * The Herald, Scotland * 'More than a beautifully written coming-of-age story...one of the finest novels I have read in years.' * World Literature Today * 'Third-person narration, circular structure, and archetypal characters lend this beautifully written literary mystery the feel of a modern fable. [We] recommend Vodolazkin's slowly unfolding story to readers who prefer detailed research, artfully layered descriptions, and character epiphanies to thrills.' * Booklist * 'A very unique blend of literary genres... I became captivated by this Russian tale with all of its stories within a story. This is a true Russian novel.' * Marjorie's World of Books * 'Solovyov's and Larionov's careers are interwoven so deftly that the novel can be enjoyed as part academic satire, part historical romp... Solovyov and Larionov contains some hilarious character sketches and set pieces, from academic jousting for precedence to conflicts over property in a communal apartment.' * L.A. Review of Books * 'Award-winning author Vodolazkin seamlessly weaves together the lives of his two heroes... [but] this coming-of-age story offers the reader a much richer experience than mere biography.' * Historical Novel Society * 'I couldn't put it down.' * A Bookish Type blog * 'Vodolazkin is one of the most interesting contemporary writers.' * Russia Beyond, '5 great Russian books for your summer reading list' * 'I found Solovyov and Larionov to be just as good a book as The Aviator in its beautiful writing, its thought-provoking narrative and its wonderfully atmospheric sense of place and time. I can see that I'm going to be pondering on it for quite some time to come...' * Kaggsy's Bookish Ramblings *