About the Author:
Gaito Gazdanov (1903-1971) joined the White Army aged just sixteen and fought in the Russian Civil War. Exiled in Paris from the 1920s onwards, he eventually became a nocturnal taxi-driver and quickly gained prominence on the literary scene as a novelist, essayist, critic and short-story writer, and was greatly admired by Maxim Gorky, among others. Pushkin Press also publishes the celebrated The Spectre of Alexander Wolf and The Buddha's Return.
Translated from Russian by Bryan Karetnyk.
Review:
"Gazdanov has his own utterly distinctive voice... Pushkin Press is to be congratulated on reviving an author who is as relevant now as ever." — Spectator
"The Gazdanov revival... is nothing short of a literary event... Gazdanov's thrillers offer a truly original vision, distinguished by profound existential and metaphysical concerns, a peculiar sense of humour, and enchanting prose, which Bryan Karetnyk has once again reproduced with impeccable grace." —Times Literary Supplement
"A fascinating writer." — Irish Times
"His writing has been described as 'if Nabokov wrote thrillers'. I’m hooked." — Charlotte Mendelson, The Guardian Best Books of 2016
(Praise for The Buddha's Return) "An excellent novel by any standard, and especially remarkable for joining the philosophical underpinnings of the Russians with the intrigue of a French thriller." —Publishers Weekly, starred review
(Praise for The Spectre of Alexander Wolf) "A compulsive read, playful yet sinister, meandering yet impressively trim, old-world and modern. It is to Pushkin Press's great credit that this gorgeously restored relic... has been revived from untimely oblivion." — Daniel Levine, The Millions
(Praise for The Spectre of Alexander Wolf) "Truly troubling, a weird meditation on death, war, and sex... Bryan Karetnyk's new translation makes you believe in the power of the original." — Lorin Stein, Paris Review
(Praise for The Spectre of Alexander Wolf) "Splendidly translated... a mini-masterpiece." — Star Tribune
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