The Goose Fritz - Softcover

Lebedev, Sergei

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1939931649 ISBN 13: 9781939931641

Publisher: New Vessel Press, 2019

Synopsis

"Outstanding."
―The Wall Street Journal

“Lebedev’s characters seek ways to cut the umbilical cord with the past.”
―Svetlana Alexievich, winner of the Nobel Prize for Literature

This revelatory novel shows why Karl Ove Knausgaard has likened its celebrated Russian author to an "indomitable ... animal that won't let go of something when it gets its teeth into it." The book tells the story of a young Russian named Kirill, the sole survivor of a once numerous clan of German origin, who delves relentlessly into the unresolved past. His ancestor, Balthasar Schwerdt, migrated to the Russian Empire in the early 1800s, bringing with him the practice of alternative medicine and becoming captive to an erratic nobleman who had supplied dwarves, hunchbacks from Africa, and magicians to entertain Catherine the Great. Kirill’s investigation takes us through centuries of turmoil during which none of the German’s nine children or their descendants can escape their adoptive country’s cruel fate. Intent on uncovering buried mysteries, Kirill searches archives and cemeteries across Europe, while pressing witnesses for keys to understanding. The Goose Fritz illuminates both personal and political history in a passion-filled family saga about an often confounding country that has long fascinated the world.

About this title

Book Description

Sergei Lebedev is one of the most exciting new voices on the world literary stage, and with his third novel, he delivers again. The Goose Fritz tells the story of Russia and Europe through the eyes of one beleaguered family. Both tragic and compelling, this book entertains and illuminates. A great pick for Russophiles and curious readers alike, who can immerse themselves in Russian history as it's never been told before.

About the Author

Sergei Lebedev was born in Moscow in 1981 and worked for seven years on geological expeditions in northern Russia and Central Asia. Lebedev is a poet, essayist and journalist. Oblivion, his first novel, has been translated into many languages and was named one of the ten best novels of 2016 by The Wall Street Journal. Lebedev’s second novel, Year of the Comet, has also received considerable acclaim.
Antonina W. Bouis, who translated all three of Sergei Lebedev’s novels, is one of the leading translators of Russian literature working today. She has translated over 80 works from authors such as Evgeny Yevtushenko, Mikhail Bulgakov, Andrei Sakharov, Sergei Dovlatov and Arkady and Boris Strugatsky. Bouis, previously executive director of the Soros Foundation in the former USSR, now lives in New York City.

About this edition

• Publisher: New Vessel Press
• Publication date: 2019
• ISBN 10: 1939931649
• ISBN 13: 9781939931641
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 322