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The Anonymous Novel: Sensing the Future Torments (Vagabond) (Changeling): No. 1
Author(s): Alessandro Barbero (Author), Allan Cameron
- Publisher: Vagabond Voices
- Publication Date: 1 Mar. 2010
- Language: English
- Print length: 464 pages
- ISBN-10: 0956056040
- ISBN-13: 9780956056047
Book Description
The elusive and unstable realities of Gorbachev’s Russia prove to be fertile ground for Alessandro Barbero’s great skills as a storyteller, and this masterpiece, The Anonymous Novel, is full of many varied characters and the discussion of endless themes concerning not only the Soviet Union and it final days but also, dare one say it, the human condition in any age and any country. It is very much the complete novel doing everything a novel can and should do, and doing it in a masterly fashion. One surprising element of the book, which is also an opportunity for the author to express very subtlely his admiration for Russian literature and culture, is the authenticity of the narration. The Western reader may feel that this is a sleight of hand, but Russian readers of the Italian original and the English translation can confirm its accuracy, which is based on careful historical research into journalistic and literary records, as well as some other sources. This book is a compelling read, but it is also a wonderful mix of the profound and the witty.
Editorial Reviews
Review
This is a literary miracle – unique, witty and gripping. It reads like Bulgakov’s prose somewhat modernised or a careful and sensitive translation of one of the great Russian classics. It is stunningly authentic, and I cannot believe that the author and translator are NOT Russian… A book to savour and consume slowly… –Vitali Vitaliev
About the Author
Born in 1959, Alessandro Barbero won the prestigious Premio Strega 1996 with his first novel, which was translated into many other languages but not English. This, his second novel, met with considerable critical acclaim, but although it was published in 1998, it has only just been translated into English. Since then Barbero, who is also a highly successful historian and cultural commentator, has published two more novels.
