Opening in stately fashion and unfolding ever faster with fierce, intensive elegance, this first novel discloses the weight of Soviet history and its consequences. A young man who as a boy owed his life to a reserved neighbor he calls Grandfather II grows curious about the man's past and finally unearths his connection to the terrible prison-camp system barb-wired throughout the country. The language is precise yet lyrical, with much revealed through dreams, as if the Soviet reality were otherwise too awful to touch.
VERDICT Highly recommended for anyone serious about literature or history.
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