Fardwor, Russia! : A Fantastical Tale of Life Under Putin

When a scientist experimenting on a humans in a sanatorium near Moscow gives growth serum to a dwarf oil mogul, the newly heightened businessman runs off with the experimenter’s wife, and a series of mysterious deaths and crimes begins. Fantastical and wonderfully strange, this political parable has an uncanny resonance with today’s Russia under Putin. Oleg Kashin is a famous Russian journalist and activist who, in 2010, was beaten to within an inch of his life by unknown assailants in an attack most likely politically motivated by his reporting. The events of Fardwor, Russia! (the title is taken from a flag with a slogan—“Forward, Russia!”—gone wrong) could seem grotesque, if they did not so eerily echo the absurd state of affairs in modern Russia. Under Putin’s regime, an author dares to criticize the state of affairs and affairs of the state only through veiled satire—and even then, as Kashin’s experience shows, the threat of repercussions is real. A witty, playful, brave, and incisive work that blends science fiction with political satire, Fardwor, Russia! is a must-read for anyone interested in contemporary Russia—or the hilarious and frightening follies of power. A literary sensation in Hungary, Gyrgy Spirs Captivity is both a highly sophisticated historical novel and a gripping page-turner. Set in the tumultuous first century A.D., between the year of Christs death and the outbreak of the Jewish War, Captivity recounts the adventures of the feeble-bodied, bookish Uri, a young Roman Jew. Frustrated with his hapless son, Uris father sends the young man to the Holy Land to regain the familys prestige. In Jerusalem, Uri is imprisoned by Herod and meets two thieves and (perhaps) Jesus before their crucifixion. Later, in cosmopolitan Alexandria, he undergoes a scholarly and sexual awakeningbut must escape a pogrom. Returning to Rome at last, he finds an entirely unexpected inheritance. Equal parts Homeric epic, brilliantly researched Jewish history, and picaresque adventure, Captivity is a dramatic tale of family, fate, and fortitude. In its weak-yet-valiant hero, fans will be reminded of Robert Graves classics of Ancient Rome, I, Claudius and Claudius the God. Restless Books will publish the first English edition of this important, 1,100-page work in four installments in 2015. Translated from the Hungarian by Tim Wilkinson Gyrgy Spir presents a theory in novelistic form about the interwovenness of religion and politics, lays bare the inner workings of power, and gives insight into the art of survival. This book is an incredible page turner; it reads easily and avidly like the greatest bestsellers while also going as deep as the greatest thinkers of European philosophy. Aegon Literary Award 2006 jury recommendation A novel of education and a novel of adventure that brings to life ancient Rome, Alexandria, and Jerusalem with a vividness of detail that is stunning. Spirs prose is crisp and colloquial, the kind of prose that aims for precision rather than literary thrills. A serious and sophisticated novel that is also engrossing and highly readable is a rare thing. Captivity is such a novel. Ivan Sanders, Columbia University Impossibly engrossing from the very first page. Building on a huge volume of reference material, the novel rings true from both a historical and a literary point of view. Magda Ferch, Magyar Nemzet Born in 1946 in Budapest, award-winning dramatist, novelist, and translator Gyrgy Spir has earned a reputation as one of postwar Hungarys most prominent and prolific literary figures. He teaches at ELTE University of Budapest, where he specializes in Slavic literatures. Tim Wilkinson gave up his job in the pharmaceutical industry to translate Hungarian literature and history. He is the primary translator of Nobel Prize-winner Imre Kertsz. Wilkinsons translation of Kertszs Fatelessness won the PEN Club/Book of the Month Club Translation Prize in 2005. DESCRIPTION When a scientist experimenting on humans in a sanatorium near Moscow gives a growth serum to a dwarf oil mogul, the newly heightened businessman runs off with the experimenter's wife, and a series of mysterious deaths and crimes commences. Fantastical and wonderfully strange, this political parable has an uncanny resonance with today's Russia under Putin. Oleg Kashin is a famous Russian journalist and activist who, in 2010, was beaten to within an inch of his life by unknown assailants, in an attack most likely politically motivated by his reporting. The events of FARDWOR, RUSSIA! (the title is taken from a flag with a slogan—"Forward, Russia!"—gone wrong) could seem grotesque, if they did not so eerily echo the absurd state of affairs in modern Russia. Under Putin's regime, authors dare to criticize the state of affairs and affairs of the state only through veiled satire—and even then, as Kashin's experience shows, the threat of repercussions is real. A witty, playful, brave, and incisive work that blends science fiction with political satire, FARDWOR, RUSSIA! is a must-read for anyone interested in contemporary Russia—or the hilarious and frightening follies of power. ABOUT THE AUTHORS Born in 1980 in Kaliningrad, Russia, Oleg Kashin is one of Russia's most famous journalists and political commentators. A former navigator in the Russian Navy and current opponent of Putin, he was severely beaten nearly to death by assailants connected to the Russian government in November 2010, two months after he submitted Fardwor, Russia! to his publisher and two months before it went to print. In 2012 he received the Paul Klebnikov Fund Journalism Fellowship, which supports a period of professional development in New York City. Kashin is widely published in the U.S.; he regularly writes for The New Republic in English and has also written for The New York Times. He has been profiled in Foreign Policy and Open Democracy, among other English-language outlets. Fardwor, Russia!is his first work of fiction. He now lives in Switzerland. Max Seddon is a correspondent for BuzzFeed News. He has reported widely in Russia and the rest of the former Soviet Union. ABOUT THE TRANSLATOR Will Evans is the executive director and publisher of Deep Vellum Publishing, a not-for-profit literary publisher of translated books based in Dallas, Texas. The forces of science, human error, and power run amok all collide in a wildly inventive, funny, and razor-sharp political satire about Putin's Russia, from one of the country's most fearless journalists. When a scientist experimenting on humans in a sanatorium near Moscow gives a growth serum to a dwarf oil mogul, the newly heightened businessman runs off with the experimenter's wife, and a series of mysterious deaths and crimes commences. Fantastical and wonderfully strange, this political parable has an uncanny resonance with today's Russia under Putin. Oleg Kashin is a famous Russian journalist and activist who, in 2010, was beaten to within an inch of his life by unknown assailants, in an attack most likely politically motivated by his reporting. The events of Fardwor, Russia! (the title is taken from a flag with a slogan—"Forward, Russia!"—gone wrong) could seem grotesque, if they did not so eerily echo the absurd state of affairs in modern Russia. Under Putin's regime, authors dare to criticize the state of affairs and affairs of the state only through veiled satire—and even then, as Kashin's experience shows, the threat of repercussions is real. A witty, playful, brave, and incisive work that blends science fiction with political satire, Fardwor, Russia! is a must-read for anyone interested in contemporary Russia—or the hilarious and frightening follies of power.