In Concert Performance

October 4, 1999
This brilliant Russian satire, translated into English for the first time since its publication in Moscow in 1995, and soon to be in print in nine different languages, seems destined to make its author an international literary figure. The narrative dances around an angel called Lukary. Charged with arrogance and disrespect by the heavenly Department of Light Powers, he is given a chance to atone by being sent to live in 1990s Russia. His superiors direct the dashing Lukary to live as a domovoi, or hearth spirit, in the home of Kovalevskaya, an unremarkable, cantankerous widow of a Communist functionary. As chance would have it, when the old woman dies and Lukary's term of punishment is over, Lukary falls in love with Kovalevskaya's niece, Anna, who inherits the apartment. Anna, a TV news director, is married to Sergei, a stuffy physicist, and Lukary's whirlwind assault brings chaos into both their lives. Promptly forgetting his celestial responsibilities, Lukary interferes with the passage of time, traveling back to the 1930s in order to be with another incarnation of Anna. In a bizarre kaleidoscopic twist, characters with familiar names acquire new identities, and in the midst of it all, Lukary--now Lukin--amuses himself concocting a plan to vanquish Stalin. Meanwhile, Serpina, a senior privy councilor in the Department of Dark Powers, attempts to foil Lukary's every step, their battles fought mainly in philosophical debates. For the most part, Serpina lets people foil themselves, remarking, "On earth there's no person who would not thirst for personal happiness before striving for enlightenment and ascent to Him." A spectacular cast of characters and an elaborate series of settings are spun into a dazzling story reminiscent of Marquez or Bulgakov. Moscow resident Dezhnev, himself a man of many incarnations (novelist, physicist, international economics specialist), has fabricated an utterly convincing fantastical world. Rights sold in France, Norway, Germany, Spain, Portugal, Brazil, Holland, Greece, Italy and Poland; international launch at Frankfurt.

October 15, 1999
This is a surprising contemporary Russian novel, filled with magical realism and fantasy, set against the grim reality of today's Moscow. When Anna attends her aunt's funeral, she meets a handsome man who catches her eye. In fact, he is a spirit, a domovoi of Russian folklore, who, equally smitten with her, begins to invade the daily life she shares with her physicist husband. The characterizations are complex, and the fantastic elements of the story blend naturally. While this may not suit all American readers, it does offer a view of Russian life rare in fiction. For larger collections or where translated fiction is popular.--Ann H. Fisher, Radford P.L., VA

Copyright 1999 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

October 1, 1999
There's a touch of Wim Wenders and a great deal of Mikhail Bulgakov in this fantastic tale of a fallen angel--a "domovoi," or hearth spirit--who falls in love with a woman while simultaneously doing battle with the cosmic powers of darkness. Russia is the battleground in this war of intrigue, where an admixture of Eastern and Western religions and quantum physics is topped off by a good, old-fashioned Russian conspiracy: the Departments of Light Powers and Dark Powers (i.e., good and bad angels) have secret protocols designed to maintain the balance of good versus evil. But in order to save Russia from its evil history, Lukary, the domovoi, concocts a plan to rewrite the record by eliminating Stalin. To do this he must travel to Moscow of the early 1930s. There are some sly jokes and numerous references to Russian culture, most of which are pointed out in notes at the end of the book. Somehow Dezhnev manages to keep the story from spinning too far out of control. ((Reviewed October 1, 1999))(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 1999, American Library Association.)