Petersburg

Description: Set in Saint Petersburg during the Revolution of 1905, this classic of Russian literature draws comparisons to James Joyce's Ulysses for its display of symbolism and humor

After enlisting in a revolutionary terrorist organization, the university student Nikolai Apollonovich Ableukhov is entrusted with a highly dangerous mission: to plant a bomb and assassinate a major government figure.

But the real central character of Petersburg is the Russian capital itself--caught in the grip of political agitation and social unrest at the beginning of the twentieth century.

Intertwining the worlds of history and myth, and parading a cast of unforgettable characters, Petersburg is a story of apocalypse and redemption played out through family dysfunction, conspiracy, and murder.

"The most important, most influential, and most perfectly realized Russian novel written in the 20th century." --The New York Times Book Review

Review Quotes: "The most important, most influential, and most perfectly realized Russian novel written in the 20th century."
--The New York Times Book Review

"This modernist novel, rightly regarded as one of the pinnacles of twentieth-century Russian literature, presents great challenges to the translator. With unswerving loyalty to the original, Elsworth has succeeded in capturing its idiosyncratic rhythms and elusive layers of meaning, producing a masterful translation that reads like a work of art in its own right."
--Rossica Prize Judging Panel (2012)

"One of the four most important works of twentieth century literature."
--Vladimir Nabokov