Beyond Shostakovich

From Olga Grushin's brilliant first novel The Dream Life of Sukhanov. It tells the story of Anatoly Sukhanov, who at the age of fifty-six has everything a man could want: a glittering career, a beautiful wife and two talented children, a grand partment in the smartest part of Moscow, a dacha with a fireplace, and a personal chauffeur. He thinks he has achieved his dream - 'to carve from the world around him a small, secure happiness, all his own'.

Born in 1971 in Moscow, Olga Grushin's father is Boris Grushin, the pioneering Soviet sociologist. She spent her early childhood in Prague. After returning to Moscow in 1981, she studied art history at the Pushkin Museum of Fine Arts and journalism at Moscow State University.

* For an interesting take on the novel read the Moscow Times review here, New York Times review here, and the Washington Post here.
* Illustrations The Death of the Soviets and 10 Pentacles by David Caitens and reproduced with the kind permision of the artist. Do visit his website to see more of his work.
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