'THE MOST IMPORTANT LIVING RUSSIAN WRITER' New Yorker A groundbreaking and gripping literary detective novel set in Soviet-era Russia, from the award-winning author of Laurus and The Aviator Can we ever really understand the present without first understanding the past? From the winner of the 2019 Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn Prize, and the author of the multi-award winning Laurus , comes a sweeping novel that takes readers on a fascinating journey through one of the most momentous periods in Russian history. What really happened to General Larionov of the Imperial Russian Army, who somehow avoided execution by the Bolsheviks? He lived out his long life in Yalta leaving behind a vast heritage of undiscovered memoirs. In modern day Russia, a young student is determined to find out the truth. Solovyov and Larionov is a ground-breaking and gripping literary detective novel from one of Russia's greatest contemporary writers. ‘[A] wry and whimsically humorous historical detective story.’ ― Times Literary Supplement ‘Absorbing, darkly witty, history-soaked pages for literary and historical fiction fans.’ ― Library Journal: Reading Around The World: 12 Top Spring Titles for the Library Market ‘Vodolazkin has produced a romanticized hero's quest that affirms the "indivisibility and harmony" of history and personal fate. In the face of overwhelming death tolls, he insists on making space for mythology.’ ― Wall Street Journal ‘Simply cannot be ignored... A smart and often humorous account of contemporary Russian life that reminded me several times of his fellow citizen Svetlana Alexievich’s nonfiction.’ ― LitHub ‘There is sprightly, funny satire here and, beneath it, a surprising vein of poignancy.’ ― Kirkus ‘An ambitious first novel. It is to Vodolazkin’s credit that he pulls it off, creating a substantial, beguiling work that engages the reader on several levels, encompassing a detective story, historical events and even a little romance.’ ― The Herald, Scotland ‘More than a beautifully written coming-of-age story...one of the finest novels I have read in years.’ ― World Literature Today ‘Third-person narration, circular structure, and archetypal characters lend this beautifully written literary mystery the feel of a modern fable. [We] recommend Vodolazkin’s slowly unfolding story to readers who prefer detailed research, artfully layered descriptions, and character epiphanies to thrills.’ ― Booklist ‘A very unique blend of literary genres... I became captivated by this Russian tale with all of its stories within a story. This is a true Russian novel.’ ― Marjorie’s World of Books 'Solovyov's and Larionov's careers are interwoven so deftly that the novel can be enjoyed as part academic satire, part historical romp... Solovyov and Larionov contains some hilarious character sketches and set pieces, from academic jousting for precedence to conflicts over property in a communal apartment.' ― L.A. Review of Books ‘Award-winning author Vodolazkin seamlessly weaves together the lives of his two heroes... [but] this coming-of-age story offers the reader a much richer experience than mere biography.’ ― Historical Novel Society ‘I couldn't put it down.’ ― A Bookish Type blog ‘Vodolazkin is one of the most interesting contemporary writers.’ ― Russia Beyond, '5 great Russian books for your summer reading list' ‘I found Solovyov and Larionov to be just as good a book as The Aviator in its beautiful writing, its thought-provoking narrative and its wonderfully atmospheric sense of place and time. I can see that I'm going to be pondering on it for quite some time to come...’ ― Kaggsy's Bookish Ramblings PRAISE FOR THE AVIATOR by Eugene Vodolazkin: "Evocative and enigmatic...despite this book’s gentle love story or its murder mystery or its sf flourishes, it is, in many ways, a quintessentially Russian novel, as vivid and probing as they come." --Booklist, Starred Review "The arc of the narrative is as simple and clever as a philosopher’s parable. But this is also a deeply emotional book, and often it is these probing questions that give human depth to the characters.... THE AVIATOR is a quietly radical novel, animated by the spirit of Dmitry Likhachev, an academic who knew what it was to suffer the blows of history first-hand." --Words Without Borders "A fascinating, science fiction-tinged chronicle of a century in Russia." ―BBC Culture "A brilliant, though-provoking read." --Historical Novel Society, Editor's Pick "[The AVIATOR] offers the pleasures of a time travel narrative without the usual hokeyness.... Great reading for all audiences.” --Library Journal "An unabashed, panoramic view of the landscape of human consciousness affected by time, place, faith, and faces.... In the vein of Dostoyevsky, religion here is not an enemy to be vanquished, but rather a consolation and a means of deciphering the mechanisms of the human mind and
