Solovyov and Larionov

A groundbreaking and gripping literary detective novel set in Soviet-era Russia, from the award-winning author of Laurus and The Aviator

Shortlisted for the Andrei Bely Prize and Russia’s National Big Book AwardLarionov. A general of the Imperial Russian Army who mysteriously avoided execution by the Bolsheviks when they swept to power and went on to live a long life in Yalta, leaving behind a vast heritage of memoirs.Solovyov. The young history student who travels to Crimea, determined to find out how Larionov evaded capture after the 1917 revolution.With wry humour, Eugene Vodolazkin, one of Russia’s foremost contemporary writers, takes readers on a fascinating journey through a momentous period of Russian history, interweaving the intriguing story of two men from very different backgrounds that ultimately asks whether we can really understand the present without first understanding the past.

Short-listed for Big Book Award (Russian Federation). Short-listed for Andrei Bely Prize (Russian Federation).

“'Vodolazkin is one of the most interesting contemporary writers.'”

‘[A] wry and whimsically humorous historical detective story.’ 

‘Absorbing, darkly witty, history-soaked pages for literary and historical fiction fans.’

‘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.’

‘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.’

‘There is sprightly, funny satire here and, beneath it, a surprising vein of poignancy.’

‘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.’

‘More than a beautifully written coming-of-age story...one of the finest novels I have read in years.’

‘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.’

‘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.’

'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.'

‘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.’

‘I couldn't put it down.’

‘Vodolazkin is one of the most interesting contemporary writers.’

‘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...’

Eugene Vodolazkin was born in Kiev and has worked in the department of Old Russian Literature at Pushkin House since 1990. He is an expert in medieval Russian history and folklore. Solovyov and Larionov is his debut novel. Laurus (Oneworld, 2015), his second novel but the first to be translated into English, won the National Big Book Award and the Yasnaya Polyana Award and has been translated into eighteen languages. His third novel, The Aviator (Oneworld, 2018), was shortlisted for the Russian Booker Prize and the National Big Book Award. He lives in St Petersburg.Lisa C. Hayden’s translations from the Russian include Eugene Vodolazkin’s Laurus, which won the Read Russia Award in 2016 and was also shortlisted for the Oxford-Weidenfeld Prize along with her translation of Vadim Levental’s Masha Regina. Her blog, Lizok’s Bookshelf, examines contemporary Russian fiction. She lives in Maine, USA.

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