The Aviator

From award-winning author Eugene Vodolazkin comes this poignant story of memory, love and loss spanning twentieth-century Russia

From award-winning author Eugene Vodolazkin comes this poignant story of memory, love and loss spanning twentieth-century RussiaA man wakes up in a hospital bed, with no idea who he is or how he came to be there. The only information the doctor shares with him is his name: Innokenty Petrovich Platonov.As memories slowly resurface, Innokenty begins to build a vivid picture of his former life as a young man in Russia in the early twentieth century, living through the turbulence of the Russian Revolution and its aftermath. Soon, only one question remains: how can he remember the start of the twentieth century, when the pills by his bedside were made in 1999?Reminiscent of the great works of twentieth-century Russian literature, with nods to Dostoevsky’s Crime and Punishment and Bulgakov’s The White Guard, The Aviator cements Vodolazkin’s position as the rising star of Russia’s literary scene.

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

“'Vodolazkin's second novel to be translated into English is stylistically different from its brightly filigreed, 15th century-set predecessor, Laurus, but preserves that novel's sweep and passion for history...the writing, never portentous, blows like fine, dry snow across the pages. Great reading for all audiences.'”

‘Vodolazkin’s grip on this narrative is iron-tight... We should expect nothing less from an author whose previous novel, Laurus, was a barnstorming thriller about medieval virtue.’

‘A fascinating, science fiction-tinged chronicle of a century in Russia.’

‘An unabashed, panoramic view of the landscape of human consciousness... Draped in thoroughly Russian trappings, The Aviator speaks to common experience while soaring into realms that enfold the human drama below.’

‘Engaging... Those familiar with twentieth-century Russian history will delight in the swirl of memories that emerge over the course of the narrative.’

‘Crisply focused, rich in sensory detail... The arc of the narrative is as simple and clever as a philosopher’s parable. But this is also a deeply emotional book...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.’

‘Love, faith, and a quest for atonement are the driving themes of an epic, prizewinning Russian novel that, while set in the medieval era, takes a contemporary look at the meaning of time.... With flavors of Umberto Eco and The Canterbury Tales, this affecting, idiosyncratic novel ... is an impressive achievement.’

‘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.’

‘Vodolazkin amazes again with his exceptional mastery of language.’

‘A brilliant, thought-provoking read.’

‘Profound.’

‘Vodolazkin’s second novel to be translated into English is stylistically different from its brightly filigreed, 15th century-set predecessor, Laurus, but preserves that novel’s sweep and passion for history...the writing, never portentous, blows like fine, dry snow across the pages. Great reading for all audiences.’

‘A playful mockery of historic and scientific hubris that is at the same time an earnest critique of both the Soviet terror and contemporary life.’

'I’ll be reading The Aviator, the latest novel by the contemporary Russian Orthodox writer Eugene Vodolazkin, who has a real gift for writing about weighty spiritual matters with gorgeous lightness.'

‘A chunk of Russian mastery on display here. An exceptional read.’

‘The Aviator is a novel which manages to be both fast-paced and philosophical.’

‘Engrossing, with some surprising turns... This device of a man out of time, waking up in a future world he doesn't recognize, has become almost cliche, but is deftly used here to illuminate the ways memory – both historical and personal – can either serve to chain us to the past or open us to eternity.’

‘Since this is Vodolazkin, the writing is of course beautiful, and the narrative structure is onion-like, revealing itself carefully and elegantly as the story progresses... There is also even a touch of Dostoyevsky in this powerful novel, whereby Vodolazkin telescopes a century’s horrors and dramas through the lives of a single Leningrad communal apartment’s residents, all the while broaching the greater philosophical questions of existence. Highly recommended.’

‘A powerful, moving story... It touched my heart in so many ways... Most highly recommended.’

‘Such is Vodolazkin’s modest, difficult, but trans-temporal hope in a time-bound age. Both novels would make splendid Christmas gifts to friends or family members who want to be radically challenged in their reading.’ 

‘Captivating.’

‘Exceptional.’

‘Eugene Vodolazkin sophisticatedly manipulates with genres, masters the style, and keeps the tension until the novel’s last page.’

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. Laurus, his first novel to be translated into English, was published to great critical acclaim. He lives in St Petersburg, Russia. Lisa Hayden is a freelance translator and editor. Her translation of Eugene Vodolazkin's Laurus (Oneworld, 2015) was shortlisted for the Oxford-Weidenfeld Translation Prize in 2016. She lives in Maine, USA.

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