Laurus

'At once stylistically ornate and compulsively readable...delivered with great aplomb and narrative charm... Many readers are likely to find the book enchanting.'

‘A remarkable novel… Russia’s answer to The Name of the Rose.’

'Interweaving an impressive array of images, stories, parables and superstitions, Vodolazkin builds a convincing portrait of 15th-century Europe... Laurus cannot be faulted for its ambition or for its poignant humanity. It is a profound, sometimes challenging, meditation on faith, love and life's mysteries.'

‘In Laurus, Vodolazkin aims directly at the heart of the Russian religious experience and perhaps even at that maddeningly elusive concept that is cherished to the point of cliché: the Russian soul.’

'A treasure house of Russian medieval lore and customs…a very clever, self-aware contemporary novel…a quirky, ambitious book.'

‘Vodolazkin’s spiritual odyssey transcends history, fusing archaism and slang to convey the idea that "time is a sort of misunderstanding"… Vodolazkin explores multifaceted questions of ‘Russianness’ and concludes, like the 19th-century poet Fyodor Tyutchev that Russia cannot be rationally understood. This is what leads him, with a gradual, but unstoppable momentum, to place faith and the transcendent human spirit at the center of his powerful worldview.’

‘Laurus is not at all a typical historical novel. It uses conscious and outrageous anachronisms; it is funny, subversive and vivid in its evocation of medieval life in Russia and the Middle East; and it plants questions about faith, irony, self-deception and integrity in the style of the greatest Russian fictions.’

‘Love, faith and a quest for atonement are the driving themes of [this] epic, prize-winning Russian novel… With flavours of Umberto Eco and The Canterbury Tales, this affecting, idiosyncratic novel…is an impressive achievement.’

‘Laurus is in one breath, a timeless epic, trekking the well-trodden fields of faith, love and the infinite depth of loss and search for meaning. In another, it is pointed, touching, and at times humorous, unpredictably straying from the path and leading readers along a wild chase through time, language and medieval Europe…Vodolazkin has found a subtle balance and uses it to impressive effect.’

'Vodolazkin’s expertise in the medieval world rounds out this tale that defies the restrictions of this long-ago time and place in its treatment of universal human pains and regrets.’

'A masterpiece by any standards...the novel flows in the spirit of the invincible Russian literary tradition of pathos and Dostoevskian depth; and at yet other times, it is a pure philological triumph... Vodolazkin's archaic seasoning is complemented by his sublime sense of humour... As Zachar Prileptin said before me, I am simply filled with an unending sense of happiness that such a novel exists. You open it and close it, something has happened to your soul.'

‘Vodolazkin, an expert in medieval folklore, transforms the dreadful past into a familiar stage on which to explore love, loss, and fervent perseverance… In a stroke of brilliant storytelling, Vodolazkin forgoes historical accuracy and instead conjures a cyclical, eternal time by combining biblical quotes, Soviet bureaucratese, and linguistic conventions of the Middle Ages (in this translation, rendered into Old English). The result is a uniquely lavish, multilayered work that blends an invented hagiography with the rapturous energy of Dostoevsky’s spiritual obsessions.’

‘Winner of Russia's National Big Book Prize, this saga of 15th-century Russia captures both its harshness and its radiant faith in a narrative touched by the miraculous.’

‘A fine balance between the ancient and archaic...the ironic and the tragic.'

'There are books that are necessary. Start with this one.'

'Simply magic'

'Always rich in ideas. Vodolazkin explores multifaceted questions of "Russianness" and concludes...that Russia cannot be rationally understood. This is what leads him, with a gradual, but unstoppable momentum, to place faith and the transcendent human spirit at the centre of his powerful world view.'

’Vodolazkin is a beautiful storyteller...an epic journey novel in all the best traditions. There are countless colourful characters, exciting twists of fate and profound truths in the protagonist’s words and deeds… The Idiot meets The Canterbury Tales meets The Odyssey.’

'Bold, rich and complex, Laurus deals with large issues: the concept of time, love and death, love and guilt.’

‘A gripping, weirdly fascinating read.’

'Not at all a typical historical novel. It uses conscious and outrageous anachronisms; it is funny, subversive and vivid in its evocation of medieval life in Russia and the Middle East; and it plants questions about faith, irony, self-deception and integrity in the style of the greatest Russian fictions.'