Man and His Surroundings - Paperback

by Fazil Iskander (Author), Alexander Rojavin (Translator)

Man and His Surroundings is a collection of novellas that are unconnected by one plot, but which altogether constitute a piercing examination of Soviet and post-Soviet culture. The novellas are hilarious and poignant, satirical and philosophical, and they impart a better intuitive understanding of the Soviet cultural heritage and mindset.

Author Biography

Fazil Iskander (1920 - 2016) was raised in Abkhazia but settled permanently in Moscow after graduating from the Gorky Literary Institute in Moscow in 1954. Iskander's major works include the satirical novel Sozvezdiye kozlotura (1966; The Goatibex Constellation) and the allegorical dystopia Kroliki i udavy (1982; Rabbits and Boa Constrictors). Iskander spent decades writing the epic novel Sandro iz Chegema (Sandro of Chegem), which chronicles the collision of Soviet values with Abkhazian patriarchal life.

Alexander Rojavin is a multilingual intelligence, media, and policy analyst specializing in information warfare. He is currently editing a book on modern Russian cinema as a key battlefield in the Kremlin's information war (forthcoming Routledge). At the same time, literary translation has always been one of his first loves.