Gajto Gazdanov, a Russian émigré writer of Ossetian descent, left an indelible mark on 20th-century literature. His work, shaped by his time in Paris and experiences in the Russian Civil War, excels in masterfully blending crime plots with profound psychological insight. Gazdanov skillfully created characters and situations where cynicism and despair precariously balance with a courageous acceptance of life and a spark of joie de vivre. Recognized early for his talent, he is considered one of the most gifted writers of his generation.
This is the first English translation of Gazdanov's second novel, "The Flight," where young Seryozha secretly loves Liza, his father's mistress. As they part ways, his father tries to end their affair for Seryozha's sake. A sudden catastrophe alters everything, blending psychological drama, romance, and modernist elements.
A superb early postmodern classic by one of Nabokov’s fellow émigré writers, rediscovered after more than half a century "This psychological novel takes stock of death, war, violence and the guilt that undergirds it all." — The New York Times Book Review A man comes across a short story which recounts in minute detail his killing of a soldier, long ago - from the victim's point of view. It's a story that should not exist, and whose author can only be a dead man. So begins the strange quest for its elusive writer: "Alexander Wolf." A singular classic, The Spectre of Alexander Wolf is a psychological thriller and existential inquiry into guilt and redemption, coincidence and fate, love and death
Drawing together episodes of rich atmosphere, this novel is as deep and brooding as the Paris nights that serve as its backdrop. Russian writer Gaito Gazdanov arrived in Paris, as so many did, between the wars and would go on, with this fourth novel, to give readers a crisp rendering of a living city changing beneath its people’s feet. Night Roads is loosely based on the author’s experiences as a cab driver in those disorienting, often brutal years, and the narrator moves from episode to episode, holding court with many but sharing his mind with only a few. His companions are drawn straight out of the Parisian past: the legendary courtesan Jeanne Raldi, now in her later days, and an alcoholic philosopher who goes by the name of Plato. Along the way, the driver picks up other characters, such as the dull thinker who takes on the question of the meaning of life only to be driven insane. The dark humor of that young man’s failure against the narrator’s authentic, personal explorations of the same subject is captured in this first English translation. With his trademark émigré eye, Gazdanov pairs humor with cruelty, sharpening the bite of both.