The Enchanted Wanderer: And Other Stories [Paperback]

Nikolai Leskov's writing exploded the conventions of nineteenth-century Russian fiction. Here is the other Russia, mythical and untamed: an uneasy synthesis of Orthodoxy and Old Believers, a land populated by soldiers and monks, serfs and princes, Tartars and gypsies—a vast country brimming with the promise of magic.

These seventeen tales, some rooted in the oral tradition, others cast as sophisticated anecdotes, are all told in the voices of storytellers addressing their audience—allowing us, as readers, to join a group of listeners. Innovative in form and rich in wordplay, the narratives unfurl in startlingly modern ways. The great gift of this new translation allows us to hear all the nuances of Leskov’s brilliant language.“Outstanding. . . . A worthy monument to add to your bookshelf of prized Russian literature.” —San Francisco Chronicle

“Vibrantly translated. . . . Thanks to this delicious new collection, the time is once again ripe for Leskov’s resurgence.” —The New York Times Book Review

“Surreal, gripping, violent but comic tales.” —Margaret Atwood
 
“Stories as strong as fables and crazy as life.” —Alice Munro

“We can recognize this Leskov, in English, as a king among Russian storytellers. . . . It is a testament both to his own resilience and to the unmatched talent of his translators that he has arrived in such brilliant color.” —The Quarterly Conversation

“[A] forgotten genius. . . . Leskov’s genius lies in the modesty of his narrators, their helplessness before the art of narrative.” —The Daily Beast

“Leskov remains pungently and overpoweringly Russian. . . . Leskov was in many regards—if not in his language—a very modern writer, being, together with Zola and Dickens, among the very greatest journalist-novelists of the lĂ)