Foolsburg: The History of a Town
Foolsburg: The History of a Town by Mikhail Saltykov-Shchedrin, translated by Richard Pevear, Larissa Volokhonsky
English | August 13, 2024 | ISBN: 0593687310 | True EPUB | 304 pages | 5.7 MB
English | August 13, 2024 | ISBN: 0593687310 | True EPUB | 304 pages | 5.7 MB
The award-winning translators bring us a new translation of an 1870 comic novel by Russia's greatest satirist—whose mockery of Russian autocracy is newly relevant in the age of Putin.
A major classic in Russia since its publication, Foolsburg is the farcical chronicle of a fictional town and its hapless inhabitants as they passively endure the violence and lunacy of their rulers. The succession of brutal mayors of the town include such surreal extremes as a man with a music box instead of a brain and one so tall that he snaps in half during a windstorm. Mikhail Saltykov-Shchedrin marries biting satire reminiscent of Jonathan Swift with the fantastical absurdity of Nikolai Gogol, imbued throughout with his own brand of playful wordplay. The award-winning translators Richard Pevear and Larissa Volokhonsky have produced the first translation of this work into English that successfully captures its zany humor and enduring relevance.