The Librarian

“Elizarov’s novel, winner of the 2008 Russian Booker Prize, is a satire about the absurdity of blind faith and the way people fool themselves into believing in systems in which they are forced to inhabit… this chaotic tale puts a magical twist on its satire.” –Publishers Weekly

“[A] brilliant winner of the Russian Booker Prize…. Immensely entertaining, The Librarian lives up to comparisons to the work of Gogol and Bulgakov while being very much its own thing.” — Jeff VanderMeer, Slate

“The Librarian reads like cold fire, full of Russian stoicism, honor and intense formality, but the rhythm of the words is hypnotic.” —Luke Goldstein, Blogcritics

“By turns absurdist, satirical, and downright funny: The Librarian takes a page from every book. . . The Librarian is original, delightfully weird and dark, and so frequently funny, this book will have no problem conscripting new English readers.” — Asymptote

“Powerful, disturbing, and at the same time, uplifting.” — Vzgliad

“A truly bright author and an ingenious writer.” — Vladimir Sorokin, author of Ice Trilogy and Day of the Oprichnik

“The most radical of Russian Booker winners.” — Snob.ru

“Elizarov is an heir to the classic Russian writers.” — Prochtenie.ru

“Uncompromising, bizarre and desperate.” — Gazeta.ru

“How words can be more dangerous than machine-guns.” — Proza.ru

“A world of myths… and a requiem for a broken country.” — Questions of Literature