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Book cover of The Possessed

The Possessed

Adventures with Russian Books and the People Who Read Them

Elif Batuman

16
Coup de coeur
Coup de coeur (Essays), by Mariama
If you are studying LITERATURE or youre simply a Russian literature enthusiast, The Possessed might be the right book for you. Named after one of Dostoyevskys novels, this collection of essays is a metaphorical and literal journey following the footsteps of Elif Batumans favourite authors from Tolstoy to Platonov, interweaving her readings and anecdotes as a student in Stanford.
'The funniest book I've read in a long time: its deadpan, dry humour and its accumulation of absurdities will leave you rolling on your floor with laughter' The Times She thought she was a lover of the great classics of Russian literature - until she met the superfans... Roaming from Tashkent to San Francisco, this is the true story of one budding writer's strange encounters with the fanatics who are devoted - absurdly! melancholically! ecstatically! - to the Russian classics. Combining fresh readings of the great Russians from Tolstoy to Dostoevsky with the sad and funny stories of the lives they continue to influence, The Possessed is comic, humane, charming, poignant and full of an infectious love for literature. 'Dazzlingly good ... very bookish, very clever and very funny... a preposterously engaging volume' Jane Shilling, Sunday Telegraph 'The highest compliment you can pay such a book is that it sends you back to the original authors refreshed. I can go one higher - I found myself simply wanting to read more from Elif Batuman' Evening Standard 'An intoxicating mix of travel memoir, autobiography, literary criticism and philosophy... Charming and hilarious' Daily Telegraph
Publisher: Granta Publications Ltd
Binding: Paperback
Publication date: 04 Jul 2024
Dimensions: 198 x 129 x 129 mm
ISBN: 9781803510187