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A man obsessively investigates the mysteries of his familyâs past in this âbrave and unflinchingâ novel by the acclaimed Russian author of Oblivion (The Financial Times). Sergei Lebedevâs first two novels, The Year of the Comet and Oblivion, established him as one of Russiaâs most important contemporary novelists. Now he reaffirms that status with this third work of fiction. The Goose Fritz tells the story of a young Russian named Kirill, the sole survivor of a once numerous clan of German origin, who delves relentlessly into the unresolved past. When Krillâs ancestor, Balthasar Schwerdt, migrated to the Russian Empire in the early 1800s, he brought with him the practice of alternative medicine. He was then taken captive by an erratic nobleman who supplied entertainment to Catherine the Great in the form of dwarves, hunchbacks, and magicians. S earches archives and cemeteries across Europe, Kirillâs investigation takes us through centuries of turmoil during which none of Schwertâs descendants can escape their adoptive countryâs cruel fate. Illuminating both personal and political history, âLebedev muses in Tolstoyan fashion about [how] the actions of distant ancestors can fix the destinies of people hundreds of years later\" (The Wall Street Journal). |
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