In Concert Performance

This brilliant Russian satire, translated into English for the first time since its publication in Moscow in 1995, and soon to be in print in nine different languages, seems destined to make its author an international literary figure. The narrative dances around an angel called Lukary. Charged with arrogance and disrespect by the heavenly Department of Light Powers, he is given a chance to atone by being sent to live in 1990s Russia. His superiors direct the dashing Lukary to live as a domovoi, or hearth spirit, in the home of Kovalevskaya, an unremarkable, cantankerous widow of a Communist functionary. As chance would have it, when the old woman dies and Lukary's term of punishment is over, Lukary falls in love with Kovalevskaya's niece, Anna, who inherits the apartment. Anna, a TV news director, is married to Sergei, a stuffy physicist, and Lukary's whirlwind assault brings chaos into both their lives. Promptly forgetting his celestial responsibilities, Lukary interferes with the passage of time, traveling back to the 1930s in order to be with another incarnation of Anna. In a bizarre kaleidoscopic twist, characters with familiar names acquire new identities, and in the midst of it all, Lukary--now Lukin--amuses himself concocting a plan to vanquish Stalin. Meanwhile, Serpina, a senior privy councilor in the Department of Dark Powers, attempts to foil Lukary's every step, their battles fought mainly in philosophical debates. For the most part, Serpina lets people foil themselves, remarking, ""On earth there's no person who would not thirst for personal happiness before striving for enlightenment and ascent to Him."" A spectacular cast of characters and an elaborate series of settings are spun into a dazzling story reminiscent of Marquez or Bulgakov. Moscow resident Dezhnev, himself a man of many incarnations (novelist, physicist, international economics specialist), has fabricated an utterly convincing fantastical world. Rights sold in France, Norway, Germany, Spain, Portugal, Brazil, Holland, Greece, Italy and Poland; international launch at Frankfurt. (Oct.)