Description
Book SynopsisAlmost unknown during his lifetime, Sigizmund Krzhizhanovsky is now hailed as a master of Russian prose.
Countries That Don’t Exist showcases a selection of Krzhizhanovsky’s exceptional nonfiction, which spans a dizzying range of genres and voices.
Trade Review[A] thought-provoking collection. . . . With a playful blend of logic and fantasy, Krzhizhanovsky’s works defamiliarize everyday concepts. Readers interested in the crossover between art and philosophy will be rewarded. * Publishers Weekly *
The book gives a fair sampling of Krzhizhanovsky’s unique approach to literature, which is fractional, hyperbolic, and dramatically metaphysical . . . [These essays] exhibit an intelligence rarely seen in the history of Russian literature, as Krzhizhanovsky seems to be addressing the future generation rather than his Soviet contemporaries. We’re lucky to have intercepted this signal one hundred years later. -- Feng Dong * Critical Inquiry *
One more bit of evidence that the Russian Library is one of the best innovations in the publishing world in recent years. -- Steve Dodson * Languagehat *
Intriguing variety from a fascinating writer. -- Michael Orthofer * The Complete Review *
The amount of care which has gone into the presentation of the book is impressive, with a marvellous array of translators featured . . . This volume is a real triumph. -- Karen Langley * Kaggsy's Bookish Ramblings *
Krzhizhanovsky is one of the greatest Russian writers of the last century. -- Robert Chandler,
Financial TimesKrzhizhanovsky is often compared to Borges, Swift, Poe, Gogol, Kafka, and Beckett, yet his fiction relies on its own special mixture of heresy and logic. -- Natasha Randall,
BookforumOffers persuasive evidence of Krzhizhanovsky’s erudition, wit, and style . . . It will delight Krzhizhanovsky fans, making him available for teaching, for discussion with colleagues who do not read Russian, and for quality citation in one’s own projects. This collection of non-fiction is a credit to everyone involved. -- Sibelan Forrester * Slavic Review *
Table of ContentsEditors' Preface
Introduction: Restoring the Balance
1. Love as a Method of Cognition
2. Idea and Word
3. Argo and Ergo
4. A Philosopheme of the Theater (Excerpt)
5. A Collection of Seconds
6. The Poetics of Titles
7. Countries That Don’t Exist
8. Edgar Allan Poe: Ninety Years After His Death
9. Shaw and the Bookshelf (Abridged)
10. The Dramaturgy of the Chessboard
11. Moscow in the First Years of the War: Physiological Sketches (Excerpts)
12. A History of Unwritten Literature: A Prospectus
13. A History of Hyperbole
14. Writer’s Notebooks
Notes
Contributors
