Description
Book SynopsisFrom the author of Untraceable, a novel about history both personal and political, and the mysteries of the past. 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. His ancestor, Balthasar Schwerdt, migrated to the Russian Empire in the early 1800s, bringing with him the practice of alternative medicine and becoming captive to an erratic nobleman who had supplied dwarves, hunchbacks from Africa, and magicians to entertain Catherine the Great. Kirill's investigation takes us through centuries of turmoil during which none of the German's nine children or their descendants can escape their adoptive country's cruel fate. Intent on uncovering buried mysteries, Kirill searches archives and cemeteries across Europe, while pressing witnesses for keys to understanding.
The Goose Fritz illuminates both personal and political history in a passion-filled family saga about an often confounding country that has long fascinated the world.
Trade ReviewOutstanding... Lebedev muses in Tolstoyan fashion about 'the energy flow of history', by which the actions of distant ancestors can fix the destinies of people hundreds of years later. Antonina W. Bouis has once again delivered a translation of determined, adamantine beauty' * Wall Street Journal *
Lebedev's latest is his most ambitious, tackling a huge swath of Russian history – from the beginning of the 19th century up to the present day – while never letting its pacy, compelling narrative flag... Brave and unflinching' * Financial Times *
Lebedev's prose is lyrical as a rule: cast in assonant patterns, attentive to rhythmic weight, responsive to the habits and desires of language. Antonina W. Bouis's translation is both faithful and inspired, spinning the story out in a tirelessly beautiful English * LA Review of Books *
