Man and His Surroundings - by Fazil Iskander (Paperback)

About the Book

Man and His Surroundings is a collection of novellas that are unconnected by one plot, but which altogether constitute a piercing examination of Soviet and post-Soviet culture. The novellas are hilarious and poignant, satirical and philosophical, and they impart a better intuitive understanding of the Soviet cultural heritage and mindset.

Book Synopsis

Man and His Surroundings is a collection of novellas that are unconnected by one plot, but which altogether constitute a piercing examination of Soviet and post-Soviet culture. The novellas are hilarious and poignant, satirical and philosophical, and they impart a better intuitive understanding of the Soviet cultural heritage and mindset.

Review Quotes

"Fazil Iskander was an obvious candidate for the Nobel Prize. Like two other laureates, William Faulkner and Gabriel Garcia Marquez, he broadened literary geography by adding his motherland, Abkhazia, to it. A fearless explorer who revealed this land to so many readers, Iskander made the written world larger. In the confines of the invented village of Chegem, he wove wise, meandering prose in an Eastern manner. His humorous writing opens a new and unique world for American readers, and the portal to it is this excellent translation by Alexander Rojavin. The work is accessible both to readers familiar with Iskander's magnum opus, Sandro from Chegem, as well as those who are just now about to discover one of the most inventive and exotic authors categorized under Magical Realism. Welcome to Chegem."

- Alexander Genis, Writer, NY

"This new translation of Fazil Iskander's Man and His Surroundings, a collection of nine novellas set in the writer's native Abkhazia, is a much-needed addition to Iskander's oeuvre available in English. Iskander's prose, beloved by generations of readers, offers a humorous and de-centering look at the absurdities of the Soviet reality, seen through the looking glass of life in Mukhus (Sukhumi). Alexander Rojavin's translation skillfully captures Iskander's lapidary style and austere humor, while his passionate translator's introduction praises the power of humor in the face of tyranny, past and present. This book will be a welcome addition to anyone teaching Soviet and Post-Soviet epochs in post-colonial perspective, and an enjoyable read for many."

- Maria Khotimsky, Senior Lecturer in Russian, Global Languages, MIT

About the Author

Fazil Iskander (1920 - 2016) was raised in Abkhazia but settled permanently in Moscow after graduating from the Gorky Literary Institute in Moscow in 1954. Iskander's major works include the satirical novel Sozvezdiye kozlotura (1966; The Goatibex Constellation) and the allegorical dystopia Kroliki i udavy (1982; Rabbits and Boa Constrictors). Iskander spent decades writing the epic novel Sandro iz Chegema (Sandro of Chegem), which chronicles the collision of Soviet values with Abkhazian patriarchal life.

Alexander Rojavin is a multilingual intelligence, media, and policy analyst specializing in information warfare. He is currently editing a book on modern Russian cinema as a key battlefield in the Kremlin's information war (forthcoming Routledge). At the same time, literary translation has always been one of his first loves.