These Crazy Russians. A Brief Course on Russian Literature 1820-1991

What makes Russian literature one of the greatest in the world? Why do the fictional characters of Dostoevsky seem more real than historical figures? How did Russian writers manage to capture the tragicomedy of life and restore the true power of words? Paolo Nori, a renowned Italian writer, translator, and researcher of Russian literature, attempts to answer these questions. His book — is not a dry academic study, but a vibrant, witty, and personal journey through the works of Pushkin, Tolstoy, Dostoevsky, Yerofeyev, Gogol, and Brodsky. Nori shows — it is precisely the “crazy Russians” who, over two centuries, created one of the deepest literatures in the world, more closely aligned with reality than life itself.