War catches you off guard. It forces you to flee, to break your usual life, to ask yourself: "Who am I?" and "Where is my homeland?" The characters in Nikolai V. Kononov's novel cannot provide clear answers to these questions — they are displaced persons, stateless individuals, emigrants, double agents who operated between the First and Second World Wars.

The stories of an anarchist who outwitted Hitler's intelligence, a young teacher searching for God and herself during the occupation, and a scientist burdened with evil who fled the Bolsheviks abroad are told by their descendants, who find themselves in similar situations today. Kononov offers a glimpse into the madness of the last century through the eyes of those who, against all odds, tried to survive, maintain their humanity, and protect their ideals.

MARIA STEPANOVA, POET, WRITER, FINALIST OF THE 2021 BOOKER INTERNATIONAL PRIZE

"A must-read and re-read. A novel of ideas, theory fiction, investigation — all these genres coexist here on equal terms, without overshadowing the main focus: a close look at how a human being behaves when faced with a common catastrophe. The novel turns into a guide on how to exist in today’s world and a history lesson for those who have forgotten how to deal with it."