Going back to his roots makes as much sense as anything else.
Yet crucially, its removed from our present moment.
In fact… the only robbery going on was the price of croissants on Sretenka.
Credit: Penguin
Andrei gets boxed in to the role of audience surrogate a trick both limiting and uniquely effective.
Its portraiture, showing us a place we may think we know but dont.
A Terrible Countryis a splendid guidebook disguised as a decent novel.
Like us, Andrei can see Russias charms, its repressed vibrancy.
