Foolsburg : The History of a Town

The award-winning translators bring us a new translation of an 1870 comic novel by Russia's greatest satirist—whose mockery of Russian autocracy is newly relevant in the age of Putin. A major classic in Russia since its publication, Foolsburg is the farcical chronicle of a fictional town and its hapless inhabitants as they passively endure the violence and lunacy of their rulers. The succession of brutal mayors of the town include such surreal extremes as a man with a music box instead of a brain and one so tall that he snaps in half during a windstorm. Mikhail Saltykov-Shchedrin marries biting satire reminiscent of Jonathan Swift with the fantastical absurdity of Nikolai Gogol, imbued throughout with his own brand of playful wordplay. The award-winning translators Richard Pevear and Larissa Volokhonsky have produced the first translation of this work into English that successfully captures its zany humor and enduring relevance.

• | Author: Mikhail Saltykov-Shchedrin
• | Publisher: Vintage
• | Publication Date: Aug 13, 2024
• | Number of Pages: 305 pages
• | Language: English
• | Binding: Paperback
• | ISBN-10: 0593687310
• | ISBN-13: 9780593687314