In Concert Performance [Hardcover]

Nikolai Dezhnev (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 19, 1999

In Concert Performance has earned Nikolai Dezhnev praise and international success that is unrivaled by any other contemporary Russian writer. A bestseller in Russia, it brings us, with wit and insight, into Russia's distressful past and perhaps equally distressful present, while telling a brilliant love story that surpasses time and space.

Lukary is a fallen angel sent back to earth to atone for his past. In the form of a domovoi, a good domestic spirit of Russian folklore, he is sent to inhabit the apartment of an old Bolshevik woman, who dies almost immediately. At the old woman's funeral, in the disguise of a dashing middle-aged gentleman, he encounters her niece, Anna, and falls madly in love with her, interrupting the successful course of his penance. Forced to choose between his journey to higher lucidity and earthly love, he chooses the latter.

Fortunately for Lukary, Anna and her husband--a conceited, no-nonsense Russian physicist--move into the deceased aunt's former home, where Lukary proceeds to wreak supernatural havoc upon their daily lives in his effort to simultaneously woo Anna and badger her into ending her marriage. Unfortunately for Lukary, a demon sent to watch over him on earth has begun to conspire against him with Anna's husband. And soon the havoc spreads far beyond the confines of a simple Moscow apartment.

In Concert Performance travels from contemporary Moscow to the times of the Spanish Inquisition and back again, hitting more than a few points in between. It is a fantastic tale, a truly unique novel that is part romantic fantasy, part meditation on love and time, and part historical satire, echoing the mixture of genres and stylistic sophistication of its only worthy comparison, Mikhail Bulgakov's masterpiece The Master and Margarita.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

This brilliant Russian satire, translated into English for the first time since its publication in Moscow in 1995, and soon to be in print in nine different languages, seems destined to make its author an international literary figure. The narrative dances around an angel called Lukary. Charged with arrogance and disrespect by the heavenly Department of Light Powers, he is given a chance to atone by being sent to live in 1990s Russia. His superiors direct the dashing Lukary to live as a domovoi, or hearth spirit, in the home of Kovalevskaya, an unremarkable, cantankerous widow of a Communist functionary. As chance would have it, when the old woman dies and Lukary's term of punishment is over, Lukary falls in love with Kovalevskaya's niece, Anna, who inherits the apartment. Anna, a TV news director, is married to Sergei, a stuffy physicist, and Lukary's whirlwind assault brings chaos into both their lives. Promptly forgetting his celestial responsibilities, Lukary interferes with the passage of time, traveling back to the 1930s in order to be with another incarnation of Anna. In a bizarre kaleidoscopic twist, characters with familiar names acquire new identities, and in the midst of it all, LukaryAnow LukinAamuses himself concocting a plan to vanquish Stalin. Meanwhile, Serpina, a senior privy councilor in the Department of Dark Powers, attempts to foil Lukary's every step, their battles fought mainly in philosophical debates. For the most part, Serpina lets people foil themselves, remarking, "On earth there's no person who would not thirst for personal happiness before striving for enlightenment and ascent to Him." A spectacular cast of characters and an elaborate series of settings are spun into a dazzling story reminiscent of Marquez or Bulgakov. Moscow resident Dezhnev, himself a man of many incarnations (novelist, physicist, international economics specialist), has fabricated an utterly convincing fantastical world. Rights sold in France, Norway, Germany, Spain, Portugal, Brazil, Holland, Greece, Italy and Poland; international launch at Frankfurt. (Oct.)
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal

This is a surprising contemporary Russian novel, filled with magical realism and fantasy, set against the grim reality of today's Moscow. When Anna attends her aunt's funeral, she meets a handsome man who catches her eye. In fact, he is a spirit, a domovoi of Russian folklore, who, equally smitten with her, begins to invade the daily life she shares with her physicist husband. The characterizations are complex, and the fantastic elements of the story blend naturally. While this may not suit all American readers, it does offer a view of Russian life rare in fiction. For larger collections or where translated fiction is popular.AAnn H. Fisher, Radford P.L., VA
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 288 pages
• Publisher: Nan A. Talese (October 19, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0385493266
• ISBN-13: 978-0385493260
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.2 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,741,061 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Bravo! Bravo!, March 2, 2000

By 

Leonard Fleisig "Len" (Washington, D.C.) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: In Concert Performance (Hardcover)

I truly enjoyed Dezhnev's In Concert Performance. It was touching, poetic, and took me far beyond the confined and limited realm of my Washington metro commuter train. I do not often highlight, or underline passages in novels. With this book I felt compelled to do so. As an example and as early as page 4 of the book Dezhnev sets out what must surely be the most vivd description of the empotions underlying a 'mid-life crisis. He writes . . . "Then the day comes when with autumnal clarity you see the superfluousness and mediocirty of what's going on, and this knowledge makes you want to bury your head in the protective bleakness of ordinary life, walk around half asleep, and slowly and inconspicuously slip into a different world. The soul calcifies with age and you no longer have the strength or hope to resond to feelings. Getting no answer, love passes by. [ . . . ] Still, all would be well, everything would be peaceful, except for the hidden danger that existgs at this age. The beast of vanity, which until now has fed on hope, suddenly goes on the warpath. Everything has fizzledout, everything is past its prime, and what's left is the one thing you can't accept - you're nobody and you haven't lived at all!" I found this passage, and other passages throughout the book to resonate with me in a profundly moving way. Finally, do not be fooled by the somber nature of the above passage. The book has its sarcastic, funny, and lighthearted momeents as well. This book was well worth reading - and will be one of the few that I will turn to again with th epassage of time.

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent fantastic/poetic novel, April 15, 2007

By 

dimitri tsamados - See all my reviews

This review is from: In Concert Performance (Hardcover)

If you loved Bulgakov and enjoyed Pelevin this book is for you.