A History of the Island

Eugene Vodolazkin

2023. g. maijs · Tantor Media Inc · Ierunātājs: Daniel Henning

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10 h 20 min

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This ingenious novel is presented as a chronicle of an island from medieval to modern times. The island is not on the map, but it is real beyond doubt. It cannot be found in history books, yet the events are painfully recognizable. The monastic chroniclers dutifully narrate events they witness. The entries mostly seem objective, but at least one monk simultaneously drafts and hides a "true" history, to be discovered centuries later. And why has someone snipped out a key prophesy about the island's fate? These chronicles receive commentary today from an elderly couple who are the island's former rulers. Prince Parfeny and Princess Ksenia are truly extraordinary: they are now 347 years old. Eyewitnesses to much of their island's turbulent history, they offer sharp-eyed observations on the changing flow of time and their people's persistent delusions. Why is the royal couple still alive? Is there a chance that an old prophecy comes to pass, and two righteous persons save the island from catastrophe? Vodolazkin is at his best recasting history, in all its hubris and horror, by finding the humor in its absurdity. For listeners with an appetite for more than a dry, rational, scientific view of what motivates, divides, and unites people, A History of the Island conjures a world still suffused with mystical powers.

Par autoru

An expert in Old Russian literature, Eugene Vodolazkin has worked in the department of Old Russian Literature at Pushkin House since 1990. His debut novel, Solovyov and Larionov, was shortlisted for the Andrei Bely Prize and The Big Book Prize.

Daniel Henning is a director, producer, actor, and writer. His work has been seen on HBO, CBS, NBC, ABC, FOX, MTV, Comedy Central, and on stages throughout Southern California. He won a 2017 Telly Award for "Best Writer" for the film version of his play The Tragedy of JFK (as Told by Wm. Shakespeare).

Lisa C. Hayden's translations from Russian include Eugene Vodolazkin's Solovyov and Larionov, The Aviator, and Laurus, which won the Read Russia Award in 2016 and was also shortlisted for the Oxford-Weidenfeld Prize along with her translation of Vadim Levental's Masha Regina. She lives in Maine.