The Big Green Tent: A Novel

"Ludmila Ulitskaya’s novel leaps whole decades in a single bound, weaves intricate webs of connection between dozens of characters — and sure makes brief recommendations like this one a hell of a task. How best to label it? A coming-of-age tale of three boyhood friends? A record of Soviet dissident artists, a novel of manners, a historical thriller, a story of mentors and students? Somehow, it manages to slip into every one of these categories (and more) — and then to defy them in turn. At once vast, intimate and riveting, it eludes a 100-word summary. So, instead, I’ll say just three: Please read it."