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Царство Агамемнона
The final novel by a titan of post-Soviet literature, this fantastical thriller about fakes and imposters in Russian history is both a rewrite of Greek myth and a spiritual sequel of sorts to The Brothers Karamazov.
Vladimir Sharov was one of the most significant novelists of the post-Soviet era, a historian by training whose fantastical fictions unflinchingly plumbed the dark depths of Russia’s past. At once a rewrite of Greek myth and a sequel to The Brothers Karamazov, Sharov’s ninth and last novel The Kingdom of Agamemnon is a clear-eyed reckoning with the legacies of Stalinist state terror set in twenty-first century Moscow.
When Gleb, a young historian, embarks on a quest to recover a lost manuscript by fictional theologian and Gulag convict Nikolai Zhestovsky, his search leads him to a nursing home where he interviews Zhestovsky’s daughter Galina. Calling herself Electra, Galina peels back the curtain to her family’s complex history, weaving a tale of vengeance and terror to reveal a world where the line between victims and perpetrators are hopelessly blurred.
A fast-paced thriller, full of leaps in time, unexpected historical parallels, and keen psychological insights, The Kingdom of Agamemnon is an intricate meditation on memory, culture, complicity, and the lures of narrative.
Vladimir Sharov was one of the most significant novelists of the post-Soviet era, a historian by training whose fantastical fictions unflinchingly plumbed the dark depths of Russia’s past. At once a rewrite of Greek myth and a sequel to The Brothers Karamazov, Sharov’s ninth and last novel The Kingdom of Agamemnon is a clear-eyed reckoning with the legacies of Stalinist state terror set in twenty-first century Moscow.
When Gleb, a young historian, embarks on a quest to recover a lost manuscript by fictional theologian and Gulag convict Nikolai Zhestovsky, his search leads him to a nursing home where he interviews Zhestovsky’s daughter Galina. Calling herself Electra, Galina peels back the curtain to her family’s complex history, weaving a tale of vengeance and terror to reveal a world where the line between victims and perpetrators are hopelessly blurred.
A fast-paced thriller, full of leaps in time, unexpected historical parallels, and keen psychological insights, The Kingdom of Agamemnon is an intricate meditation on memory, culture, complicity, and the lures of narrative.
669 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 2018
3 people are currently reading
120 people want to read
About the author
Vladimir Sharov
16 books11 followersVladimir Alexandrovich Sharov (Russian: Владимир Александрович Шаров, April 7, 1952 – August 17, 2018) was a Russian novelist who was awarded the Russian Booker Prize in 2014 for his novel Return to Egypt (Возвращение в Египет).
Vladimir Sharov was born in April, 1952 in Moscow, Russia. His father, Alexander Sharov (Shera Nurenberg), was a well-known Soviet children's writer. Sharov grew up in Moscow where he attended secondary school at the State Physics and Mathematics Lyceum of Moscow. He studied history at the Voronezh State University. In 1984, Sharov defended his thesis on the historiography of the Time of Troubles and Ivan the Terrible's secret police, the Oprichnina. Sharov lived in Moscow. He gave guest lectures on Russian history, literature and culture at international universities such as Harvard, Lexington VA, Cologne, Rome, Zurich as well as Oxford and Cambridge. He was a member of PEN International.
Vladimir Sharov was born in April, 1952 in Moscow, Russia. His father, Alexander Sharov (Shera Nurenberg), was a well-known Soviet children's writer. Sharov grew up in Moscow where he attended secondary school at the State Physics and Mathematics Lyceum of Moscow. He studied history at the Voronezh State University. In 1984, Sharov defended his thesis on the historiography of the Time of Troubles and Ivan the Terrible's secret police, the Oprichnina. Sharov lived in Moscow. He gave guest lectures on Russian history, literature and culture at international universities such as Harvard, Lexington VA, Cologne, Rome, Zurich as well as Oxford and Cambridge. He was a member of PEN International.
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November 16, 2021
Книга шла у меня очень сложно: раздражала, надоедала, утомляла... но мне хотелось к ней возвращаться. Первые главы сыпали кучей персонажей и событий, за которыми я не успевал, а в впоследствии, наоборот, многое проговаривалось по несколько раз (также вызывая возмущение - Я уже это знаю!).
Тематика (репрессии, чекисты, доносы - религия, церковь, вера) также поднадоела. Ну сколько можно рефлексировать по потемкам русской души, в которой одновременно уживаются и зек, и вертухай, Иуда и Христос. Лет 20 назад книга бы звучала гораздо громче. Хотя ее скромному постмодернизму сложно конкурировать с искрящимися конкурентами.
в начале книги это были две звезды, к середине выросшие к трем, по окончании ставшими четырьмя. Но вот прошли сутки, и я не могу не поставить ей 5. Банально, это значительная высокая литература, под которой обидно видеть всего 10 оценок.
Тематика (репрессии, чекисты, доносы - религия, церковь, вера) также поднадоела. Ну сколько можно рефлексировать по потемкам русской души, в которой одновременно уживаются и зек, и вертухай, Иуда и Христос. Лет 20 назад книга бы звучала гораздо громче. Хотя ее скромному постмодернизму сложно конкурировать с искрящимися конкурентами.
в начале книги это были две звезды, к середине выросшие к трем, по окончании ставшими четырьмя. Но вот прошли сутки, и я не могу не поставить ей 5. Банально, это значительная высокая литература, под которой обидно видеть всего 10 оценок.
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