Baden-Baden Summer (Faber Editions)

Acclaimed by The New York Review of Books as "a short poetic masterpiece" and by Donald Fanger in The Los Angeles Times as "gripping, mysterious and profoundly moving," Summer in Baden-Baden is a complex and highly original novel with a double narrative. The story unfolds in both wintertime, late December, and mid-April 1867, following the newly married Dostoyevskys, Fyodor and Anna Grigor'yevna, on their way to Germany for a four-year trip. Unlike J. M. Coetzee's The Master of St. Petersburg, this is not a Dostoyevsky fantasy or a docu-novel, but a meticulously researched work that captures the reckless passions of Dostoyevsky for gambling, literature, and his wife, all while exploring the all-forgiving love that binds them together.

The author, Leonid Tsypkin, was deeply devoted to Dostoyevsky, and this devotion is reflected in the novel's portrayal of the great writer and his wife. Susan Sontag, in a notable introductory essay for The New Yorker, praises the miracle of Summer in Baden-Baden's survival and celebrates its publication in America as a joyous occasion. Through Tsypkin's skillful storytelling, readers are invited into the world of Dostoyevsky and his companions, experiencing the tumultuous emotions and complex relationships that defined their lives.

With meticulous attention to detail and a deep reverence for his subjects, Tsypkin brings to life a vivid portrait of Dostoyevsky and his world, weaving together fact and fiction to create a deeply moving and thought-provoking novel. Summer in Baden-Baden is a testament to the enduring power of literature and the profound impact of love and passion in the human experience.

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