This new biography, the product of many years research in archives in the US, France, and Russia, is by far the most detailed account of this writer's life to have been published so far and constitutes a landmark in the study of twentieth-century modernist fiction and Russian cultural life more broadly. The appeal of this monograph lies not only in its patient exploration of the significant personal events in Zamiatin's life, but also in its impressive grasp of the social, political, and cultural events which shaped him. ... Not only has Curtis woven this existing body of material into an elegantly written and compelling biographical narrative, she has also discovered archival materials of her own which shed important light on aspects of Zamiatin's life and literary career which were hitherto shrouded in relative mystery. ... It is a model of judicious and meticulous excavation, and a monumental achievement. -Philip Cavendish, University College London, Canadian-American Slavic Studies Vol. 53
* Canadian-American Slavic Studies *