A gripping Russian novel by Alexander Chervinsky—dramaturgist and screenwriter for such famous films as “Crown of the Russian Empire, or Once Again the Uncatchables,” “Afghan Fracture,” and many others.
In this novel—initially conceived as a screenplay—strange and very interesting things happen. But the most interesting part is the feeling that the events described are already familiar to us—that they actually occurred in reality with one very well-known family in Russia. Sometimes the author seems ruthless to his heroes, but he acts harshly only because pity makes it impossible to respect equals.
“Shishkin Forest” is the story of four generations of the Nikolyins family, which in many ways transparently coincides with the story of another family—known to all of Russia. The fast-paced plot keeps the reader constantly on edge, the drama is full of unexpected twists, and the cast and conflicts evoke a rare desire, nowadays, to empathize. Truly, this is the most Russian novel in our literature in recent times, even though the author lives in New York.