Trace within Trace

The novel by the remarkable contemporary prose writer Vladimir Sharov, “Step by Step,” is a family chronicle. In the destinies of the characters—somehow reshaping the main events of Russia’s 20th-century history—everything balances on the edge of reality: often crossing the line. In the novel, the real seems unimaginable and impossible, while phantasmagoria and farce hit with their credibility. The dense, richly textured narrative—full of dizzying turns—blends with a classic style of storytelling. The novel is released in a new author’s edition.