Brodsky believed that Igor Efimov “continues the great tradition of Russian philosophical writers, tracing its roots back to Herzen.” And now, having published a dozen novels and half a dozen philosophical books, Efimov has written his own version of “The Past and Thoughts.”
“Time Connection. In the New World” offers an expanded account of the life of the Russian literary emigration at the end of the 20th century. During his thirty-three years in the New World, Igor Efimov wrote eight novels, including “Archives of Judgment Day,” “The Seventh Wife,” “Business as Usual,” “The Unfaithful,” “The Interpreter from Novgorod,” “The Emperor’s Bride,” and others. Out of his pen also came historical and philosophical studies: “A Shameful Secret of Inequality,” “The Coming Attila,” “Who Killed President Kennedy.” All of his books, after the fall of communism, were republished in Russia.
This is the second volume of memoirs. The first volume was published in 2011. It describes the years of the writer’s life in Russia. Even long before this slogan was stamped by Solzhenitsyn, his life unfolded under the motto “Don’t believe, don’t fear, don’t ask.” Even in school years, he didn’t believe newspaper and radio propaganda—only Pushkin, Lermontov, and Tolstoy. And he wasn’t afraid to stand up for a fellow worker who faced being shot. And for the persecuted poet—future Nobel laureate. He wasn’t afraid to spread banned literature and publish abroad in those years when this could earn up to seven years in camps…
Efimov was lucky—he lived long enough to see his books return to Russia.