Sandro from Chegem. In 2 volumes

The epic novel Fazil Iskander (1929-2016) "Sandro from Chegem" grew like a tree. In 1973, the first magazine version appeared - abbreviated, “cleaned” with censorship, and only in 1988 were the Valtasar"s Feasts - the last of 32 novels that compiled a book. The reception is the same as in the legendary "constellation Kozlotura" - a combination of fantastic hyperbola with reality, an alloy of a political grotesque with a folk joke. The artistic space of the novel is very close to the geographical map of Abkhazia and is densely populated. There are many real persons in it - Stalin (big), Beria, Khrushchev, Lakoba, Jordan - but there are whole fictional peoples - endurians and kangurtians. And the whole epic literary feast is headed by Uncle Sandro - who has seen a lot in his lifetime and retained a rare vitality and sense of humor. In the short story, the “childhood tree”, finishing the novel, Iskander writes: "I love trees. It seems to me that a tree is one of the most noble creatures of nature. Holding on to the ground tightly, boldly rise to heaven. " It seems that this is not only the formula of the human soul bred by Iskander, but also the formula of the novel "Sandro from Chegem".
The accompanying article by Natalia Ivanova
Ivanova Natalya Borisovna - writer, literary critic. Doctor of Philology, Professor of the Department of Literature Theory of Philology of the Moscow State University named after MV Lomonosov, First Deputy editor -in -Chief of the magazine "Banner". I gave lectures on Russian literature at universities in the United States, Great Britain, Japan, France, Italy and other countries. The author of many works on Russian literature, including monographs about Boris Pasternak, Fazile Iskander, Yuri Trifonov. Author and leading television television series about Pasternak and Bunin. The initiator of the institution and the coordinator of the award Ivan Petrovich Belkin, the chairman of the jury of the Russian-Italian prize "Bella"