A Russian novel - Emmanuel Carrere

In all his work, the critically acclaimed Emmanuel Carrre has trained his unblinking gaze on the lives of others as they fight a losing battle with that most fearsome of adversaries: the self. Now, determined to escape the bleak visions of his narratives, he takes on a film project in the heart of Russia, while also embarking on a new love affair back home in Paris; but soon enough, the diversion he seeks eludes him, intimacy proves too arduous and Carrre is left peering into the dark mirror of his own life.Set in Paris and Kotelnich, a small post-Soviet town, A Russian Novel traces Carrre's pursuit of two obsessions: the disappearance of his Russian grandfather and his fascination with a woman he loves but cannot keep from destroying. Elegant and passionate, A Russian Novel weaves the strands of Carrre's story into a travelogue of a journey inward. Road trip, confession, emotional tour de force, this fearless reckoning illuminates the schemes we devise to evade ourselves and the inevitable payment they exact.