The Dream Life of Sukhanov

Olga Grushin was born in Moscow in 1971. Her family left for Prague in 1976 and returned to Moscow in 1981. She studied at the Pushkin Museum of Fine Arts Moscow State University and Emory University. <i>The Dream Life of Sukhanov </i>was shortlisted for both the <i>LA Times</i> Art Seidenbaum Award for First Fiction and the Orange Prize for New Writers 2006. Olga Grushin now lives in Washington DC with her husband and son and is currently at work on her second novel. <p>Stepping out into the dusk of a warm Moscow evening esteemed art critic Anatoly Sukhanov feels on top of the world: his career is glittering his wife is beautiful and his children are clever. But the year is 1985 and the air is heavy with change. Sukhanov's future will be haunted by doubt. Beset by heartbreaking visions of a past he gave up he questions his choices: in swapping a precarious life as a brilliant underground artist for comfort and security did he betray his dreams? And if his dreams are lost what does he have left?<br><br> One of the most highly acclaimed debuts of recent years <i>The Dream Life of Sukhanov </i>is a work of demonic energy and startling imagery: a new classic.</p> In Grushin's wonderful novel the incandescent wealth of Russia's literary heritage blazes So good I felt like buying ten copies and sending them to friends . . . a stunning fictional debut So good I felt like buying ten copies and sending them to friends . . . a stunning fictional debut