ELKOST International literary agency - Ludmila Ulitskaya in Tallinn, Estonia

Baize-Covered Table with Decanter, a novel by Vladimir Makanin (1993)

Rights sold: China - LITZIAN, France - GALLIMARD, AWorld English - Readers International,

Winner of the 1993 Russian Booker Award

Baize-Covered Table with Decanter describes one man's psychological torture as he faces an impending visit to be interrogated at the Table for a perceived, minor infraction. Makanin describes in some detail each character present at the Table, their purpose, techniques, and psychology. He also descibes in flashbacks the physical torture of suspects in Soviet days past and the mental torture of some as they are forcibly drugged in state mental hospitals. The book contains a few sections with an adult material not appropriate for minors; one scene in particular describes the sexual abuse of a corpse and is really quite disturbing.

Makanin does a good job describing the moral corruption of Russian/Soviet society. Neighbor is turned...

LEAD ME, BLIND MAN, a novel by Vladislav Otroshenko (2007)

Rights sold: Russia – Culturnaya Revolutzia, AST

A biopic novel dedicated to the famous Russian playwright Alexander Sukhovo-Kobylin (1817-1903). A rich aristocrat who often travelled, Sukhovo-Kobylin was arrested, prosecuted and tried for seven years in Russia for the murder of his French mistress Louise-Simone Dimanche, a crime of which he is nowadays generally believed to have been innocent. Based on his personal experiences, Sukhovo-Kobylin wrote a trilogy of satirical plays about the prevalence of bribery and other corrupt practices in the Russian judicial system of the time.

Ludmila Ulitskaya in Tallinn, Estonia - Sept. 11, 2015

Featured titles

Baize-Covered Table with Decanter, a novel by Vladimir Makanin (1993)

LEAD ME, BLIND MAN, a novel by Vladislav Otroshenko (2007)