"THE RARE NOVEL . . . A GENUINE EPIPHANY, WHOLLY EARNED AND WHOLLY UNEXPECTED. WITH ITS FINAL GESTURE, THE STORY REVEALS ITS TRUE SHAPE. IT'S AN ACT OF MAGIC, SUCH A REVELATION, AND ONE THAT I CAN'T STOP THINKING ABOUT."--KEVIN BROCKMEIER, AUTHOR OF THE ILLUMINATION

Tuesday night: vodka and dancing. Wednesday morning: posing as an expert on Pushkin at the university. Thursday night: chasing girls and more vodka. Friday morning: a hungover tour of Gorky's house.

Martin, a young doctoral student of literature, comes to Moscow hoping to discover the...