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The Year of the Comet

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What to expect

An idyllic childhood takes a sinister turn. Rumors of a serial killer haunt the neighborhood, families pack up and leave town without a word of warning, and the country begins to unravel. Policemen stand by as protesters overtake the streets, knowing that the once awe-inspiring symbols of power they wear on their helmets have become devoid of meaning. Lebedev depicts a vast empire coming apart at the seams, transforming a very public moment into something tender and personal, and writes with stunning beauty and shattering insight about childhood and the growing consciousness of a boy in the world.

Critics Review

“Examines the psychological trauma Stalinism continues to unleash—even on those who never lived during his reign…Antonina W. Bouis has translated the best of Soviet and post-Soviet writings…and the ease with which she renders Mr. Lebedev’s prose creates the illusion that both his novels were originally written in English.”

Wall Street Journal

“Depicts objects in a stunningly, almost freakishly precise way, coaxing the metaphysical to express itself through the material.”

Times Literary Supplement (London)

“Gorgeously written…leaves readers with a new insight into a towering moment in modern history.”

Winnipeg Free Press

“One of the best novels to come out of Russia in a generation.”

Shelf Awareness (starred review)

“Absorbing…A seamlessly written child’s-eye view that conveys an adult understanding of history’s burdens.”

Library Journal (starred review)

“You read and reread Lebedev’s lyrical, cutting prose with equal amounts of awe and enjoyment…Gorgeously written, unsettling.”

Kirkus Reviews (starred review)

“A remarkable bildungsroman, set against the decline of the Soviet Union…A smart, convincing, and affecting novel.”

Publishers Weekly
Author Sergei Lebedev
Narrator Daniel Gamburg
Duration 8 hours and 56 minutes
Release Date
ISBN 9781538415153
Format Audiobook
Publisher Blackstone Publishing
Genre Family life fiction, Fiction: general and literary, Narrative theme: Coming of age
Availability AU, GB, IE, US

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