A work of genius voiced by a narrator and his double – simultaneously. It's a Joycean work that unravels in fits and starts, but always beautifully....[by] one of the great living Russian writers. –
Flavorwire "Sokolov's
A School for Fools should be considered one of the finest 20th-century Russian novels." –Harvey Pekar,
The Washington Post "If Joyce had written the last chapter of
Ulysses in Russian it would have sounded like this. –Vladimir Markov
"[Sokolov] develops ideas and techniques from Gogol, Dostoevsky, and Joyce, to name a few predecessors–but he uses themes like doubling, madness, and sexual obsession in a way that is his own and feels completely new. . . The hero of the book is language itself, and I'm happy to say that the previous inadequate translation has been superseded by Alexander Boguslawski's superb one. . . You won't be disappointed." –Stephen Dodsen,
The Millions "Sokolov is one of those rare novelists whose primary concern is the praise and exploration of a language rather than the development of a position. In this, he is in the line of Gogol, Lermontov, Nabokov. 'For me, the Bible says it: The Word is God, ' Sokolov says, 'and God is more important than life.' " –David Remnick,
The Washington Post "An enchanting, tragic, and touching work." –Vladimir Nabokov
"[
A School for Fools] will undoubtedly come to be recognized as one of the great classics of Russian prose." –
Newsweek "The voice is amazingly sensitive and imaginative, gloriously lucid of language and full of broad comedy and whimsical wit. For all its gloominess, this strange novel is a celebration of life." –
The Washington Post "A lyrical vision of extraordinary intensity. Sokolov is an astounding new voice." –
Chicago Daily News "A puzzling and wonderful book. The novel is an anti-authoritarian statement, a compassionate cry for understanding of those who are different, the nonconformists of any society who must find their own way." –
The Kansas City Star "One of the most original and talented works to emerge from the Soviet Union in many years." –
The Times Literary Supplement
