"Rich in textures, colors, sounds, and visual details ... The best of
Russia's younger generation of writers." --
The New York Review of Books
From the critically acclaimed author of Oblivion comes Year of the
Comet, a story of a Russian boyhood and coming of age as the Soviet
Union is on the brink of collapse. 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.
Sergei Lebedev was born in Moscow in 1981 and worked for seven years
on geological expeditions in Russia and Central Asia. Lebedev is a poet,
essayist and journalist. Oblivion, his first novel, was published in
2016 by New Vessel Press, to great acclaim.