Vasily Golovanov is the author of a historic novel on Nestor Makhno, the philosophical adventure epic The Island, or In Defence of Pointless Travels, and the lyrical Time for Tea. His latest book could be called a geopoetical journey: reaching beyond the limits of the exotic, the writer takes a stroll through the passages of space, time and culture, whilst pursuing an unusual task. He is searching for new sources of images and meaning, and for new companions, people living lonely and unique lives. The book is written in the form of a study – a kind of experiment reminiscent of Borges, yet always filled with the freedom and freshness of travel and exploration.

The rebellious yet sensitive Russian Bedouin careers across Europe from La Manche to the Dardanelles, from Gibraltar to the northernmost reaches of Norway. But this Bedouin prefers a car to a camel, reveres art and music, and demonstrates his considerable knowledge of ancient and modern history. A book for all those who love travel, adventure and fine writing.
Notes of a Russian Bedouin is the latest addition to the NLO travel series Letters of a Russian Traveller.

Whatever the true identity of the author writing under the pseudonym of Y. M. Senkin-Tolstiy, he has created a literary bomb. This small book is part hoax, part historical treatise, all told in explosive, witty prose that harks back to the Russian literary journeys of Nikolai Karamzin and Venedikt Yerofeyev. This description of a road trip through the Pskov Region is accompanied by phantasmagoric details of contemporary rural life, plunging the reader into a world inhabited by surreal, fantastical beings. But despite the abundant humour in Senkin-Tolstiy’s tale, Ferdinand remains a work of social satire, as the author sees the insidious influence of Russia’s past, and the inability of Russia’s present to carve out its own space in history.

Are the four corners of the earth, the four seasons and the four elements as unconnected as it may seem at first glance? At the beginning of the 21st century, do we have to find a new system of coordinates, or has historical experience defined our search for meaning once and for all? Is Russia’s position on the culturological map of the world changing? Sharyi’s point-of-departure for his journey across a score of countries and three continents is Chechnya. From here, he sets out on a quest for answers that takes him to Paris, Istanbul, Madrid, Omsk, Amsterdam, Kiev, Verona and Kaliningrad. His travels encompass such diverse locations as the ancient Orthodox monasteries of Northern Greece, an Egyptian desert, a hippie quarter of Copenhagen, and Slovenian karst caves, to name but a few. The book’s characters include historical figures and renowned writers, great composers and popular rock-musicians, famous scientists and eccentric inventors. Leading the reader on a cultural roller-coaster ride, Sharyi discusses issues of the interrelation and interpenetration of cultures, religion and languages as well as gastronomic, literary, and musical traditions.
This new book by the famous journalist Andrey Sharyi is a series of ironic essays that mix traveller’s prose, historical notes and literary flight-of-fancy.