Pushkin Hills

Sergei Dovlatov · 1941–1990 · USSR / USA

Originally Заповедник (Russian)

Why it matters

A failed, drinking writer takes a summer job as a tour guide at Pushkin's old estate, mouthing reverent lies to tourists he despises. Dovlatov's deadpan comedy of Soviet cultural hypocrisy, drawn from his own life.

At a glance

Short, wry, episodic chapters in plain conversational prose.