Bridge over the Neroch And Other Works

Leonid Tsypkin’s novel Summer in Baden-Baden was hailed as an undiscovered classic of 20th-century Russian literature. The Washington Post claimed it “a chronicle of fevered genius,” and The New York Review of Books described it as “gripping, mysterious and profoundly moving.” In her introduction, Susan Sontag said: “If you want from one book an experience of the depth and authority of Russian literature, read this book.”

At long last, here are the remaining writings of Leonid Tsypkin: in the powerful novella Bridge Across the Neroch, the history of four generations of a Russian-Jewish family is vividly rendered by a doctor living in Moscow. In Norartakir, a vacationing doctor takes revenge on a anti-semitic hotel manager by telling her she has cancer, only to be shocked to find out that she actually does. The remaining stories offer incredible windows into Soviet urban life, depicting fear and uncertainty, yet ultimately finding quiet and unforgettable beauty.