Day of the Oprichnik

"Might this be something of a Sorokin moment in the Anglophone world? Is the pope German?"—Stephen Kotkin, The New York Times Book Review

"[A] take-no-prisoners satire from one of Russia's literary stars . . . Vladimir Sorokin's lurid, wildly inventive Day of the Oprichnik is a rowdy critique of Russia's drift toward authoritarianism."—Taylor Antrim, Newsweek

"Sorokin [is] one of Russia's funniest, smartest and most confounding living writers."—Elaine Blair, The Nation

"If queues were arranged in order of merit, it would only be fair to put . . . Vladimir Sorokin at the head."—Lucy Ellman, The Guardian

"Vladimir Sorokin is one of Russia's greatest writers, and this novel is one of his best. Day of the Oprichnik is a haunting and terrifying vision of modern Russia projected two decades into the future—or maybe not the future at all. A joy to read—more entertaining, dynamic, engaging, and deeply hilarious than a dystopian novel has any right to be."—Gary Shteyngart, author of Absurdistan and Super Sad True Love Story

"Day of the Oprichnik is Vladimir Sorokin's funniest and most accessible book since The Queue. The KGB orgy scene at the end is worthy of the great shit-eating scenes of his earlier work."—Keith Gessen, author of All the Sad Young Literary Men


"Perhaps no other postmodern writer demonstrates the angst around the reemergence of Russia's slide back toward authoritarianism than the celebrated (and often reviled) satirist Sorokin. His latest assault, not only on Putin's government but literary senses, is a caustic, slash-and-burn portrait of a man joyfully engaged in the business of state-initiated terrorism . . . It's disturbing stuff, but as Sorokin's razor-sharp caricature unfolds . . . the novelist's keen argument becomes hard to ignore . . . [An] acidly funny send-up of Russia's current state of affairs."—Kirkus Reviews

"Sorokin's novel packs a hefty satirical punch that will show American audiences why the author has been so controversial in Russia . . . Great fun, with a wickedly absurdist humor that occasionally reminds one of William S. Burroughs."—Booklist

"Sorokin's creations are at once fantastically strange and all too familiar. His pen drips with imaginative fury . . . [Day of the Oprichnik] holds its own with dystopian classics like Fahrenheit 451 and honors the traditions of Dostoyevsky, Tolstoy, and other great Russian writers even as its characters burn their books."—Library Journal