Summary
Sergej Lebedev: The Border of Oblivion
When a family buys a cottage in the suburbs next to a forest, they inherit the care of a blind old gardener from the neighboring plot. Although he is neither a relative nor a friend, the man they begin to call the Second Grandfather becomes an authority in the family: at his persuasion, a young woman refuses to have an abortion despite the danger to her life. Seemingly harmless, the Second Grandfather nevertheless claims the little boy in a subtle way, and with his ultimate sacrifice seals their relationship forever. When, many years later, as Grandfather's heir, he finds in his desk several unusual figurines and stationery from the far north of the country, the young man cannot suppress the urge to investigate his past. But when he learns the real truth, he is left with only the limit of oblivion...
The extraordinary novel by the Russian writer Sergey Lebedev The Limit of Oblivion is a family saga and a travelogue, a chronicle of time and a thriller. A slightly gloomy atmosphere, a lot of spirit, nostalgia and a bit of irony are responsible for the fact that Lebedev's debut made it to the list of the ten best novels of The Wall Street Journal and earned himself comparisons with Solzhenitsyn. A truly important book.
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