Free Samples

This is a short excerpt from the first-ever English translation (by Robert and Elizabeth Chandler) of Grossman’s epic novel of the turning point in World War II.

An excerpt from the new translation of a novel by Karolina Pavlova (1807-1893), translated by Barbara Heldt.

Explore a rich dessert named after the gourmand and minister of finance under Tsar Alexander I: Guriev Kasha.

An excerpt from Benson Bobrick’s new book, a memoir of his life and work as a writer.

Is Russia somehow different from other nations, or is it just like any other?

"A classical authoritarian power... does not pay that much attention to what the population thinks, and when it does, this attention is usually limited to a bunch of platitudes loudly proclaimed as the official ideology..."

Some off-the-cuff dacha recipes for you (summer seems like too relaxed a time for exacting recipes).

A poem from the new volume Alcestis of the Underworld, by a regular translator of works published by Russian Life Books.

This year marks the 235th anniversary of the birth of Antonin Carême, a French chef who left his mark on Russian cuisine in the form of the dessert known in Russia as sharlotka and everywhere else as charlotte Russe.

An excerpt from the fine new novel Zuleikha, by Guzel Yakhina, about a woman's survival in Siberia exile, inspired by childhood memories of the author's grandmother.

A new year, a new dessert!

In this new novel, set in the final year of the Soviet Union, young Sonya is reunited with her once-dissident mother, and they are on their way to navigating a new life together.