"The story behind the origins of Anna Karenina and the turbulent life and times of Leo Tolstoy"-- Anna Karenina is one of the most nuanced characters in world literature. Readers often assume that Tolstoy, a nobleman-turned-mystic would write himself into the principled Levin. But in truth, Anna's fateful suicide is the road that Tolstoy nearly traveled himself. Blaisdell unravels Tolstoy's family, literary, and day-to-day life during the period...

"In A Swim in a Pond in the Rain, George Saunders guides the reader through seven classic Russian short stories he's been teaching for twenty years as a professor in the prestigious Syracuse University graduate MFA creative writing program. Paired with stories by Chekhov, Turgenev, Tolstoy, and Gogol, these essays are intended for anyone interested in how fiction works and why it's more relevant than ever in these turbulent times. Saunders approaches...