The Vital Needs of the Dead

Igor Sakhnovsky has been published in a number of leading literary journals, both in and outside of his native Russia. His novel The Vital Needs Of The Dead was published in 1999 in the journal Novy Mir and was subsequently translated into English, German and French.Sakhnovsky was born in 1958 in the town of Orsk, to the south of the Ural mountains which traditionally divide the European and Asian parts of Russia. He studied philology at the Ural State University and went on to serve as scientific and chief editor at the Academy of Sciences, as well as directing the journal Book Club. In 2002 Sakhnovsky was awarded a Fellowship by the Hawthornden International Retreat for Writers (UK). Since then he has been a finalist for both the National Bestseller Prize (2006) and the Russian Booker Prize (2007), among numerous other awards. In 2008 his novel The Man Who Knew Everything was turned into a screenplay, directed by V. Mirzoyev.

The Vital Needs of the Dead is a tender coming-of-age story set in the provinces of the Soviet Union during the second half of the 20th century. At the center of this story, praised by Russian critics for its blend of realism and lyrical sensibility, lies the relationship of young Gosha Sidelnikov with his alluring and mysterious grandmother Rosa, who becomes his caregiver when he is virtually abandoned by his busy and distant parents. This relationship colors Sidelnikov's subsequent forays into first love and sexual awakening. Even after her death, memories of Rosa accompany him into his adventures and misadventures as a provincial student. Then, one miserably cold winter night, her voice commands him to immediately depart for a place he's never been before, precipitating a mysterious chain of events.