Critical Praise

"Glitteringly original. . . . An intricate, harrowing, and, yes, dangerous first novel that sets out to capture the dawn of the 20th century in Bolshevik Russia."

——Esquire

"Inventive, unusual, humorous, ... deeply intelligent, The Commissariat of Enlightenment beautifully illuminates the hazardous powers of image, icon, and relic."

——Andrea Barrett

"Kalfus is an ironist in the best late-modern Central European style: wry, humane, precise, and beautifully smitten with ideas."

——Jonathan Franzen

"Unforgettable...the story exhibits all the vigorous intelligence and vision readers have come to expect from Kalfus."

——Publishers Weekly (starred review)

"Brilliant ... Inventive ... Gogol is probably tearing his hair out, wishing he'd dreamed this up."

——Kirkus Reviews (starred review)