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Prototype to publish 'Russian Proust' Felsen in English for first time
Indie press Prototype is publishing the first English translation of the debut novel by Russian émigré author Yuri Felsen, who died in the gas chambers of Auschwitz.
Deceit will be published by Prototype on 31st May 2022. The publisher holds UK and Commonwealth rights for the new English translation by Bryan Karetnyk.
Referred to by some contemporaries as “the Russian Proust”, Felsen’s work has recently been rediscovered in Russia. His modernist debut novel Deceit was originally published in Russian in 1930 by Paris-based publisher J Povolozky & Co, and the upcoming edition by Prototype will be the first time that any of Felsen’s books have been published in English. This new translation and publication of Felsen’s work has been supported by the Mikhail Prokhorov Foundation.
Prototype explained: “Set in interwar Paris and taking the form of a diary, the novel relates the complex and fraught relationship between an unnamed narrator and his love interest and sometime muse, the beguiling Lyolya Heard. Subtle and profound in its exploration of love, deceit and betrayal, Felsen’s novel is a daring and highly original work of psychological fiction.”
Karetnyk said: “Felsen is one of the great undiscovered Russian writers of the 20th century, so the opportunity to bring his debut novel into English is both an honour and a career highlight. It’s especially pleasing that the novel’s exceptional merit has been recognised by the Prokhorov Fund through its generous support of the publication.”
During his lifetime Felsen, the pseudonym of Nikolai Freudenstein published three novels as well as over a dozen short stories, and extensive essays and criticism for the émigré literary magazines Zveno and Chisla. Following the German occupation of France at the height of his career, Felsen tried to escape to Switzerland. However, he was caught, arrested and interned in Drancy concentration camp. He was deported in 1943 and killed in the gas chambers at Auschwitz.
