A novel of stature that explores our cancerous condition more persistently than any other novel has done before, and without the benefit of an anesthetic

Peter Carey, García Márquez, Alexander Solzhenitsyn: André Brink must be considered with that class of writer

Strikingly effective

A brutal, harrowing, desperately sincere piece of writing

Impressive . . . Rutherfurd has indeed embraced all of Russia

Russka succeeds where [other books] of trendy Soviet-watching have failed ... Rutherfurd can take his place among an elite cadre of chroniclers such as Harold Lamb, Maurice Hindus and Henri Troyat

Fast moving ... Rutherfurd believes in adding color and adventure to facts that are exhaustively researched, making history palatable if not delicious

Sprawling ... Rutherfurd's close observation of Russia's religious and ethnic diversity gives this epic a distinctive flavor

Rutherfurd literally personifies history