Paltonul cu gaică

In Paltonul cu gaică, Mihail Șișkin links his past with wider history. This book brings together prose and essays he first wrote in Russian. It draws on lived events, human lives and politics. It explores trauma, truth, lies and who we are. Șișkin also weighs the fame his work has brought. He sees writing as a way to keep what life loses.

Șișkin left Russia but still writes in Russian. He challenges the Soviet past and the Kremlin’s rule today. His work draws on Russia’s literary roots. He sees these roots as a space for thought beyond state control.

Șișkin was born in Moscow in 1961. He studied at the State Pedagogical Institute. He then worked as a journalist and taught German and English. His first book came out in 1993. Two years later, he moved to Zürich in Switzerland. There he interprets for people who speak Russian and seek asylum. He has won Russia’s three major literary prizes.