Gaito Gazdanov

Gaito Gazdanov (1903–1971) was a Russian-language novelist and short-story writer of Ossetian origin. His works include An Evening with Claire and The Night Roads.

An Evening with Claire: A 1930 novel by Gaito Gazdanov, narrated by a Russian émigré recalling his youth and love for Claire. This debut novel introduces the memory, exile, and desire that recur across Gazdanov’s fiction.
Russian Civil War: The 1917–1922 conflict among rival political and military forces after the Russian Revolution. Gazdanov left Russia during the conflict, which became a defining rupture in his biography.
Vladislav Khodasevich: A Russian poet and critic who emigrated after the Revolution and became a leading literary voice in Paris. Khodasevich’s criticism helped establish Gazdanov’s standing among Russian émigré writers.
Bryan Karetnyk: A British translator and scholar of Russian literature who has translated works by Gaito Gazdanov. Karetnyk’s translations have made several of Gazdanov’s novels and stories available in English.
The Night Roads: A novel by Gaito Gazdanov about a Russian émigré narrator who works as a Paris taxi driver. Its Paris nightscape brings Gazdanov’s émigré life and existential concerns into sharp focus.
White movement: The loose coalition of anti-Bolshevik forces that fought the Reds during the Russian Civil War. As a teenager, Gazdanov served with White forces before leaving Russia with the retreating army.
Vladimir Nabokov: A Russian-American novelist and poet whose early fiction was written in Russian during emigration. Both wrote Russian fiction in exile, but their distinct styles invite comparison.
English translation: The rendering of a text from another language into English while negotiating meaning, style, and form. Gazdanov’s prose reaches many contemporary readers through English translations.
Russian émigré literature: Literature written by Russians who lived outside Russia, especially after the 1917 Revolution. Gazdanov’s fiction belongs to the literary world formed by Russian exile after the Revolution.
Russian Revolution: The upheavals of 1917 that ended imperial rule in Russia and brought the Bolsheviks to power. The Revolution set in motion the political upheaval and exile that shaped Gazdanov’s adult life.

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