Artem Mozgovoy at Harvard Book Store

presenting

Spring in Siberia

Harvard Book Store welcomes author and journalist ARTEM MOZGOVOY for a discussion of his debut novel Spring in Siberia.

A Return to In-Person Events

Harvard Book Store is excited to be back to in-person programming. To ensure the safety and comfort of everyone in attendance, the following Covid-19 safety protocols will be in place at all of our Harvard Book Store events until further notice:

• Face coverings are required of all staff and attendees when inside the store. Masks must snugly cover nose and mouth.

About Spring in Siberia

1985. Russia. As the Soviet Union disintegrates and Western capitalism spreads its grip across their land, the Morozov family finds itself consigned to the remote, icy wastes of Siberia. It is here that their only child, Alexey, is born.

A sweet and gentle schoolboy, Alexey discovers that reciting poetry learnt by heart calms his fears. That winter gales can be battled with self-invented games, and solace found through his grandmother’s rituals and potions. But when Alexey’s classmate, the son of KGB agents, confesses his love, the desire of two boys to be together clashes violently with the mad world around them.

Exploring the healing power of literature, the magic of first love, and the ways our family and homeland can save (or shatter) us, Spring in Siberia is a coming-of-age novel that, in the darkest of times, glows with hope and the yearning for freedom to be oneself – completely.

Praise for Spring in Siberia

“A capacious work of vision, courage, and thoroughness, Spring in Siberia upholds the original promise of the novel: which is to contain all, protect nothing, and to shift perpetually in definition and scope. A work of earnest, grounded, and ultimately hopeful testimony of selfhood at the brink.” —Ocean Vuong

“I read this and was very very impressed. It was touching and well written, genuinely compelling and convincing.” —Sir Stephen Fry

“With Spring in Siberia, a new, heady Russian dish—sweet, sad, savage and resolutely gay—has been brought in triumph to the table of American writing.” —John Clanchy