Vladimir Sharov
Russian Novelist • Historian • Winner of the Russian Booker Prize
Vladimir Sharov (1952–2018) was one of Russia’s most original and visionary novelists. Blending history, philosophy, theology and imagination, his works reinterpreted Russia’s past through bold, speculative narratives. Awarded the Russian Booker Prize for Return to Egypt, Sharov is widely regarded as one of the defining literary voices of post-Soviet Russia.
Sharov’s novels are renowned for their distinctive fusion of history, philosophy, theology and literary imagination. Drawing on meticulously researched historical events, he re-envisioned Russia’s past through bold, speculative narratives that blur the boundaries between fact and fiction. His works explore themes of memory, faith, power, identity and the enduring influence of history on the present. Among his most celebrated novels are Before and During, The Old Girl, Raising Lazarus, Be as Children, and the Russian Booker Prize-winning Return to Egypt. Translated into numerous languages, Sharov’s books have earned international acclaim for their intellectual depth, originality and profound insight into the human condition.
Awards
Vladimir Sharov received numerous prestigious literary honours throughout his career, including the Russian Booker Prize, recognising his exceptional contribution to contemporary Russian literature.
Awards
2015
Read Russia English Translation awarded to Oliver Ready (Return to Egypt)
2014
Winner of Student Booker Prize (Return to Egypt)
2014
Bronze Big Book National Literary Award (Return to Egypt)
2014
Winner of Russian Booker Prize (Return to Egypt)
2008
Winner of Prose of the Year (Be as Children)
2008
Russian Booker Prize Shortlist (Be as Children)
2008
Winner of Znamya Literary Journal Prize (Be as Children)
2002
Winner of Znamya Literary Journal Prize (Raising Lazarus)
1998
Winner of Znamya Literary Journal Prize (The Old Girl)
Publications
Books
Spanning more than three decades, Vladimir Sharov’s novels invite readers into richly imagined worlds where historical figures, fictional characters and philosophical ideas intersect in unexpected ways.
Below is a selection of Vladimir Sharov’s works available in English translation.
What critics say
★★★★★
“If Russian history is indeed a commentary to the Bible, then Before and During is an audacious attempt to shine a mystical light on it, an unusual take on the 20th century’s apocalypse that leaves the reader to look for their own explications.” — Anna Aslanyan, The Independent
★★★★★
“Sharov’s prose is ‘disconcerting, almost hallucinatory. His writing is at times funny, at times so piercingly moving, so brimful of unassuaged sorrow, that it causes a double-take.’” — Rachel Polonsky, The New York Review of Books
★★★★★
“Possibly the most important Russian novelist you may never have heard of.” — Muireann Maguire, The Moscow Times