The Tsar of Love and Techno

by Anthony Marra

[Artemis]

Reviews at The Artemis Reader

I feel like words cannot accurately describe how much I enjoyed these short stories. Marra manages to produce the ideal mixtape with The Tsar of Love and Techno. Marra returns readers to the terror of Soviet Russia and Stalin’s purges and the challenges of post-Soviet life. From the Siberian mining city of Kirovsk to rural Chechnya, Marra weaves intelligent and thought-provoking stories of choice, chance, history, and fate.

He connects these stories not only through characters, but with objects, to create a vibrant landscape of a story. His characters are well paced throughout each short story, allowing the reader to easily move throughout this unfamiliar, complex world. A worthwhile read!