"Magical Chorus" is a typical Volkov book--very, very intelligent, very interesting, but challenging to read. Volkov's style (as brought to us by his translator) is deceptively simple, but requires multiple re-reads to follow the narrative and recall all of the players he mentions.

In this particular demonstration of his style, Volkov re-tells 20th century Russia by a discussion of its cultural icons. From Tolstoy through "Russian Ark," he shows the interaction between the highest elites of the Communist Party and the highest elites of the Soviet cultural sphere. The key word here, however, is "discussion"--Volkov relies on his own background in this area, his own encounters with these characters, to retell his story, and his style is oftentimes that of an elderly neighbor musing over memories. In addition, Volkov's memory and mastery of detail means he weaves almost *too* easily between politics and culture, dropping names right and left with little set-up of them; he clearly means this book only for those who are already masters of Russian culture.

Despite these criticisms, there's no doubt Volkov's work is one to keep on the shelf--it is a much more realistic and informative retelling of the 20th century culture than Figes' "Natasha's Dance."