“A Russian novel brimming with both prudence and prophecy, it explores the eternal royal couple’s struggle between good and evil and their reflections on the cruel cycles of history.” —The Wall Street Journal

“The chronicle of a virtual island nation—a bold, ambitious tale, a tragicomic chaos unfolding within a long fable.” —Publishers Weekly

“This book is an expansive historical fantasy, a distinctly Russian magical-realist that recounts the tragedies and absurdities of political history while demonstrating the myriad ways in which such events can be rationalized. One of New Statesman’s Best Books of 2023.” —Commentary on one of New Statesman’s Best Books of 2023

“An engrossing reading experience—vivid, imaginative, and deeply creative—this work blends the playful elements of magical realism with a compassionate Christian perspective to illuminate humanity’s folly in self-destructing through history and politics. A masterpiece by one of Europe’s finest contemporary novelists!” —Rowan Williams, theologian, poet, translator, Anglican bishop, Fellow of the British Academy, Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature, Fellow of the Learned Society of Wales, and the 104th Archbishop of Canterbury

“In this novel, the fusion of miracle and ordinariness, of modernity and eternity, of the apparent and the impossible, is utterly convincing.” —Fontanka.ru, a Russian information, analysis, and socio-political electronic newspaper

“If I were to define this novel in a single sentence, I would say it is about time: the interplay of two speeds, two different scales, two distinct distances, which together create the novel’s astonishing optical effect. In Vodolazkin’s world, we see the fluid and the static, the whole and the fractional, the changing and the repetitive—and when you shift between these perspectives or read them simultaneously, the experience becomes utterly breathtaking. This is the achievement of an extraordinary writer, comparable to Laurence Sterne.” —Galina Yuzefovich, a Russian literary critic and daughter of Leonid Yuzefovich, author of “Winter Road”

“Everything that happens, is happening, or will happen on the island makes sense only in connection with the lives of Patna and Ksenia. Once the reader grasps this, all the elements of the novel’s puzzle fall into place: history begins anew with shocking and spectacular effect, and the chronicle of history transforms into the chronicle of two saints.” —Vedomosti, a Russian business newspaper

★ A fictional chronicle that offers a profound reflection on the nature of history, exploring how history is written and manipulated through the thousand-year transformation of a fictional island.
★ The island serves as a model for any society, nation, or even civilization. Its rise and fall challenge us: What truly defines and sustains a community? Is it the shifting balance of power, economic cycles, or the enduring spiritual values embedded within it?
★ In the torrent of time and amid the ruins of history, only love, memory, and the pursuit of truth can serve as humanity’s unsinkable ark. The true defense of a civilization, a historical epoch, or a land does not lie in brute force or grand achievements, but in the sacredness and love that are deeply rooted in the land itself and lived out in everyday life.
★ The book employs an innovative triple narrative structure, blending medieval and modern perspectives, official records and personal commentary, the absurd with the profound, and has been hailed as a sharp allegory about European—and even human—civilization history!
★ Shortlisted for the 2021 Russian Big Book Award and the New Horizons Prize! Winner of the 2022 Interpresscon Literary Prize! Shortlisted for the 2024 Dublin Literary Award!
★ Praised by numerous media outlets, including The Wall Street Journal, Publishers Weekly, Russia’s Vedomosti, New Statesman, The European Conservative, Full Stop, Current, Fare Forward, Front Porch Republic, Slant Books, The Modern Novel, and Englewood Review of Books!
★ Already licensed for publication in 13 countries, including English-speaking nations, France, Turkey, Hungary, Arabic-speaking regions, Romania, Serbia, and Bulgaria!
★ By Evgeny Vodolazkin, a towering figure in contemporary literature, whose works have been licensed for publication in more than 30 countries, including China!
★ Since its publication in December 2020, the Russian edition has sold over 50,000 copies!
★ English translation available.

“The Defense of the Island” is a fictional chronicle that blends history, allegory, and philosophical reflection, recounting the thousand-year fate of a fictional island. Though the island does not exist on any real-world map, it serves as a microcosm of human history, with its events—from baptism and civil war to revolution, totalitarian rule, and ecological crisis—mirroring the tortuous path of European and even global civilization.

The novel unfolds through a distinctive three-layered narrative structure:
The first layer is the “official history” that has been written—a chronicle composed in the style of medieval annals, penned by generations of chroniclers from the island’s monastery. Cold, concise, and even dry, this layer represents the “public record,” shaped, filtered, and manipulated by those in power. Here, history is malleable, molded to serve the needs of the ruling powers of the day.
The second layer is the “real memory” that is experienced—the commentary and supplements added by a pair of princely spouses, Partinius and Xenia, who have lived for more than 300 years. As the island’s “eternal guardians,” they have been granted a lifespan far beyond that of ordinary humans through selfless sacrifice and sacred love. Their perspective transcends the linear flow of time, exposing truths concealed by official records while infusing the narrative with a spiritual dimension of faith, sacrifice, and eternal love. They are the island’s “righteous ones,” and their very existence constitutes a “defense” of the island.
The third layer is the “contemporary interpretation” that is being enacted—a French director is filming a movie about the princely couple. This narrative strand juxtaposes the medieval past with the modern present, exploring how we narrate, understand, and consume history. It raises fundamental questions: Is history fact or fiction? To what extent can we truly grasp the past?

Running through these three layers is a detective-story-like suspense: the search for a lost ancient prophecy. This prophecy was left behind by Agathon, the island’s seer, and is said to reveal the island’s future destiny. Yet its text was lost in the Middle Ages, becoming a guiding thread that weaves through the entire historical narrative. As the chronicle intertwines with the protagonists’ memories, readers witness the island endure Byzantine-style rule, a Southern European-style decline, bloody revolutions, colonial oppression, a totalitarian era, and even environmental catastrophe. Throughout this tumultuous history, Partinius and Xenia stand as “righteous ones,” silently guarding the island. Endowed with longevity through their pure love and selfless devotion, they become enduring symbols of the island’s indomitable spirit. In the end, the text of the prophecy is rediscovered in the modern era, and its content resonates with the island’s ultimate trial—a volcanic eruption—revealing that only the presence of upright individuals can bring the island defense and redemption.

At its core, the work explores the nature of time and the meaning of history. Through multiple perspectives—the “authoritative” record of the official chronicle, the timeless experience of the long-lived protagonists, and the reinterpretation offered by the modern film—Vodolazkin challenges the conventional view of linear time, revealing how history is shaped by power yet remolded by memory and love. The novel underscores that time is both a vessel for human experience and an illusion; only love, sacrifice, and spiritual pursuits that transcend time can withstand history’s emptiness and repetition. In this sense, the fate of the island becomes a metaphor for the fate of humanity: in a cycle of rise and fall, how can individuals, by upholding goodness and truth, find unity and meaning in an age of fragmentation?

“The Defense of the Island” is not merely a historical allegory but also a meditation. Through the fictional island, the novel critiques the manipulation of history by those in power and calls for wisdom among rulers, civic awareness among citizens, and sanctity among individuals. Stylistically, the novel blends the solemnity of Old Russian with the sharpness of modern language, drawing on the Russian literary tradition while infusing the narrative with irony and humor, thus rendering weighty themes with surprising lightness. Ultimately, the work points to a hopeful vision: though history is marked by turmoil and forgetting, the selfless love and the pursuit of truth within human nature shine like beacons, guiding civilization through turbulent waters and proving that every land and every era deserves to be defended—as long as righteous individuals continue to stand in its midst.

“The Defense of the Island” is a “thought-provoking novel” that demands patient reading. What the book truly explores is how we should view history. The author argues that any claim to a single, objective history is a form of discursive hegemony, while postmodern relativism risks descending into nihilism. Through elements such as the fulfillment of prophecy and the time-transcending existence of the princely couple, the novel suggests the existence of a historical perspective that transcends specific facts and is measured by moral standards. It invites readers to reflect: in an age of information overload and competing narratives, how can we distinguish between truth and falsehood? As grand narratives of progress and power fade, what “islands” in human history are truly worth preserving? The novel’s answer, embodied in the prophecy and the immortal guardians, points to values as seemingly simple yet eternally enduring as love, integrity, and morality.

In an interview with Forbes, the author himself commented on the ideas behind the book: “Today’s historical writing lacks the typical medieval perspective, which sees history as a struggle between good and evil. ‘The Defense of the Island’ depicts only a small part of this broader picture, but like a drop of water, it can reflect and refract much more.”

[Author] Evgeny Vodolazkin
One of the most influential writers in contemporary Russian literature, recipient of numerous prestigious literary awards both in Russia and abroad, his works have been licensed for publication in more than 30 countries. Critics have hailed him as an “encyclopedic, scholarly novelist”!

Born in Kyiv in 1964. After graduating from Kyiv University in 1986, he entered the Department of Old Russian Literature at the Institute of Russian Literature of the Soviet Academy of Sciences, where he conducted academic research under the tutelage of the renowned Russian cultural scholar Dmitry Likhachev. Since 1990, he has worked in the Department of Old Russian Literature at the Pushkin House Museum (the Institute of Russian Literature located in St. Petersburg), and since 2012 he has served as the chief editor of the Pushkin House Museum’s annual journal “Word and Tradition.” He is the author of numerous scholarly books and articles and has been awarded research and teaching positions by the Topf Foundation and the Humboldt Foundation.

As a prominent contemporary Russian writer, Doctor of Philology, and expert in the study of ancient Russian literature and culture at the Institute of Russian Literature of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Evgeny Vodolazkin’s main research interests lie in medieval literature, with a particular focus on the concept of historical narrative in ancient texts.

Vodolazkin began his literary创作 in his thirties. He excels at using literary creation as a weapon to write history, fiercely combating the contemporary global “amnesia of history” by interweaving the past with the present. In 2010, his first novel, “Solovyov and Larionov,” was nominated for the Big Book Award and shortlisted for the Andrei Bely Prize. His second novel, “Laurel/Lavr,” won the Big Book Award and the Yasnaya Polyana Prize in 2013! It was named by The Guardian as one of the world’s ten best literary works about God! Licensed for publication in more than 30 countries! Won first place in the 2013 Big Book Award and third place in the Readers’ Choice Award! Shortlisted for the 2013 Russian Booker Prize! Nominated for the 2013 New Literature Prize! In 2015, he received the “Milovan Vidakovic” Award in Serbia, and in 2016 he was awarded the Italy–Russia Gorky (Sorrento) Prize! His work “The Hibernated Pilot” has already been licensed for publication in nearly 15 countries! Shortlisted for the Russian Big Book Award and the Booker Prize! In South Korea, it became a hotly debated work, and he was invited to attend the “2021 Seoul International Writers’ Festival”! In 2022, it was shortlisted for the international IMPAC Dublin Literary Award! “The World of Brisbane Where Time Does Not Exist” has already been licensed in multiple languages even before publication! “The Defense of the Island” has been shortlisted for one of Russia’s most prestigious literary awards—the Russian Big Book Award—in 2021! His new book, “The Life of Chagin,” has even won the top prize—the Grand Prize of the Big Book Award—in the 2023 Russian literary awards!

[Media Comments]
“Time is a central character in all of Evgeny Vodolazkin’s novels. In ‘Laurel/Lavr,’ it is indispensable...; in ‘The Pilot,’ time flows like water in two directions; in ‘The Defense of the Island,’ time is so innovative that it runs through the entire text...” —Galina Yuzefovich

“Although it is impossible to predict now whether his works will be reread in 10–20 years, in the field of Russian literature he definitely holds his own place” —Alexey Balakin

“After achieving unprecedented success, every new novel by Evgeny Vodolazkin is read with fresh anticipation and reverent attention. The author is mastering a new genre, a diverse range of styles, and creating protagonists who are different from those in his earlier works.” —Olga Timofeeva

“Frankness and sincerity are common traits among the protagonists in Vodolazkin’s works. They are not prophets, but carriers of certain knowledge that unfolds slowly over time, with time itself serving as the generator of inner discovery.” —Maria Bashmakova