Russian Cuisine in Exile

"For thirty years now Russian Cuisine in Exile has stood on my shelf, and I’ve continually wished I could share its brilliance with others. Now I can, in this impressive translation that not only captures the book’s spirit but also provides important cultural context through the translators’ copious notes. This book is a classic of exile literature, filled with nostalgia, humor, irony, and insight into both Russian and American culinary cultures. Its appearance in English is great cause for celebration!" — Darra Goldstein, Founding Editor of Gastronomica: The Journal of Food and Culture

“Mouth-watering, erudite, nostalgic, mordantly funny, Russian Cuisine in Exile has been a beloved cult classic for generations of hungry Russians both at home and abroad. Now this tour de force of literary food writing is finally available in a terrific English translation, replete with a smart, eye-catching design, whimsical illustrations, and helpful commentaries. A feast for the senses!” — Anya von Bremzen, author of Mastering the Art of Soviet Cooking: A Memoir of Food and Longing

“It is a real delight to have this marvelous volume available at last in English. It is a successful translation on many levels—from Russian to English, but it also translates the experience of Russian exiles to the society they joined. The book gives us Vail and Genis’s translation of their culinary and cultural memories to new world ingredients and technology. Poignant and funny, and beautifully and amusingly illustrated with images of artifacts from Soviet kitchens and cooking advice books.” — Diane P. Koenker, Director, UCL School of Slavonic and East European Studies

“Pyotr Vail and Alexander Genis’s book Russian Cuisine in Exile has long been an encyclopedia of cultural associations—linked to food, and to so much more. The authors’ ironic style helped them to overcome the temptation of ‘émigré pathos.’ Today, thirty years after the first edition, neither the Soviet Union, nor that cuisine about which they write exists. But a new temptation has appeared—nostalgia, for which their special brand of irony is perhaps the best medicine. In their turn, Angela Brintlinger and Thomas Feerick have done more than translate. They have managed to create a text that is accessible to the Western reader.” — Irina Glushchenko, Associate Professor: Faculty of Humanities, School of Cultural Studies, National Research University Higher School of Economics