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Laurus

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Laurus

By: Lisa C. Hayden - translator, Eugene Vodolazkin
Narrated by: James Anderson Foster
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About this listen

It is the late 15th century and a village healer in Russia called Laurus is powerless to help his beloved as she dies in childbirth, unwed and without having received communion. Devastated and desperate, he sets out on a journey in search of redemption. But this is no ordinary journey: it is one that spans ages and countries, and which brings him face-to-face with a host of unforgettable, eccentric characters and legendary creatures from the strangest medieval bestiaries.

Laurus's travels take him from the Middle Ages to the Plague of 1771, where as a holy fool he displays miraculous healing powers, to the political upheavals of the late 20th century. At each transformative stage of his journey, he becomes more revered by the church and the people, until he decides, one day, to return to his home village to lead the life of a monastic hermit - not realizing that it is here that he will face his most difficult trial yet.

Laurus is a remarkably rich novel about the eternal themes of love, loss, self-sacrifice, and faith, from one of Russia's most exciting and critically acclaimed novelists.

©2015 Eugene Vodolazkin; translation copyright 2015 by Lisa C. Hayden (P)2017 Tantor Christian Fiction Fiction Genre Fiction Historical Historical Fiction Literary Fiction Middle Ages Village Russia

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All stars
Most relevant
And so is the translation and especially the reading. For a useful intro, see the TED talk on this novel by Archbishop Rowan Williams.

An outstanding novel

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An astonishing and most beautiful experience. A highly recommended listen or read. Emotional and gripping.

Beautiful

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This is my second time through this masterpiece in a little over 12 months. It’s scope is immense both in terms of the lands visited and the lives lived by the central character. There are truths to be unearthed throughout this multilayered journey. One constant theme to note is time, and its cyclical nature, especially when viewed in a liturgical framework. Might time actually be a spiral that climbs upwards as it repeats it regular cycles? The author masterfully presents what may seem to us an alien, pre-scientific worldview, but at the same time leaves you questioning if it might contain underlying truths about reality that we have lost in our secular materialist culture. If the modern obsession with reducing every experience down to its constituent parts has left you feeling insulted against the transcendent (the beautiful, the good, and the true), this book may puncture much needed holes and let in some light.

Simply beautiful

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Strange but beautiful book, not everything understood but enjoyed the mystical and human blended together. Well narrated.

Mystical

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extremely beautiful book. very interesting prose. written and narrated extremely well. would recommend anyone pick this book up

very beautiful

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