Journey to the Dark Heart of Russia with Jermey Poolman

The Road of Bones is the story of Russia’s greatest road – the Vladimirka Road . In pursuit of the sights, sounds and voices both past and present, Jeremy Poolman travels the Vladimirka – the first person to tell its rich, varied and dark story. Read an extract.

Francis Spufford reads from Red Plenty

Listen to three extracts from Francis Spufford’s Red Plenty, a book as ambitious as Sputnik, as uncompromising as an Aeroflot flight attendant – and as different from what you were expecting as a glass of Soviet champagne.

Win The Life of an Unknown Man [closed]

Sceptre have given 15 lucky Bookhugger readers the chance to win a hardback of Andreï Makine’s latest novel, The Life of an Unknown Man, published on October 14th.

Win a copy of The Tiger [closed]

Sceptre have kindly given us copies of John Vaillant’s haunting, gripping exploration of predators and prey and an intimate portrait of a remarkable animal increasingly threatened by interaction with humans, for 10 lucky Bookhugger winners…

Nicolai Lilin interviewed

Set in a small and tight-knit community of ‘honest criminals’ in a remote part of Russia, Siberian Education is a tale of an extreme boyhood – exotic, violent and completely unique. Author Nicolai Lilin answers questions put to him by Bookhugger’s readers.

Arthur Ransome and the Crisis in Russia

Roland Chambers, author of The Last Englishman: The Double Life of Arthur Ransome, discusses the two volumes of Ransome’s Russian journalism brought back into print by Faber Finds.

Helen Rappaport: Lenin in Exile

Conspirator is the compelling story of Lenin’s exile: the years in which he and his political collaborators plotted a revolution that would change 20th century history. Historian and Russianist Helen Rappaport talks to George Miller

March non-fiction round-up

Enjoy Bookhugger’s roundup of the fantastically diverse non-fiction titles that have hit the bookshops this March – from Mussolini to the Mafia, and Eastenders to Okinawa, it’s all here.

February Reading Groups round-up

Looking for ideas for new titles to read with your reading circle or book group? Let us help. Here are some titles which have reading guides ready and waiting for you to stimulate discussion and debate.

From Russia With Love

What’s it like to have your novel turned into an Oscar-tipped blockbuster?

Jay Parini describes the experience of adapting his novel The Last Station into a screenplay, and about what happened after that…