To the Hermitage

Book Review

Malcolm Bradbury’s «To the Hermitage» is a refined literary game in which past and present are woven into an intricate pattern of cultural allusions and ironic observations. Inspired by Diderot’s journey to Russia, the novel becomes a witty mosaic where philosophical reflections on the fate of enlightenment stand side by side with satire on the modern world. Bradbury masterfully balances historical reconstruction and postmodern experiment, allowing the reader to feel the elusive boundaries between reality and invention. Critics note the subtle stylization, the richness of the language, and the intellectual depth of the book, in which each character is like a reflection of an era, and each dialogue an invitation to ponder the nature of truth and illusion. This is a work in which humor and melancholy, skepticism and admiration merge into a single symphony, leaving the reader with a sense of belonging to a great conversation about human culture.