A bit uneven in its narrative style yet endlessly fascinating, I found this work more entertaining and thought-provoking than T.J. Binyon's recent comprehensive biography of Pushkin. Also, it gave interesting insight into the Russian aristocracy.
"Pushkin's Button will keep all constituencies of reader fastened to their seats, as they watch Petersburg's lofty denizens leave no moment of the hurtling Pushkin scandal unrecorded or not speculated on."--Monika Greenleaf,Los Angeles Times
"[A] deliciously entertaining whydunit, a book in which every page seduces with a riddle. . . . Vivacious, seductive, original."--Michael Dirda, Washington Post
"A delightful combination of retrograde pleasures (court balls, the demise of a doomed genius) and primary sources. . . . Illuminating."--Richard Lamb, New York Times Book Review
"A book almost impossible to put down."--George Steiner, New Yorker
"Pushkin's Button will keep all constituencies of reader fastened to their seats, as they watch Petersburg's lofty denizens leave no moment of the hurtling Pushkin scandal unrecorded or not speculated on."--Monika Greenleaf,Los Angeles Times
"[A] deliciously entertaining whydunit, a book in which every page seduces with a riddle. . . . Vivacious, seductive, original."--Michael Dirda, Washington Post
"A delightful combination of retrograde pleasures (court balls, the demise of a doomed genius) and primary sources. . . . Illuminating."--Richard Lamb, New York Times Book Review
"A book almost impossible to put down."--George Steiner, New Yorker
