Join co-hosts Anne Moore and Chris Stacey for an innovative, exciting, and passionate approach to world literature. We select a country and pick three books over the course of three months: one contemporary, one non-fiction, and one classic. Our current country is Russa. In our first meeting we discuss the contemporary fiction selection The Heart of a Dog by Mikhail Bulgakov (Author), Mirra Ginsburg (Translator) or Michael Glenny (Translator).

This hilarious, brilliantly inventive novel by the author of The Master and Margarita tells the story of a scroungy Moscow mongrel named Sharik. Thanks to the skills of a renowned Soviet scientist and the transplanted pituitary gland and testes of a petty criminal, Sharik is transformed into a lecherous, vulgar man who spouts Engels and inevitably finds his niche in the bureaucracy as the government official in charge of purging the city of cats. Heart of a Dog, written in 1925, remained unpublished in the Soviet Union until 1987. Its satire is as ferocious and timely now as when it was written.

We hope to see you in May to help us create a community you’ll find inviting, fun, engaging and a place to sustain meaningful friendships.

Date: Thursday, May 1, 2025

Time: 6:00PM Central

Location: Fine Arts Building, 410 South Michigan Avenue, Salon Des Artistes, Room 535, Chicago, IL 60605

Cost: $10 suggested donation.

Reviews

The Guardian

Photo Credit: Grove Atlantic Press, Promotional Material, Public Domain