Barely published and known only to limited circles in Russia, Sergei Dovlatov began to receive recognition only after his immigration to the United States in 1978. In the years after his death in 1990 he was recognized in Russia as one of the most significant writers of his generation. He published many books and during his lifetime his works were translated not only into English but also several other languages, including French, German, Swedish, Finnish, Japanese, Danish, and Hungarian. Dovlatov enjoyed considerable critical acclaim in the United States, receiving hundreds of positive reviews for his books in English translation. He won the American PEN club prize for the best short story written in 1986, and he was one of the Russian writers whose work appeared in the prestigious magazine The New Yorker. What preoccupied him was language, and for this reason recognition in Russia was paramount to him. Once his works...