When Vladimir Voinovich first began writing in his youth, he dreamed of gaining renown within a small circle of readers and finding his place within the system. He soon became famous among millions. The system accepted him. Yet, his nature, character, temperament, keen insight, Attic wit—and the very makeup of his personality—were such that he clashed with that system and, in a turn few had anticipated, emerged victorious. At times, it seems the writer’s own life is no less compelling than his novels and novellas: secret love, fame, dissidence, a brush with assassination, forced emigration, the thorns and roses of life, and a triumphant return to Moscow...