Vladivostok Circus

Nathalie arrives at the circus in Vladivostok, Russia, fresh out of art college in Geneva. She is there to design the costumes for a trio of artists who are due to perform one of the most dangerous acts of all: the Russian bar. As winter approaches, the season at Vladivostok winds down, the windy port city deserted as performers head home. Only the Russian-bar trio remain. They are scheduled to perform at a festival in Ulan-Ude, just before Christmas. What ensues is an intimate and beguiling account of four people learning to work with and trust one another. This is a book about the delicate balance that must be achieved when flirting with death in such spectacular fashion. Set against the backdrop of a cloudy ocean, Vladivostok Circus explores collaboration, creativity and belonging, all the while immersing the reader in Dusapin's trademark dreamlike prose.

Elisa Shua Dusapin was born in France in 1992 and raised in Paris, Seoul and Switzerland. Her first novel Winter in Sokcho, translated into twenty-eight languages, was awarded the Prix Robert Walser and the Prix Régine-Deforges and won the 2021 National Book Award for Translated Literature. The Pachinko Parlour was awarded the Swiss Literature Prize.