Nested like a Russian matryoshka doll, Elif Batuman’s The Possessed is a captivating book about books, filled with sketches of eccentric authors, existential angst among their fans, awkward encounters with authors’ descendants, and a quirky literary history that infinitely leads to even quirkier mysteries. Blending homage, memoir, travelogue, and wry comedy, The Possessed is more than a portrait of obsession with Russian literature; it is a full-scale diorama for anyone who loves the printed word, or whose life has been shaped by fictional characters.

The essays include “Babel in California,” in which Batuman recalls an academic conference on the enigmatic writer Isaac Babel. In wry scenes, Batuman recalls misplacing Babel’s last living relatives at the San Francisco airport; enduring a confounding car ride afterward, during which Babel’s relatives interrogate her about the Tigger toy that dangles from her rearview mirror; uncovering Babel’s secret influence on the making of King Kong; and finding herself in the cross fire of a translation skirmish. In other chapters, she travels to Tolstoy’s ancestral estate, retraces Pushkin’s wanderings in the Caucasus, learns about the finer points of the Old Uzbek language (which has one hundred words for crying), and traverses the equally colorful terrain of the writers’ minds. As Batuman navigates her ancestry, her love life, and the thorny politics of grad school, The Possessed emerges as a brilliant meditation on the storytelling that propels our imaginations --- and stokes our realities.

Whether you read The Possessed with your book club, with your thesis adviser, or in solitude, this guide is designed to enhance the journey.