A few weeks ago I read Laurus by Eugene Vodolazkin. Originally published in Russia in 2012, the book was translated into English in 2015 and has been reprinted three times since then.
Vodolazkin is a scholar who specialises in mediaeval Russian history and folklore and his background is reflected in the book. It tells the story of a young man with healing skills, who, in fifteenth century Russia, leaves his home and wanders the world trying to assuage his guilt at his failure to save his woman’s life. He has a number of adventures as he travels, and the reader is carried along in a slightly dreamlike way through the challenges that the man faces.
It is a great read for those who want to get closer to the spiritual ideas and atmosphere of the Russian church. It also paints a convincing picture of the times. The book is not however simply about the past. It contains has modernist overtones, occasionally bringing the reader into the present, and thus embraces ideas of the meaning of time and timelessness, showing how compassion, faith, charitable works and healing are universal and eternal.
Inevitably the book contains its share of references to holy fools. The concept of the holy fool, an individual who represents the truth while appearing to the world to be mad, reaches from the earliest years of the church, through Dostoevsky to the Russian literature of today.
My talk ‘Between Heaven and Earth’ gives an overview of some of the history and important features of the Russian Orthodox Church, and also introduces you to a number of holy fools.