Anthony Marra

"When we first meet Maria Lagana, she's rewriting scripts at Mercury Pictures, a failing Hollywood studio known for its schlock. Maria's job is to re-craft dialogue and action to circumvent the censors, a skill she's mysteriously adept at. Born in Italy, as a teenager Maria witnessed Mussolini's censors arrest her father, an event that will destroy her family and burden Maria with questions of guilt and responsibility she will carry with her throughout...

"Beginning in the tunnels beneath Leningrad and ending at the edge of the solar system, The Tsar of love and techno stretches across a century, a continent, and a striking cast of characters tied together by an obscure 19th century Russan painting. Alternately tragic and comic, and richly profound throughout." -- back cover