We come out of this story bloodless, but sharpened and durably transfigured. —Lire Magazine

Even with the novel’s incipit – “In the beginning it was not the Word” – language rises above the world. — Le Monde

One of the most beautiful French texts of this fall is the work of a Russian writer. Dimitri Bortnikov’s virtuosity allows him to twist the language of Molière. — Le Journal du Dimanche

L’agneau des neiges reminds us of the meaning of the words innocence and sacrifice. — Le Figaro

Bortnikov plunges the reader into the life of this young woman in whom the destiny of a people is embodied, with its tragedies and its radiant moments. He does so by summoning the Russian romantic and poetic imagination and also by the magic of an inspired writing. Bortnikov knows how to see. (…). He also knows how to say, skilfully reconstituting the oral language of tales, its repetitions, its question marks and exclamation marks. The Snow Lamb, immersed in a world of misfortune that needs heroines, tells all that is tragic and enchanting. — L’Humanité

L’agneau des neiges tells the story of a saint who ignores herself. A song of love and sacrifice, pierced by light, carried by a unique voice. — Le Canard enchaîné

The author of Face au Styx, best French novel of 2017 for Lire Magazine, signs here a dazzling feat. — Sud-Ouest

The luminous portrait of a young woman caught between the cruelty of war and the temptation of holiness. — Le Figaro Litteraire

A remarkable book, populated with admirably sketched characters. A bubbling narrative, carried by an absolutely inimitable voice. When history is transformed into a mythical and sublime novel! — Page des libraires

One of the most beautiful French texts of this fall is the work of a Russian writer. Dimitri Bortnikov’s virtuosity allows him to twist the language of Molière. — Le Journal du Dimanche

L’Agneau des neiges reminds us of the meaning of the words innocence and sacrifice. — Le Figaro

A masterful novel in which the course of private lives flows into that of historical events.

In northern Russia, on the shore of the White Sea, Maria, a crippled young woman born on the eve of the Revolution, learns to survive. Over the years, as she gets shunt-ed from one region to another, her bravery distinguishes her. After losing her loved ones, she winds up in Leningrad, where she contends with the Nazi siege with great self-lessness. In charge of twelve orphans, she does everything she can to protect them, going so far as to sacrifice herself to save them from famine and certain death.

Dimitri Bortnikov has written a poignant text with tremendous dramatic tension; its muffled laconism bears a powerful emotional charge. And reserves a grandiose ending