Dmitry Bykov again surprises readers: he wrote an adventurous novel, taking as a basis an event that would seem to be “academic” - the reform of Russian spelling in 1918. The whole novel is permeated with literary play and at the same time very serious; passions boil in it and “damned questions” are raised; The action takes place either in Petrograd or in Crimea immediately after the revolution or... now? In a word, “Spelling” is a funny and sad story about the misadventures of the Russian intelligentsia in the 20th century... Shortlisted for the Russian National Literary Award “National Bestseller” in 2003.