A review by littletroll
Envy by Yuri Olesha

5.0

"In 1956, soon after the Soviet Union adopted a less rigid policy toward Western visitors, a Russian librarian reportedly complained she was tired of being told by Americans that Envy was the greatest Soviet novel." -Prof Brown, Russian Literature Since the Revolution (1963)
All I can say is that if I were to bombard a Russian librarian (I've rarely been given the chance) with some of my favorite Russian novels, this would be one.