A novel of tremendous scope and beauty, The Translator tells of the relationship between an exiled Russian poet and his American translator during the Cuban missile crisis, a time when a writer's words -- especially forbidden ones -- could be powerful enough to change the course of history.

Joining the ranks of such outstanding feats of literary imagination as "The English Patient" and "The Remains of the Day" is Crowley's "The Translator"--a story that centers on a love affair between an exiled Russian poet and his American translator, set against the backdrop of the Cuban Missile Crisis.