In his enthralling memoir, Siberian Dawn: A Journey across the New Russia, Jeffrey Taylor chronicles an epic eight-thousand-mile odyssey he embarked upon in 1993, traversing the vast expanse from Siberia to Poland. As a young adventurer armed with boundless curiosity and scant financial resources, Taylor offers readers a vivid and intimate glimpse into the post-communist landscapes of the Soviet states, captured so soon after the Soviet Union's dramatic collapse. This memoir, unveiled to the world in 1999, is a captivating narrative of a transformative era.

Among the luminaries who have influenced Tolstaya's literary journey is the acclaimed Russian author, Vladimir Nabokov. Tolstaya cites Nabokov, whose legacy includes the evocative collection The Stories of Vladimir Nabokov, published in 1995. This anthology features sixty-five intricately woven tales penned by Nabokov from the early 1920s to the mid-1950s. Nabokov's recognition in America is largely due to his provocative and unforgettable novel, Lolita.

Critics often draw parallels between Tolstaya and another talent of Russian literature, Sasha Sokolov. Sokolov's 1988 novel, A School for Fools, explores the labyrinth of childhood and the mosaics of adult recollections. Two years later, in 1990, Sokolov unveiled Astrophobia, a narrative that masquerades as a memoir of a man confined for attempting to assassinate the formidable Russian leader, Leonid Brezhnev, and intriguingly set in the year 2044.

Tolstaya's first foray into the world beyond Russia's borders came with her collection On the Golden Porch. This 1990 compilation of thirteen stories echoes the themes found in Sleepwalker in a Fog, where "Night" finds its place. The earlier collection is a poignant portrayal of Russians teetering on the brink of societal norms and mental equilibrium, offering a glimpse into lives lived on society’s fringes.