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God Lives in St. Petersburg: Short Stories
Young Americans abroad in Central Asia find themselves pushed to their limits in these acclaimed, prize-winning stories by one of our most exciting and talented new authors. Combining bleak humor, ironic insight, deep compassion, and unflinching moral and ethical inquiry, Tom Bissell gives us a gripping collection that is both timeless and profoundly relevant to today’s complex world.
226 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 2005
12 people are currently reading
430 people want to read
About the author
Tom Bissell
42 books178 followersTom Bissell (born 1974) is a journalist, critic, and fiction writer.
Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name. See this thread for more information.
Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name. See this thread for more information.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 41 reviews
March 9, 2023
Firstly I must admit that the primary appeal of this book to me was the cover - yes, I purchased and read this book on the basis of the cover, and the name - but isn't it great?
Six short stories by author Tom Bissell, all related to the theme of young Americans adjusting to their situations in Central Asia. The protagonists in each story end up acting differently than they would perhaps expect of themselves in these wartorn, ravaged, desolate or just neglected settings.
Despite being published in 2006 (although written earlier - 1997-2002 according to the Author note), they feel contemporary and relevant. They varied a little in how much I enjoyed them, but were generally well crafted stories.
In the order in which I enjoyed them most:
The Ambassador's Son - leveraging his fathers position, and living it up as a big fish in a small pond, Alec meets a young off the rails missionary and sets about corrupting him further with a trip to a seedy bar. 5/5
Death Defier - Two journo's in Afghanistan must leave the city they have been based to move to a safer area. Their car breaks down and circumstances require them to accept assistance from a man who offers to take them to the next village. 4/5
Aral - An American scientist travels with her team to the Aral Sea for a research project. Her colleagues are struck down by illness and she must proceed alone, to her destination, where she is apprehended by a KGB agent 4/5
God Lives in St Petersburg - A teacher battles with the moral corruption he is living, embroiled with a lover, and a complex situation with his students. 3/5
There were two other stories - Expensive Trips to Nowhere and Animals of our Lives, which just didn't old my attention or work for me. They were 2/5.
This wraps up to being between 3 and 4 stars overall, rounded up to 4.
Six short stories by author Tom Bissell, all related to the theme of young Americans adjusting to their situations in Central Asia. The protagonists in each story end up acting differently than they would perhaps expect of themselves in these wartorn, ravaged, desolate or just neglected settings.
Despite being published in 2006 (although written earlier - 1997-2002 according to the Author note), they feel contemporary and relevant. They varied a little in how much I enjoyed them, but were generally well crafted stories.
In the order in which I enjoyed them most:
The Ambassador's Son - leveraging his fathers position, and living it up as a big fish in a small pond, Alec meets a young off the rails missionary and sets about corrupting him further with a trip to a seedy bar. 5/5
Death Defier - Two journo's in Afghanistan must leave the city they have been based to move to a safer area. Their car breaks down and circumstances require them to accept assistance from a man who offers to take them to the next village. 4/5
Aral - An American scientist travels with her team to the Aral Sea for a research project. Her colleagues are struck down by illness and she must proceed alone, to her destination, where she is apprehended by a KGB agent 4/5
God Lives in St Petersburg - A teacher battles with the moral corruption he is living, embroiled with a lover, and a complex situation with his students. 3/5
There were two other stories - Expensive Trips to Nowhere and Animals of our Lives, which just didn't old my attention or work for me. They were 2/5.
This wraps up to being between 3 and 4 stars overall, rounded up to 4.
December 19, 2020
Tom Bissell is a former Peace Corps volunteer,who spent time in Uzbekistan, in the former Soviet Union.
This is a collection of half a dozen short stories about Americans in Russia,Afghanistan and the "stans",the five Central Asian republics,which were once part of the Soviet Union.
These are very well-written stories,rich in irony, humour and even tragedy about Central Asia,a part of the world which doesn't appear all that often in works of fiction or the news headlines,for that matter.
The stories include the following :
Two journalists in wartime Afghanistan are taken in by a warlord.
A female journalist investigating the Aral Sea environmental disaster is trapped by the KGB.
On a hike through Kazakhstan,a couple's marriage unravels.
The son of an American ambassador gets addicted to the seamy side of a Central Asian city.
A young man,back from his stint in Kyrgystan,finds his relationship with his fiancee destroyed.
A very enjoyable collection.
This is a collection of half a dozen short stories about Americans in Russia,Afghanistan and the "stans",the five Central Asian republics,which were once part of the Soviet Union.
These are very well-written stories,rich in irony, humour and even tragedy about Central Asia,a part of the world which doesn't appear all that often in works of fiction or the news headlines,for that matter.
The stories include the following :
Two journalists in wartime Afghanistan are taken in by a warlord.
A female journalist investigating the Aral Sea environmental disaster is trapped by the KGB.
On a hike through Kazakhstan,a couple's marriage unravels.
The son of an American ambassador gets addicted to the seamy side of a Central Asian city.
A young man,back from his stint in Kyrgystan,finds his relationship with his fiancee destroyed.
A very enjoyable collection.
May 7, 2007
This book of short stories is for those who have tried to put a finger on the loneliness of long-term, immersive travel; it succeeds in describing experiences of emotional confusion and indecision; it is quiet but not dull; in short, this book is really good. However, I think it might hit home only for those who can directly identify with the experiences of the author (though the stories are fiction they are obviously closely tied to his own life), and is definitely for those not in the midst of traveling but who have come home and are trying to make sense of things. That's me. And I liked it.
January 5, 2015
Heavy.
Life is chaos. People are horrifyingly alive and unknowable.
He cannot decide if he is a kind, decent person who sometimes behaves terribly or a terrible person given to outbreaks of decency.
"Death Defier" -- Afghanistan, journalists, warlords, car accident, malaria
"Aral" -- Uzbekistan, female biologist, stranded
"Expensive Trips Nowhere" -- Kazakhstan, boulder-hopping married couple and guide
"The Ambassador's Son" -- Uzbekistan, the son and a failed missionary on his way out of town
"God Lives in St. Petersburg" -- Uzbekistan, missionary/English teacher, boy student, girl student, her mother, the son of a fellow teacher
"Animals in Our Lives" -- returned from Kyrgyzstan, couple, zoo, break-up?
Life is chaos. People are horrifyingly alive and unknowable.
He cannot decide if he is a kind, decent person who sometimes behaves terribly or a terrible person given to outbreaks of decency.
"Death Defier" -- Afghanistan, journalists, warlords, car accident, malaria
"Aral" -- Uzbekistan, female biologist, stranded
"Expensive Trips Nowhere" -- Kazakhstan, boulder-hopping married couple and guide
"The Ambassador's Son" -- Uzbekistan, the son and a failed missionary on his way out of town
"God Lives in St. Petersburg" -- Uzbekistan, missionary/English teacher, boy student, girl student, her mother, the son of a fellow teacher
"Animals in Our Lives" -- returned from Kyrgyzstan, couple, zoo, break-up?
July 16, 2012
I recently returned from a trip to Central Asia and was looking for more insight into the area. Can't say I enjoyed these stories but couldn't stop reading them.
This book includes a group of short stories set in the Central Asian countries of the former Soviet Union except for the last semi-autobiographical story set in the US. Bissell's stories are bleak and he focuses on the darker side of man's nature. Without exception, I found Bissell's characters to be unlikeable and ill prepared for their experiences in a non-American culture.
Read this book for the literary value and not to become better informed about Central Asia.
This book includes a group of short stories set in the Central Asian countries of the former Soviet Union except for the last semi-autobiographical story set in the US. Bissell's stories are bleak and he focuses on the darker side of man's nature. Without exception, I found Bissell's characters to be unlikeable and ill prepared for their experiences in a non-American culture.
Read this book for the literary value and not to become better informed about Central Asia.
March 27, 2013
After recently seeing the movie, "The Loneliest Planet", I was curious to read the short story the movie was based on hence, "God Lives In St. Petersburg" on my reading list. The story "Expensive Trips Nowhere" which was the basis for the movie actually ended up being my least favorite of Bissell's stories, ironically. All the stories take place in Central Asia a few years after the fall of the Soviet Union and they were all definitely interesting and thought provoking. Short stories are not usually my favorite thing to read but I found these quite enjoyable and entertaining......
February 26, 2021
This is the second Tom Bissell book I've read. It is excellent. Can't wait to read more. Bissell is an amazing author. Read this book for the situational clashes wrought by disparate cultures, languages, affairs of state, and affairs of the human heart. Life and death issues are theme elements as are religion and sex, but mostly as natural byproducts of the story. Bissell intertwines sex throughout - natural, heated, surprising - akin to the writings of Annie Proulx. The stories and people are relatable and believable. This is an easy book to read, a hard book to put down.
August 23, 2007
A few stories here made me see that he truly has some insights into the natures of men and women. I was very impressed.
December 20, 2022
Quite bad, with high school level depth and no redeeming characters, plots, settings ... nothing.
"Death Defier" - Anglos in Afghanistan have trouble discerning the intentions and loyalties of their hosts and run into disease and explosives
"Aral" - I read the author's book on this topic - Chasing the Sea - 19 years ago and it was pretty good. So you can imagine my disappointment at this one, about stomach trouble, and an American getting lectured by a grandstanding local.
"Expensive Trips Nowhere" - in more deft hands this tale of a marriage in decline, the cowardly rich husband, and the wounded but aggressive tour guide, could have been good. Not here.
"The Ambassador's Son" - was this parody? Excessive booze and broads and then a run-in with some gangsters. (The Christian in the story cheats on his wife, and then later gets executed and thrown into a sewer. The Christian in the title story rapes children of both sexes. The author's real subtle on his feelings regarding this faith. Also nice touch that the Michigan-born Bissell makes the pederast a Packers fan)
"God Lives in St Petersburg" - I felt bad for the teenage girl, saw why her mother recommended what she did, and of course had contempt for the American teacher
"Animals in our Lives" - weepy, stilted autobiography with the author's stand-in trying to save his relationship with a med student by coming home from half a world away
I have really been striking out on short story collections lately and this was no exception. 1.5 stars rounded up because Chasing the Sea was 3.5 stars rounded down.
"Death Defier" - Anglos in Afghanistan have trouble discerning the intentions and loyalties of their hosts and run into disease and explosives
"Aral" - I read the author's book on this topic - Chasing the Sea - 19 years ago and it was pretty good. So you can imagine my disappointment at this one, about stomach trouble, and an American getting lectured by a grandstanding local.
"Expensive Trips Nowhere" - in more deft hands this tale of a marriage in decline, the cowardly rich husband, and the wounded but aggressive tour guide, could have been good. Not here.
"The Ambassador's Son" - was this parody? Excessive booze and broads and then a run-in with some gangsters. (The Christian in the story cheats on his wife, and then later gets executed and thrown into a sewer. The Christian in the title story rapes children of both sexes. The author's real subtle on his feelings regarding this faith. Also nice touch that the Michigan-born Bissell makes the pederast a Packers fan)
"God Lives in St Petersburg" - I felt bad for the teenage girl, saw why her mother recommended what she did, and of course had contempt for the American teacher
"Animals in our Lives" - weepy, stilted autobiography with the author's stand-in trying to save his relationship with a med student by coming home from half a world away
I have really been striking out on short story collections lately and this was no exception. 1.5 stars rounded up because Chasing the Sea was 3.5 stars rounded down.
October 5, 2017
Ongelooflijk karig boek. Meerdere korte verhalen over Amerikanen die in contact komen met andere culturen wat natuurlijk een mooie premisse is om de Amerikaanse en Westerse culturen in perspectief te plaatsen. Dit doet de schrijver echter helemaal niet en ieder verhaal komt onder de streep neer op de banale aanname dat de Amerikaanse cultuur toch beter is en alle andere (zoals de in het boek genoemde Russische, Afghaanse en Oezbeekse) culturen lomp, gewelddadig en barbaars.
Jammer dat Bissel een mooi uitgangspunt zodanig weet te verzieken.
Jammer dat Bissel een mooi uitgangspunt zodanig weet te verzieken.
April 27, 2023
Bissell's earliest collection still holds up. Bleak, funny--the guy gets around. Did not know until recently he edited The Collected Stories of Richard Yates (!). I'm a fan. His range is wide and complex. I'll read anything of his.
I will add that it's a testament to how much I loved this book that, despite a formatting error in which the text of each page is somewhat swallowed by the gutter (middle) requiring me to read with both both hands and really stretch the spine out of shape that I still LOVE this book. And that fact did inspire me to write a very satisfying flash fiction.
I will add that it's a testament to how much I loved this book that, despite a formatting error in which the text of each page is somewhat swallowed by the gutter (middle) requiring me to read with both both hands and really stretch the spine out of shape that I still LOVE this book. And that fact did inspire me to write a very satisfying flash fiction.
August 26, 2022
Well crafted, yes, but not engaging stories. Every ending was a disappointment. I read only four of the six (trapped on an airplane) and have no interest in continuing.
December 21, 2007
I saw that Ben Fountain, author of Brief Encounters With Che Guevara, was compared to Tom Bissell, and this alone made me curious about him. Then I realized, it was name that I thought I had heard before. Then I realized that I read an interesting piece by him in Harper’s about a trip he took to Vietnam with his father, who was friends with Philip Caputo (author of the Vietnam war memoir A Rumor of War-on my to read shelf). So when I saw a copy of God Lives In St. Petersburg, I snapped it up. It is an engaging and entertaining collection of stories set in the wild days of the post Soviet breakup of the Central Asia, a dangerous and unpredictable place that is not to be taken lightly. Bissell skillfully creates memorable characters and describes telling details and context to make the stories come alive. A journalist gets malaria and is stranded in a remote area without medicine. A couple on the rocks unwisely decides that the antidote to this is “Expensive Trips Nowhere.” A scientist arrives to study the Aral Sea and is kidnapped in a political ploy to bring attention to the people who have been devastated by the pollution to it. A spoiled ambassador’s son goes too far for even central Asia and is exiled back to the US to avoid bringing any more shame upon his parents. In another story an evangelist finds difficulty on preaching to Muslims who have suffered great hardships with little hope in the future.
April 12, 2012
a bit uneven collection of short stories, but the first one is worth it alone to pick up and read. "death defiers" about 3 journos in northern afghanistan in late 2001, so anarchy reigns. bissell wrote a very fine nonfiction about the aral sea (and did peace corps or something before that in the area?) Chasing the Sea: Lost Among the Ghosts of Empire in Central Asia and hits all the high spots in this fiction (kazahkstan, uzbekistan, kyrgystan, tajikistan) with its fundos, sharpers, hopeless russians, and half-forgotten glories and potentials. most all the stories are from pov of a young usaer confronting the other.
i have seen a few of these stories somewhere else, maybe "best non-required reading"? or "best american short stories"? but worth reading a 2nd time for the frisson, exotica, politics, and usually bad choices of the characters.
i have seen a few of these stories somewhere else, maybe "best non-required reading"? or "best american short stories"? but worth reading a 2nd time for the frisson, exotica, politics, and usually bad choices of the characters.
May 18, 2016
Besides being page turners, these stories are funny too. But they are ultimately tragic and dark.
"Death Defier" was written in third person yet remarkably close to the main character, Donk, narrating each of his thoughts and emotions. At the end of the story, Donk dies. It is jarring, almost as if at the end of a first person story the narrator dies. I think it was deliberately done though. It is almost as hard for the reader to accept Donk's death as it was for Donk.
In an Author's Note, Bissell gives the writing order of the stories. "Aral" is his earliest story and "Death Defier" is the most recent. I think the later stories are of a higher quality, which is the best thing that a writer could hope for - to get better with time.
"Death Defier" was written in third person yet remarkably close to the main character, Donk, narrating each of his thoughts and emotions. At the end of the story, Donk dies. It is jarring, almost as if at the end of a first person story the narrator dies. I think it was deliberately done though. It is almost as hard for the reader to accept Donk's death as it was for Donk.
In an Author's Note, Bissell gives the writing order of the stories. "Aral" is his earliest story and "Death Defier" is the most recent. I think the later stories are of a higher quality, which is the best thing that a writer could hope for - to get better with time.
August 9, 2007
As novelists grapple with how to represent that thing we call "globalization" some of them are writing books that portray americans abroad losing their innocence in the face of what their country's foreign policies have done--and Bissell is interested in his character's different modes of complicity as well. These stories strand their protagonists in some seriously bleak places, mostly in central asia, but america is presented as a pretty barren space too. Some of the stories didn't work for me, but "death defier," about journalists on the margins of the invasion of afghanistan, was absolutely amazing, and "the ambassador's son" was hilarious.
June 7, 2009
Positively brilliant. The stories in this collection make me feel so conscious of how appallingly lucky we middle class Americans are, surrounded by "luxury problems" of a too-full to-read shelf, not enough me time, a relentless search for perfect produce, always striving to lose those 10 vanity pounds. We don't even know what hardship is, most of the time. Each story is so inventive and so real and true to the spirit of the place in which it is set. I love Tom Bissell! Thanks to NPR's Selected Shorts for introducing us.
July 31, 2007
Shaddows of characters wandering through never-begun and only partially resolved story-lines. In the space of a few pages, the striking lonliness of the stories' characters manages to strike at the sympathetic part of you which half enjoys being made to cringe. These stories of expats living in Central Asia will be enjoyed by those who simply enjoy good writing and ring painfully true for those of us who live something close to the lives portrayed.
April 8, 2015
Six stories. Each set in Central Asia, except for the last one. Each features an American, far from the known and the familiar. These stories emphasize moods that are reminiscent of the disconnection and the emotional lassitude found in the characters of the works of Paul Bowles. These stories are dark, disturbing, and beautifully written. They are not for the faint of heart; but if you want to go somewhere writers very rarely take you, come along for the ride.
January 22, 2023
The stories of St. Petersburg are bleak, especially the title one, but they are bleak in different ways, sometimes tempered with dry irony, and invariably well written and sharply insightful. Moreover, the focus on Central Asia is fascinating and vivid and specific, unifying the collection beautifully.
Book Riot’s 2015 Read Harder Challenge—Retro! (undertaken in 2018)
3. Read a collection of short stories.
Book Riot’s 2015 Read Harder Challenge—Retro! (undertaken in 2018)
3. Read a collection of short stories.
February 6, 2008
These were wonderful stories! Bissell has a way with figurative language that is really unlike anything I've read recently -- it's very good. The subject matter is basically modern Americans in Central Asia. I don't unusally enjoy that subject, I'm more into the Victorian age in American and England, but I thought these stories were both interesting and engaging.
May 3, 2010
It's so rare a story collection is this solid cover to cover. Nothing even approaching a clunker in the bunch. Also, while it's generally foolish to assume anything in a fictive work is true, I felt like I learned a whole bunch about Central Asia. Either way, Bissell is a great journalist writing great fiction here.
January 5, 2015
Phenomenally written, intense and morbid stories. I found this book to be captivating in a way that makes one unable to understand how someone could not enjoy reading. Very vivid story telling which makes reading fun. This is not a book for all audiences. It is dark and at times repulsive in its descriptions of sin and humanity. 4.5 stars for exceptional writing.
September 9, 2007
Bleak and set in a little-traveled area of the world. I have a lot of respect for Bissell's writing and his knowledge of central Asia, but I wasn't taken in by the stories as much as I would have liked.
March 4, 2008
really strong, tight stories set in the former soviet rebublics, touching on a variety of issues of being away from home and in unfamiliar lands, and the instinct to leave home that brought the characters there. the final story also hits home, of failed reuniting.
March 1, 2010
I liked it; Susan didn't. It's pretty dark, but contains some wry, bitter humor. Most of the stories take place in the Central Asian republics of the former USSR. It doesn't give much hope for progress in that area, at least in the Western sense.
January 19, 2013
Well-crafted short stories paired with well-crafted misogyny. I picked up this book after seeing Julia Loktev's "The Loneliest Planet," which is based on his story, "Expensive Trips Nowhere." Interesting to see the story interpreted into to a film, but not an especially provocative collection.
June 29, 2007
This is a great collection of stories. Some are very powerful and thought provoking. Especially if you live in the area.
July 11, 2007
The title story alone is worth the book. Bissell is something of a sadist with his characters, reminding me of the fabulous stories by Rachel Ingalls, but his twisted humor redeems everything.
February 20, 2008
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