The Enchanted Wanderer and Other Stories

by Nikolai Leskov, Richard Pevear (Translator), Larissa Volokhonsky (Translator)

The award-winning translators of Tolstoy, Dostoevsky, Chekhov, and Gogol now bring us a Russian writer ripe for rediscovery whose earthy and exuberant stories, famous in his own country, have never before been properly translated into English.

Leskov's short stories exploded the traditions of nineteenth-century Russian fiction. Innovative in form and richly playful in language, these 17 tales are visionary and fantastic and yet always grounded in reality, peopled by outsized characters that include serfs, princes, military officers, Gypsy girls, wayward monks, horse dealers, nomadic Tartars, and garrulous storytellers. In stories long considered classics Leskov takes the speech patterns of oral storytelling and spins them in new and startlingly modern ways, presenting seemingly artless yarns that are in fact tremendously sophisticated. And it is the great gift of this new translation to allow us to hear all the unexpected nuance of Leskov's singular voice.

Genres: Short Stories, Fiction, Russia, Classics, Russian Literature, 19th Century, Literature

575 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1967

About the author

also:
Николай Лесков
Nikolaj S. Leskow
Nikolai Leskov
Nikolai Lesskow
Nikolaj Semënovič Leskov
Nikolaĭ Semenovich Leskov
Nikolai Ljeskow
Н. С. Лѣсков-Стебницкий
Микола Лєсков

Nikolai Semyonovich Leskov (Russian: Николай Семёнович Лесков; 16 February 1831 — 5 March 1895) was a Russian novelist, short story writer, playwright, and journalist who also wrote under the pseudonym M. Stebnitsky. Praised for his unique writing style and innovative experiments in form, and held in high esteem by Leo Tolstoy, Anton Chekhov and Maxim Gorky among others, Leskov is credited with creating a comprehensive picture of contemporary Russian society using mostly short literary forms. His major works include Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk (1865) (which was later made into an opera by Shostakovich), The Cathedral Clergy (1872), The Enchanted Wanderer (1873), and "The Tale of Cross-eyed Lefty from Tula and the Steel Flea" (1881).

Leskov was born at his parent's estate in Oryol Gubernia in 1831. He received his formal education at the Oryol Lyceum. In 1847 Leskov joined the Oryol criminal court office, later transferring to Kiev where he worked as a clerk, attended university lectures, mixed with local people, and took part in various student circles. In 1857 Leskov quit his job as a clerk and went to work for the private trading company Scott & Wilkins owned by Alexander Scott, his aunt's English husband. He spent several years traveling throughout Russia on company business. It was in these early years that Leskov learned local dialects and became keenly interested in the customs and ways of the different ethnic and regional groups of Russian peoples. His experiences during these travels provided him with material and inspiration for his future as a writer of fiction.

Leskov's literary career began in the early 1860s with the publication of his short story "The Extinguished Flame" (1862), and his novellas Musk-Ox (May 1863) and The Life of a Peasant Woman (September, 1863). His first novel No Way Out was published under the pseudonym M. Stebnitsky in 1864. From the mid 1860s to the mid 1880s Leskov published a wide range of works, including journalism, sketches, short stories, and novels. Leskov's major works, many of which continue to be published in modern versions, were written during this time. A number of his later works were banned because of their satirical treatment of the Russian Orthodox Church and its functionaries. In his last years Leskov suffered from angina pectoris and asthma. He died on 5 March 1895. He was interred in the Volkovo Cemetery in Saint Petersburg, in the section reserved for literary figures.

Reviews

[E. G. · Rating 5 out of 5]

Introduction
Translators' Note

--The Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk
--The Sealed Angel
--The Enchanted Wanderer
--Singlemind
--The Devil-Chase
--Deathless Golovan
--The White Eagle
--A Flaming Patriot
--Lefty
--The Spirit of Madame de Genlis
--The Toupee Artist
--The Voice of Nature
--A Little Mistake
--The Pearl Necklace
--The Spook
--The Man on Watch
--A Robbery

Notes

[Samir Rawas Sarayji · Rating 2 out of 5]

Considering that Dostoevsky, Chekhov, Tolstoy, and others take Leskov as an inspiration and role model for their own stories and writings, I expected much more from this collection. However, i) I do see how those legendary authors were inspired by some aspect of Leskov: Tolstoy by the morality angle, Dostoevsky by the 'I' unreliable narrator, and Chekhov by the set-up of the tragicomedy stage; ii) I also appreciate the way Leskov touches on the political, social, and moral aspects of society in 19th century Russia, but never at the expense of the story—reminiscent of Dickens. What I love is how he shows every scene and avoids the narrative bog of Dickens.

I think my struggle here is that having read some of the works of the more refined authors he inspired, Leskov's style is too antiquated for my taste, and the over-focus on the moral and religious falls heavy (unlike Tolstoy). My lack of enthusiasm could be due to translation, as I have read that translating Leskov is notoriously difficult, or it could be due to the underlying similarity in much of the stories. I might give this another attempt somewhere in the future, it could also have been the wrong collection to read at the wrong time.

[Igor · Rating 5 out of 5]

I must admit that I hadn't heard about Nikolai Leskov before. This book showed-up in my recommendations of GoodReads. I am glad it did! It has been one amazing read of stories about rural live in Russia, christianity, mercants and nobility, growing up, mystic. Some made me laugh, others (almost) cry, think about live. All are written splendidly and vividly let the reader see what live was in that time, how the people from the lowest bragger to saints and princes thought and behaved.

I read the Ebook version, translated by Richard Peaver and Larissa Volokhonsky, and it contains the following short stories:
The Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk: not the best of Leskov's stories, but a nice start nonetheless.
The Sealed Angel: truly amazing! I am not a religious person, yet this story about a group of 'old believers' who saw their icons being sealed in wax by the authority is superb. It shows in detail how they pray and believe and go in search of an icon painter to help them, without ever reaching a point of dull 'forced' religious lessons. Leskov himself had great respect for the old believers, and he managed to turn that respect in writing in a way that shows both their due and made the reader see them in the same light.
The Enchanted Wanderer: The title story and also the longest. It's about a man who tells his live story from being a poor orphan boy all the way to being an old man who goes to a monastry to become a monk. A story about a time in Russia that I can hardly imagine how it must have been, yet Leskov does a great job in telling about it. A story about a man's destiny that is both heartbreaking and loving.
Singlemind: What happens when a man reads the bible, and only the bible, and makes his own faith? Singlemind is your answer. The reactions of his fellow citizens when a count (or was it a prince?) comes is very funny.
The Devil-chase: I didn't really enjoy this story, but well, it's also one of the shortest.
Deathless Golovan: Another great read! It shows how the live was back in the 1800's in rural Russia. It's about a man from Orel where Leskov grew-up. It's about the different kinds of christiany living side by side. About trusting your neightbour, caring for him and her, fearing of the plaque. I enjoined this story a lot.
The White Eagle: Here Leskov turns more towards the nobility. It's about a man who's on a mission that will earn him a reward. I didn't understood it fully I'm afraid.
A Flaming Patriot: I must have missed this one, can't say what it was about.
Lefty: Here Leskov turns back toward the true artists of the old believers again. What when your souverein asks you to make something better then the English have done in just a short time? You pray! And not in the church around the corner, no, you go on a journey first and let your faith give you a solution. This story also let's the reader show the difference between the Russian and the English approach to archive greatness. I'm from the Netherlands myself, yet stories like these inspire me to go and learn more about the Russian culture. I loved this story!
The Spirit of Madame de Genlis: Short and very funny. I won't spoil it for you. ;)
The Toupee Artist: One of the saddest stories in this collection. You know how it is going to end from the first page, yet when I got there I was like "No! That can't be!" It shows in detail the live the serfs had to enjure sometimes where their master was as cruel as can be. It's a great story to read about, heartbreaking.
The Voice of Nature: A short story (oké they all are, a shorter then average story). It shows how the people back then and there acted in generosity. Not the best one, but a nice read nonetheless.
A Little Mistake: Be carefull what you wish for, it might just come true. Or in this case: be carefull what you ask others to pray for in your name.
The Pearl Necklace: A small story about a man who is known for giving nothing when his daughters go in marriage, and how another man is in love with his youngest daughest. A good story about love and family live.
The Spook: One of the best story, amazing! It's about a man who is mistrusted by everyone in Orel during the time that Leskov himself was just a young boy there. It has a christian/ humanitary lesson, yet it is a great read even for an atheïst like I am. It shows again how the rural live in Russia was in the 1800's, the faith of the people including the faith in spirits. It's a story that is still alive today, a lesson that we can all take to heart.
The Man on Watch: Short, witty, funny. A sentry on watch spots a man in the freezing waters of the Neva, St. Petersburg. He is not allowed to leave his post on any condition, yet his soul cries to rescue that man. What to do?
A robbery: Fear the hour of the thieves! A story about how things can go wrong in the dark. Also a story about the upbringing of the rich in a small town. And on top a story about the search for a new priest for the church. It all blends together in a good story.

[Madeleine · Rating 5 out of 5]

My review is up at The Quarterly Conversation: http://quarterlyconversation.com/the-...

[Moon Rose (M.R.) · Rating 4 out of 5]

The works of Nikolai Leskov are diminutive not just in length, but it seems to also appear on the onset less in contextual form in comparison to the somewhat light seeking, of highfalutin divine derivation known to the great Russian writers of the 19th century. In its briefly short and concise form elucidated by his simple straightforward narrative are stories that most often than not hide the true nature of his literary intention as it can abruptly pass by a reader′s mind leaving without much impression. To appreciate the beauty in Leskov′s works is to learn to stop and smell the flowers as the old saying goes. It is to course through the bucolic similarities of his works in its utter simplicity as it profoundly becomes the sheer ingredients necessary to picture the culture and tradition enveloping the Russian peasantry of the 19th century.

The perceived impoverishment of literature was connected first of all with the multiplication of railroads, which are very useful for commerce, but harmful for artistic literature. Today man travels a lot, but quickly and painlessly and therefore he doesn′t accumulate any strong impressions, he has no time to observe anything---everything slip by. Hence the poverty.

The richness of Leskov's narrative prose is infused with the keenest observation reflecting a deep contemplation of the true nature of the Russian life as he oscillates between a tinge of spirituality and the exactness of realism to depict the beliefs, morals and passions of the Russian people as perhaps his collective works represent closer to its true spirit especially that of the peasantry, to whom a great deal of faith is put upon by Dostoevsky for his country′s salvation. ☾☯

[Paul Fulcher · Rating 3 out of 5]

How wonderful to see a book marketed on the strength of the translation - "A Pevear and Volokhonsky translation" reads the blurb at the very top of the front cover, albeit in smaller print than the author/title, and the dust jacket on the inside rear contains not details of the author but rather a picture and bio of the translators.

The husband and wife team of Richard Pevear and Larissa Volokhonsky have managed, via their wide-ranging versions of Dostoevsky, Bulgakov, Tolstoy, Gogol - and now of course Leskov - to become that very rare breed of translator, literary celebrities in their own right.

That being said, while I personally loved their versions of Dostoevsky in particular, which to me are the best done of his works, their style and method of working (*) isn't without it's controversial nature, and indeed their very prominence inflames the debate, as does their own active engagement, to put it politely, with their critics.

For more on the debate I would point anyone to this wonderful overview - the comments after the article include a robust response from Pevear and Volokhonsky.

http://xixvek.wordpress.com/2013/08/0...

In particular, and rather paraphrasing a lengthy and more subtle debate, they tend to lean away from using contemporary expressions and remain faithful to the style of the novel's time - in other words they tend to translate late 19th Century Russian into something closer to late 19th Century than early 21st Century English.

And in the case of Leskov, I found the result - to use a highly non-technical term - rather clunky: stories that I suspect read reasonably naturally to the original native readers, feel a little idiomatic in the translation. That said I certainly haven't checked the original - so this is based purely on my impressions, and a comparison to other translations, which I tend to prefer. Just to give a tiny example, there are various points when the story indicates that one character recounts to another the previous events - their preferred formation is the rather anachronistic "it happened thus and so".

Well, so far I've written a 300+ word review and haven't touched on the actual stories themselves - but given the usual lack of attention paid to translation, I make no apologies for that.

So to the stories: most are told as a tale within a tale, by a narrator introduced in a brief opening sketch - e.g. a stranger interrupting a discussion in a tavern to proffer a tale as an example, or often counterexample - typically involving "one of the three righteous men without whom no city can stand" as the original foreword to one of the stories presented Leskov's desired objective. The result is enjoyable but rather simple.

We're told in the publisher's blurb that Leskov "was Chekhov's favourite writer", "greatly admired by Tolstoy" and, by the wonderful Alberto Manguel, that "without Leskov there would be no Bulgakov, no Chekhov, but also no Garcia Marquez and Julio Cortazar".

The obvious retort is that while literature is then extremely indebted to Leskov, and I'm very glad that those authors all read him, I'd rather read their resulting work than his original efforts.

Overall - enjoyable but not vital.

(* It's rude to repeat, but a fellow and rival translator, Donald Rayfield provided the pointed if rather unfair summary "he with little Russian, she with her imperfect English).

[Blackwell Boyce · Rating 4 out of 5]

After X-number of years living in Russia and other countries of the former Soviet Union, I confess I only became aware of Nikolai Leskov this year (not via the new Pevear & Volokhonsky translation). Russians and Ukrainians are familiar with Leskov, and his books are readily available in this part of the world - but they don’t talk about him much. Mind you, Tolstoy or Dostoevsky aren’t talked about that much either; the only book people here seem to love to rave about is ‘Master and Margarita’. This may have something to do with the fact that the old greats (including some Leskov) were required reading in school, whereas M & M was definitely not on the curriculum (I’m not speaking of the post-perestroika generation).
I greatly enjoyed virtually all the stories of this collection. I liked the structure of the title story, where the protagonist goes from one adventure to another, from misfortune to good fortune over and over. I also liked the Sealed Angel… the intensity of the religious passion/superstition, and the curiousity of the English bridge-builder. Overall I loved the strangeness of the stories, the richness of detail, and the language (P & V’s translation is excellent as usual!).
As is fitting, since he was describing the working-class, Leskov’s stories are a more direct, physical exploration of the nature of good and evil when compared with Dostoevsky’s cerebral novels with their metaphysically-tortured characters who come from a better educated segment of society. And for the same reason Leskov is less ambiguous than Chekhov, whose characters tend to be caught up in their own emotions.

[Andrew]

Couldn't find it here, but I read the most recent Knopf iteration of this collection-- the big several hundred page fucker. I hadn't read Leskov before, and felt I might as well dive right in.

Years ago, I read the Walter Benjamin essay about Leskov, which piqued my interest. And, as you might expect with a volume this thick, with stories ranging from all points in the man's career, the stories ranged from the lovely to the meh. The underlying theme throughout is that Russia is not quite Europe. Now this isn't to say that Leskov was a Slavophil writer-- he's much too subtle for nationalism and heroics. Rather, Leskov chooses to paint the most bassackwards part of the European continent with love, complete with tortured saints and murderesses and bouncing steel fleas. Perhaps I should have taken these stories in one at a time, slowly, over years, but I quite enjoyed swallowing the cake whole.

[Yogeeswar · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very old hardcover I found in my sister's collection. I had my doubts about reading this, but I absolutely had nothing else left in home, so I started it anyway. It is a collection of five short stories. I loved the first one, Lady Macbeth of Mtensk. I thought the second, The Enchanted Wanderer was peculiar, in every way and the longest. The other three stories were soothing.

[Greg]

I found this new hardback edition for $5 in a remainder bookstore. I read the Introduction and two of the stories. Very dark and depressing. The style is factual and dry.
I did not continue.

[Nicole Roccas · Rating 5 out of 5]

Discovering this new-to-me Russian storyteller by chance in my library's Libby app was the blast of vodka-scented fresh air I didn't know I needed. Having read most of the fiction by Tolstoy and Dostoevsky and ALL of Chekov's short stories, I was slowly reaching a point where I will have read all of my favourite Russian authors' works. Not anymore! Leskov, a contemporary of Dostoevsky and influencer of Chekov, is right up there with the greats--with tasting notes of the picaresque and Old Believer to put some hair on your chest.

[Dan Graser · Rating 4 out of 5]

Leskov is an author that I completely missed when I traversed the great Russian canon of literature several years ago and what a shame because these 17 stories are a unique delight. Having recently heard his name mentioned yet again as the author of the story that was the basis for Shostakovich's opera, "Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk," I was pointed to this wonderful edition by Pevear and Volokhonsky. Now obviously, I am no Leskov scholar so I can only judge this translation by its readability and on that front it certainly succeeds.

While there is an element of the fantastical and the extremities of human emotion, Leskov is much more even-handed with this style than some of his contemporaries and successors like Chekhov and Gogol. His subjects are not the metropolitan elite of 19th century Russia but the working class and muzhiks of his native Orel. Though some of his shorter works towards the end of the collection display a playfulness and ease with irony, it is the major works that linger most potently in my mind having finished this volume.

Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk has a relentlessly brutal and dry delivery while examining gender/sex roles in Russian society of the time. Not an easy read and such a gut-punch of a conclusion. The Enchanted Wanderer is a brilliant though seemingly at times aimless tract on loss of spiritual sense and self-discovery. Never too fantastical, it maintains a grounding in the every day that makes it a more human exploration than sublime portrayal. The prose is not as stylish as many other authors of the day however it is interesting to see how many critics and authors find Leskov to be the most authentically, "Russian," author of the well-known Russian authors. Perhaps it is his economy of words or his avoidance of the affairs of the oligarchy, nevertheless these stories remain eminently readable and a wonderful addition to any collection of Russian fiction.

[Nathalie (keepreadingbooks) · Rating 3 out of 5]

First half: 2.5 stars - second half: 3.5 stars

”But I have little faith; it does not give my mind the power to contemplate such loftiness: I am of the earth, earthy. I am thinking of those mortals who love the good simply for the sake of the good itself and expect no reward for it anywhere. These straightforward and reliable people, it seems to me, should also be perfectly pleased by the holy impulse of love and the no less holy patience of the humble hero of my faithful and artless story.”

I started this tome back in September, got about halfway and then had to take a break. Many of the stories that make up the first half of the book were rather heavy and much longer than needed – especially the title story, The Enchanted Wanderer, drained me of energy. I still wanted to finish it, as I did enjoy a number of the stories, so I decided to read a story here and there in between other reads. That worked well. And then we reached December and the compulsive part of me wanted very much to finish the entire thing before the new year, so I resolved to read the rest.

Luckily, the second half was much more to my liking than the first. The stories were entertaining, engaging, and quickly read. It’s a fascinating and extremely varied look into Russian life in the late 18th and early 19th centuries, dealing both with Princes and Counts as well as peasants and townsfolk and everything in between, in a large collection of different stories that illuminate certain aspects of life and religion in that time period.

If you’re a seasoned reader of classic Russian literature, I would recommend picking this one up, too (and practice your patience during some of the longer stories) – many argue that Leskov is one you need to read. If you’re new to the genre, however, I don’t think this is the place to start. I’d recommend Nikolai Gogol’s Petersburg Tales instead!

/NK

[Bryan--The Bee’s Knees · Rating 4 out of 5]

Charming seems to be a bit of an old fashioned word, but it also seems to describe these stories of Nikolai Leskov's to a T. These are not sophisticated stories--they are very rustic, almost like folk tales, but he seems to transmit something very real about the mid-nineteenth century Russian experience (which, of course, I have to take on faith). But there's a genuineness about the stories that make it hard to believe Leskov didn't have his finger on the pulse of the society he wrote about: the peasant, the monk, the soldier, the minor aristocrat; in short, the common run of people.

This particular edition is an older one, published by Noonday press, and contains only six of Leskov's stories:

Lady Macbeth of Mtensk District (source of Shostakovich's opera)
The Enchanted Wanderer
The Left-Handed Craftsman
The Sentry
The White Eagle

While I enjoyed them all, it may have been the first that I liked the most. These stories were translated by David Magarshack, with and introduction by V.S. Pritchett, and it appears that, other than a title change, this is the same as the newer modern library edition (The Enchanted Wanderer: Selected Tales.) There is also a larger volume, with, I presume, more stories, translated by Pevear and Volokhonsky--The Enchanted Wanderer and Other Stories. While I don't think there was anything in this translation to make it feel insufficient, I would probably pick up the P&V translation just for the extra stories.

[Marc Gerstein · Rating 4 out of 5]

I’m reviewing the Enchanted Wanderer, a short novel included in this story collection.

It’s in the picaresque genre but has some unique takes on it. Instead of featuring a low-status ne’er do well, Ivan, the protagonist here, is a person of character in a hard-living sort of way. He likes to cut loose with vodka and can do crazy things when plastered, but there is a sense of morality in him. Many picaresque protagonists never change; they drift from adventure to adventure. But in Ivan’s case, there is definitely a coherent albeit twisted journey that starts with him refusing to enter a monastery (and therefore breaking a promise his mother made that she would devote her child to God) to ultimately entering and the monastery and although getting into a bit of trouble there too, ultimately flourishing. Other unique twists are the narrative style (instead of a standard first-person recitation, Ivan is continually coaxed into telling his story by others who are traveling with him and we share in the sense his listeners probably felt when, just as it seems Ivan approaching his final resolution, it turns out we ain’t seen nothin yet) and the fact that unlike many other Russian classics, the focus here is not on the aristocracy but average guy and not one who is discontented with or oppressed by rebels against his station in life but one who comfortably takes it in stride and, later in the work, actually rejects a move upward.

[Pessoa · Rating 5 out of 5]

They are not the best of stories. They are not the worst of stories. Each one is filled with simplicity, humanity, and a kind of storytelling that is no longer in fashion. There is a lot of telling instead of showing what is happening as if each story contains a core so precious that it cannot be left to the reader’s imagination to figure it out. They are what stories used to be like: characters doing interesting things, writers not relying on pompous words and tedious literary descriptions.

[Nicky Neko · Rating 3 out of 5]

OK OK OK. I only read half of this. But it's a long book, I started it back in February, and I'm just sick of the sight of it. I can't be arsed finishing it, and I feel like I made enough of an effort to add it as 'read'. So there we go! Maybe I'll come back and read the second half in the future, but you know... life is pretty fucking short.

[Sean · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was fun to discover a new 19th century Russian writer. Leskov lacks the sophistication of Dostoyevsky, but he does offer up the quotidian very well. There are stories with fantastical elements, but they too remain largely grounded in reality. I can't say I loved his writing, but I would recommend this book to any devotee of Russian literature interested in discovering something new.

[TAB · Rating 3 out of 5]

I am finally able to close 2014's chapter of in-depth reading of Russian literature with the conclusion of this collection of tales by Nikolai Leskov. He is not a name that I knew before starting out like Tolstoy or Dostoyevsky, but he is just as important and if not more in the way that he pulls back the curtain of what is truly the majority of Russia. There are stories in this collection of landowners, soldiers and aristocrats like most of Russian literature, but there are also heartbreaking tales of tradesmen, muzhiks and exiles.

The sad part about some of these stories that I eventually came to expect and accept was that often they would end in a way that I thought abrupt; the story as it were had reached a conclusion but being used to having an overarching moral or criticism, I often furrowed my brow and strained to figure it out. Only after many of these stories and reading the introduction did I realize that they don't need to make Western sense. The quote in the introduction I found from Leskov sums up my feelings even more clearly:

"In the articles in your newspaper it is said that I have mainly copied living persons and recounted actual incidents. Whoever the author of those articles is--he is perfectly right. I have a gift for observation and perhaps a certain aptitude for analyzing feelings and motives, but I have little fantasy. I invent painfully and with difficulty, and therefore I have always needed living persons whose spiritual content interested me. They would take possession of me, and I would try to incarnate them in stories, which I also quite often based on real events.”

My favorite stories in this collection are "Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk", "Deathless Golovan", "The Spirit of Madame de Genlis" and "The Spook". This last one in particular I have great affection for as it harrowingly depicts how rumour and prejudice can exile someone for no reason at all to the outskirts of society even when they are the most righteous of us all.

[Khadijah Qamar · Rating 5 out of 5]

This edition is another brilliant chapter in the careers of translators Richard Pevear and Larissa Volokhonsky, particularly because Leskov is considerably underexposed in comparison to the other great Russian authors the couple usually translate. Although you can sense a pervasive "Russianism" in his writing, his short stories are quite distinct from the likes of Tolstoy, Chekhov, or Dostoevsky. His focus is undoubtedly "rural", and his stories wander along the Russian countryside, among old, isolated villages and to the edges of the Tartar steppe. Here life takes on magical and mythical properties, where religious fuses with superstition to tell stories that are at once fantastical and quite common place. My favorite story is "The Sealed Angel", which gives insight into Russia's clan of Old Believers, who remain fervently attached to their traditions and the unshakable belief that God and His angels protect them. Many of the stories share themes of religiosity, asceticism, rural life, etc, and reading them in conjunction gives a feeling of time as cyclical, rather than linear. This is accentuated by the "oral fable" feel of many of the stories, where a narrator is telling the story to an audience who frequently interrupts. In contrast to the stories of other famous Russian authors, these stories have a decidedly more "Eastern" feeling, and do not pander to European ideas of progress, culture, or civilization like many other Russian stories of the time. For this reason, I felt that many of these stories would not have been out of place in an anthology of Sufi South Asia, or in another Islamic context. Overall, the volume is delightful, but reading it should be spaced out over time, because, as I noted, it's cyclical nature endangers a quick read-through as repetitive.

[Adam Spargo · Rating 5 out of 5]

This collection of short (with some exceptions) stories is one of the most profound groupings of fiction I have read so far, especially within the scope of Russian Literature. Leskov, I actually accidentally stumbled upon at the library, but was immediately drawn to my favorite translators, Richard Pevear and Larissa Volokhonsky, and was even further intrigued when I saw that Leskov was actually inspiration for Tolstoy and Chekhov.

I'll admit that I was initially thrown off from the style of Leskov, as it is not the same, or even remotely the same, as any other Russian author I had been used to. He tells his tales as fables (reminded me of similar stories as Paul Bunyan or other folk tales) that warp the fantastical events of a "holy" protagonist alongside the more human individuals he interacts with. I think, alongside being thrown off due to the fantastical nature, I also had to take some time to adjust to the increased use of Russian Orthodox knowledge, as well as another group of "Old Believers" who are shunned by the church due to their schism in previous years. Leskov was very interested in these individuals during his lifetime, so the Old Believers are a very prominent part of many of his stories and so is understanding their removed role from tradition (such as baptisms and other church events). I am not normally very informed in this area, so I was worried this would be lost upon me, but I found myself actually becoming further and further invested as the stories showcased how these "holy" men come in all shapes, sizes and viewpoints.

Funnily enough, this collection started with The Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk, which was the farthest cry from a religious short story I have ever read. It takes a rather successful woman down a warpath of endless cheating and "lovers' zeal". She is determined to remove anything in her path that may prevent her from getting money or further happiness, and she will, and does, kill anyone that gets in her way. One that twists and turns constantly, but discusses murder and cheating is such carefree context.

The Sealed Angel and The Enchanted Wanderer are where we really start to take off with the religious zeal. The Sealed Angel is all about a group of masons building a bridge who are all members of the Old Believers. Their main point of pride is their ikons, as they are unique to their faith and have specific ikon painters that need to make them in the old ways, and this story follows the group's adventures in attempting to fix a stolen ikon and get it back. The Enchanted Wanderer is quite lengthy and a bit obtuse, as I felt it could have been shortened a bit towards the end, but discusses the wanderings of a man destined to suffer until he eventually joins a monastery later in life to become a monk. He had a wide variety of stories to tell from all over Russia and its territories, and a lot of his discussions with his audience were faith-based and discussed his own version of finding God and his own purpose. Again, not a typical read for me, but something about the context and the effect of it being a tall tale that allowed me to buy into this Wanderer being an intriguing nomad rather than a rambling lunatic.

Some of the smaller stories in between this and his other major works did not stand out as much, but I was impressed that he had such a wide range of stories. Singlemind is a similar premise to The Enchanted Wanderer, where everyone is enthralled by a man that seems to know all without speaking much and only keeping a diary of his thoughts. Deathless Golovan was rather sad but was a very interesting setup. The narrator is someone who was just a boy when he met Golovan, so he always has some rose-tinted glasses regarding his legendary status, but as he tells the story he pieces together the myths with reality and what we are left with is a man who somehow exceeds this legendary status by being just a man that did all of these incredible things for others.

Lefty and The Spook were maybe my favorite of the longer short stories (although the last one A Robbery was also good for a different reason), as they had characters you were rooting for and again subverted all expectations. Lefty is rather sad, but is made more complete in the end due to the explanation behind Leskov's stance on faith and due rewards. Lefty is a tradesman that gives everything for his trade and his people, and for that he would receive God's graces in due time, but he never complained along the way or felt he deserved more. The Spook might be my favorite of this collection (but again that is hard to nail down as I like them all), as it highlights the impressions we gather may not be what they seem. The whole town avoids a man's inn due to him being referred to as "The Spook" from all the strange happenings that occur near the inn in the forest. Our main character grows interested and eventually wants to meet this mythical man and see his inn. Without spoiling too much, this meeting eventually occurs and slowly perceptions shift surrounding the real nature of this man and his unfortunate lot in life.

A Robbery is the last main story I will address, as it also has some wonderful twists and turns. This one is somewhat tied to religion but is much morally based and calls into question who a dangerous person in times of crisis really is. Sometimes that line is much more blurred than we would like to admit.

On an aside, Leskov also had this knack for humor just like the authors that followed him, and he did it in the same wonderful Russian style. For those he has such short stories as: The Spirit of Madame de Genlis (my favorite punch line personally), The Toupee Artist (tragicomedy really), A Little Mistake and The Man on Watch (again, tragicomedy).

As of yet I'm unsure how much further works he has completed, but he is an author I have a lot of admiration for and want to find others who tell stories in similar old-school ways.

[Greg · Rating 5 out of 5]

Enchanting and fascinating page turner.

[Ostap Bender · Rating 2 out of 5]

A collection of short stories by Nikolai Leskov (1831-1895) translated by the prolific husband/wife duo of Pevear and Volokhonsky. Leskov is a lesser known author today, but he was praised in his day by Tolstoy and Chekhov, among others. In general he tried to paint a picture of the Russian life he saw, one which lagged behind the West and which was full of contradictions, and he did this in a folksy way.

There is a mysticism that pervades these stories: they describe a world where madmen are consulted as oracles, superstition floats like a mist on daily lives, and demons and spirits are accepted. The book offers a glimpse into the 19th century, where serfs are brutally treated and tortured, conservatives bemoan the railroad as a harmful factor to literature, marriage is decided in a first meeting, and corruption abounds. It is hard to read at times, such as when a puppy’s appetite is reduced by having it drink melted tin or lead in “The Spook”, but those types of things aren’t dwelt upon.

The five stories I really liked were “The Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk”, “Lefty”, “The Toupee Artist”, “The Pearl Necklace”, and “The Spook”, but I won’t try to describe their plots. The strongest, “Lefty”, works because of its honesty, which reflected both praise for the Russian craftsman as well as a criticism of life in Russia, leaving interpretation open to the observer, as all great art does. Unfortunately for Leskov, in the charged political times he was living in, it left him open to attacks from both conservatives and liberals.

And unfortunately there were twelve other stories in this collection which, while not horrible, were less interesting to me, and this made the overall 575 page book a bit of a slog to get through. It’s uneven, and if you were ever to have an interest in Leskov, I would suggest a much smaller volume to start with, focusing on the works above.

Quotes:
On corruption, from “Singlemind”:
“…the mayor judged that in a Russian way: ‘The law is like a horse: wherever you want to go, you turn its head so.’”

On cruelty, from “The Toupee Artist”, no it’s not unique to modern times:
“There were secret cellars under the whole house where people lived chained up like bears. Going past, you could sometimes hear the chains clank and the fettered people moan. They probably wanted news of them to reach us or for the authorities to hear it, but the authorities did not dare even to think of intervening.”

On kissing, and a comment on the dryness of marriage, from “The Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk”:
“’Then why did you kiss me that way?’
Sergei said nothing at all.
‘It’s only husbands and wives,’ Katerian Lvovna went on, playing with his curls, ‘who shake the dust off each other’s lips like that. Kiss me so that these young apple blossoms over us fall to the ground. Like this, like this,’ Katerian Lvovna whispered, twining around her lover and kissing him with passionate abandon.”

Followed later by:
“The old clerk, asleep in the shed, began to hear through his sound sleep, in the stillness of the night, now whispering and quiet laughter, as if mischievous children were discussing some wicked way to mock feeble old age; now ringing and merry laughter, as if mermaids were tickling somebody. It was all Katerina Lvovna frolicking and playing with her husband’s young clerk, basking in the moonlight and rolling on the soft rug. White young blossoms from the curly apple tree poured down on them, poured down, and then stopped pouring down. Meanwhile, the short summer night was passing; the moon hid behind the steep roofs of the tall storehouses and looked askance at the earth, growing dimmer and dimmer; a piercing cat duet came from the kitchen roof, then spitting, angry snarling, after which two or three cats, losing hold, tumbled noisily down a bunch of boards leaning against the roof.”

On love, from “The Pearl Necklace”:
“You think that when you’re in love with a woman you look at her in a reasoning way, but in fact you only gaze in wonder all the day.”

On love lost, from “The Enchanted Wanderer”:
“Who am I going to sing for! You’ve turned cold, and I want my song to make someone’s soul burn and suffer.”

On melancholy, and 19th century cures, from “Deathless Golovan”:
“…his daughter, who suffered from ‘the disease of melancholy’ and was to be cured. All the known remedies of folk poetry and creativity had been tried on her: she had been made to drink stimulating elecampane, had had powdered peony root poured all over her for repulsing phantoms, had been given wild garlic to sniff, so as to straighten the brain in her head, but nothing helped, and now she was being taken to saint…”

On psychoses, and 19th century treatment, from “The Toupee Artist”:
“She wound up in the cattle yard, because there were suspicions that she might have gone a bit crazy. People who became like beasts were tested among beasts, because cattlemen were elderly and sedate, and it was thought they could ‘look after’ psychoses.”

On religion, from “Singlemind”:
“’He’s read up the Bible.’
‘What a fool thing to do!’
‘Yes, he read it out of boredom and can’t forget it.’
‘A real fool! Now what are we to do with him?’
…
All Orthodox people in Russia know that, if someone has read through the Bible and ‘gone as far as Christ,’ he cannot very well be expected to act reasonably; such people are rather like holy fools – they behave oddly, but harm nobody, and are not to be feared.”

[Liza Jane · Rating 5 out of 5]

These are very much “tales” :) Even though I read “the enchanted wanderer” in a short time, the monk’s journey followed so many paths, that by the end of it, it was difficult to recount where he’d been. But really, a page turner! and quite endearing. Throughout, Leskov seems to be between traditional superstition and Kleist-like irony (absurdity)

[Hugh Coverly · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read the last story, A Robbery, today. The story starts out well but quickly becomes a farcical comedy of errors.

The stories are very interesting, some more so than others, but a very good collection of short stories.

[Debbie · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Enchanted Wanderer is one of the Boxall 1001... I preferred Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk

[Lawrence · Rating 5 out of 5]

These are the most marvelous stories of 19th century country Russia. They have the great expansive, speculative quality of gossip and the human interest of journalism about a far-off place and time. Additionally, Mr. Leskov never withdraws and speaks as the author. Rather, the stories are what people do and say about themselves and their situations. It's like being a fly on the wall.

And what a world. One sees how deeply religion is embedded in the people in the story, and one comes to realize why the Bolsheviks took such a hardline against it: it was too strong a cultural and traditional force. The reader goes out into snowstorms, bundles up, drinks tea and stronger, jumps into sleighs and coaches, and so forth, becoming a part of the day-to-day life of the characters.

Here are some of my favorite stories. First, The Sealed Angel. This is a story populated by outsiders -- the Old Believers, a schismatic sect. It's really a story with two plots. There is the reader's plot: How will the Old Believers regain their icon of the angel? And there is the characters' plot: What is the what, where, when and how of the way of worship? The two plots come together at the end. In the meantime, enjoy the building of the chain bridge across the Dnieper River at Kiev and the journey on foot of the two young men in search of a worthy icon painter.

Next, The Deathless Golovan, the story of a secular saint and the outskirts of a town. Here, the protagonist never speaks. He is seen only through the voices of others. At the end, the mystery of his impressive personality and behavior is resolved to any gossip's highest standard of satisfaction.

There is a beautiful story called The Spook that combines the world of childhood superstition with the power of society to ostracize and scapegoat. And then there is The Toupee Artist which provides an insight into the nature of the institution of serfdom, Russia's system of slavery over its own. The story is dedicated to "the blessed day" that is the date of the legal emancipation of the serfs.

Last, I'll mention A Robbery, a story about a mama's boy of 19 years with a physique that never need fear a fistfight. The story is a little bit about how he grows up within the strict confines of his culture. But the main pleasure is those scenes where he defers to his mother and is shamelessly within her power while in the presence of a roughish uncle. This is a kind of universal story.

So, as can be seen, Mr. Leskov wrote more than just the famous The Lady MacBeth of Mtsensk Province that provided the libretto for Shostakovich's opera of the same name. Lawrence says you should try them!


Someone described the stories as having the characteristics of fable. I don't think so. There is one story, The Enchanted Wanderer, which seems fable-like in its many progressive episodes. But it is a story that gets more and more intense until it becomes a whirlwind. And it's really all about how the protagonist belongs in and eventually attains to the monastic life!

is a whirlwind of story. m as having the characteristics of fable. But I think they They are filled with people and scenes I have not seen before in that fiction -- Old Believers, monks, provincial town bureaucrats, peasants, secular saints, ruffians, the shunned, etc., etc.

[Katherine · Rating 4 out of 5]

*General question: Does anyone really gnash their teeth, or does that only happen in Russian literature?

“Kneel, first of all. Man’s knees are the first instrument: as soon as you kneel, your soul at once soars up…”(225).
“...his mother, who by then had become old and, with dimming eyesight, now baked worse pies than before” (235).
“Now it was Lanskoy who smiled: the constable greatly interested his soul, which was no stranger to warmth” (259).
“‘Oh, very simple, brother: pray and then do as you would if you had to die at once. Tell me: what would you do in that case?’” (282).
“All this Pavla did with her slender hands, in eternal silence, looking at God’s world from under her Persian eyebrows” (285).
“The grass was so short that the sheep and goats had barely enough, and the thick-lipped cows could take little” (291).
“And it was already quite light by then, dawn was blushing…” (293).
“...but since he was a simple Russian man--they spent a long time breaking him of it, poked him with poles, threw dung at him and a dead cat…” (297). *Poor guy.
“‘Righteous happiness doesn’t step over anybody, sinful happiness steps over everything’” (319).
“The situation harmonized beautifully with the social reality” (343).
“...Anna Fetisovna was a flaming patriot and suffered from a passion for generalizations” (348).
“Thus evil always generates more evil and is defeated only by the good, which, in the words of the Gospel, makes our eye and heart clean” (493).
“‘...I have all our money for the business with me...There’s enough to dump our torn deacon on the nuns and lure your mighty one to us…’” (523).
“‘...they eat some eight pounds of bread alone, besides other things’” (523).
“‘...do not fall asleep in a secluded place, lest your costly trousers be taken off you…’” (546). *Sound advice.


-From the Notes at the back of the book:
“...splayed out on the boundless sofa…” (563).
“‘Can it be,’ I thought, ‘that in my or his or any other Russian soul there really is nothing to be seen but trash? Can it be that all the goodness and kindness ever noticed by the artistic eye of other writers is simply stuff and nonsense? That is not only sad, it’s frightening. If, according to popular belief, no city can stand without three righteous men, how can the whole earth stand with nothing but the trash that lives in my soul and yours, dear reader?’” (564-565).
“The city of Tula had four specialties: firearms, samovars, gingerbread, and lace” (570).

[Leah Rachel von Essen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nikolai Leskov's short stories have been underrated and under-read over the years. He wrote from around the 1860s to the 1880s; his stories are difficult to translate, but it's still surprising to see how much he fell out of the traditional grouping of the Russian canon, given that Tolstoy was a fan and that Chekhov once called him "my favorite writer." Luckily, we now have this translation by formidable pair Richard Pevear and Larissa Volokhonsky. The Enchanted Wanderer and Other Stories has one novella and 16 tales by the author.

Leslov used the mildly fantastic to write realist stories of peasant and everyday life. His stories are full of foolish ghosts and strange occurrences, of intriguingly good people, of absurdity. But most of all, they are about stories spreading in small towns, legends slowly being born through superstition, suspicion, and rumor. In "The Spook," a town grows convinced that the quiet innkeeper who lives in the forest is a sorcerer to be feared. In "Deathless Golovan," a man is made into a legend, though the facts of his story are not well understood. Leslov told many of his stories with framing devices, as if he had heard them from other storytellers, insisting they were all true, and this even led readers to believe the story "Lefty" was a real legend rather than his own creation.

The stories are rich and fascinating. "The Spirit of Madame de Genlis" is a brilliant satire about innocence and the dubious decision to censor reading or education, and keep young people in the dark about matters of 'indecency'. "The Toupee Artist" is a sad love story about the mechanisms of power; "The White Eagle" is a funny ghost story. The stories are witty, with twist endings and unexpected ironic turns. "The Spook" in particular is a new favorite of mine. I loved the way Leslov played with the assumptions people make about others, and how unfair they can be, this optimistic outlook on how the goodness of people can be hidden by unfortunate rumors or unwarranted suspicions. This one was a pleasure to read from start to finish.

Content warnings for animal cruelty and death, violence, murder, body horror, the 'G' slur, and substance abuse.

[Bill · Rating 4 out of 5]

This collection of Leskov's stories will be enjoyed by anyone who loves Russian literature. For those who have a hard time plowing through hundreds of pages of Dostoevsky or Tolstoy, this collection provides a satisfying and more digestible collection of the rich, broad writing that flourished in Russia in the 19th century.

However, these stories are not the deep psychological studies of Dostoevsky or the comprehensive portrait of an era like War and Peace. These are truly stories, always presented as something told to the reader by the narrator, and usually the narrator is recounting the story as something heard from another person. There is little emphasis on lyrical writing, philosophical positions, or even the use of simple devices like foreshadowing or allegory - here, the story is the thing.

The stories feature a broad collection of characters that are for the most part uniquely Russian: fanatical Old Believers, prisoners, Tartars, corrupt and stupid petty officials, peasants, princes, and the uniquely Russian "good man" - a simple and strong man who is deeply religious and incorruptible by even a thoroughly corrupt society.

The stories are all set in Leskov's time, but they have the timeless qualities of myths and fables. They are lively, entertaining, often funny from pointed satire, and occasionally powerful.

As with any Russian work, the translation is crucial. Many older British translations of Russian novels (for example, Richard Peace's translation of Crime and Punishment) are written in an early 20th century British English that seems stiff to the contemporary reader; these Oxford translations also typically rendered many of the Russian phrases idiomatically into the same outmoded speech, thus making them feel dated as well. I enjoyed Pevear and Volokhonsky's way of producing and English translation that is readable for a 21st-century American, while they use a more direct translation of Russian idioms to preserve some of the unique charm of these literary folk tales.