The View from Stalin's Head

by Aaron Hamburger

The ten stories in The View from Stalin's Head unfold in the post-Cold War Prague of the 1990s--a magnet not only for artists and writers but also for American tourists and college grad deadbeats, a city with a glorious yet sometimes shameful history, its citizens both resentful of and nostalgic for their Communist past. Against this backdrop, Aaron Hamburger conjures an arresting array of characters: a self-appointed rabbi who runs a synagogue for non-Jews; an artist, once branded as a criminal by the Communist regime, who hires a teenage boy to boss him around; a fiery would-be socialist trying to rouse the oppressed masses while feeling the tug of her comfortable Stateside upbringing. European and American, Jewish and gentile, straight and gay, the people in these stories are forced to confront themselves when the ethnic, religious, political, and sexual labels they used to rely on prove surprisingly less stable than they'd imagined.
As Christopher Isherwood did in his Berlin Stories, Aaron Hamburger offers a humane and subtly etched portrait of a time and place, of people wrestling with questions of love, faith, and identity. The View from Stalin's Head is a remarkable debut, and the beginning of a remarkable career. "From the Trade Paperback edition."

Genres: Short Stories, Fiction

ebook

First published January 1, 2004

About the author

Aaron Hamburger is the author of the novel Nirvana Is Here, a story collection titled The View From Stalin's Head, which was awarded the Rome Prize by the American Academy of Arts and Letters and nominated for a Violet Quill Award, and a novel titled Faith For Beginners, nominated for a Lambda Literary Award. His latest novel is Hotel Cuba. In 2023, he was awarded the Jim Duggins PhD Outstanding Mid-Career Novelist Prize by Lambda Literary.

His writing has appeared in The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Chicago Tribune, The Village Voice, Tin House, Michigan Quarterly Review, Subtropics, Crazyhorse, Boulevard, Poets and Writers, Tablet, Out, Nerve, Time Out, Details, and The Forward. In addition, he has also won fellowships from Yaddo, Djerassi, the Civitella Ranieri Foundation, and the Edward F. Albee Foundation as well as first prize in the Dornstein Contest for Young Jewish Writers.

He has taught creative writing at Columbia University, the George Washington University, New York University, Brooklyn College, and the Stonecoast MFA Program.

Aaron enjoys talking with readers - to chat, find him now on Skolay: skolay.com/writers/aaron-hamburger

Reviews

[Lewis · Rating 4 out of 5]

The ten stories in Hamburger’s lovely debut collection focus primarily on Americans in Prague—a new lost generation on a quest for something they can’t quite name in a world that makes even less sense to them than their own. Throughout, Prague is depicted as a city scarred by its recent communist past, as the collection’s ominous title suggests. The title story, in fact, is perhaps the most disturbing, in which an elderly victim of the Soviet regime hires a young man to humiliate him in an S/M game that echoes his dangerous past. Elegantly structured and well-written, these are primarily character-driven stories, moving portraits of young people floundering through life. Hamburger effectively captures the uniqueness of each character—from an overweight American girl who imagines love out of desperation to a hardened lesbian who runs an unconventional synagogue—all their dreams and foibles alike resonating with real life. The book’s unrelenting darkness gives rise to a question that I, having never been to Prague, can’t answer: is there something about Prague itself that makes it a natural backdrop for these sad tales, or is it an unfortunate coincidence, a projection of hopelessness onto a city that has other sides unexplored in this book? I’m cautiously inspired to find out for myself.

[Itai · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Spanish writer, Baltasar Gracián y Morales wrote, "Good things, when short, are twice as good." I loved Aaron Hamburger's faith for beginners: a novel and I was eager to see what he could do with the short story.

Most of the stories in this collection are set in Prague, (with the exception of a tale about cousins, "Law of Return," which takes place in Israel). Mr. Hamburger's characters are brilliant and, with a feat of sorcery, he transports the reader to their world. The last time I responded so intensely to an author was on reading Colm Toibin.

I noticed just now that there are links to a variety of his articles and reviews on his website: http://www.aaronhamburger.com/ Honestly, I wonder how I will manage to wait for his next book...

[Ray · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read Faith for Beginners, Hamburger's first novel, this past summer. I had a lot of problems with it, though I would not go so far as to say I did not like it.I picked up this book not initially realizing that had been written by the same author. I was pulled in by the subject matter as I don't know a whole lot about queer life in Eastern Europe.

As with many short story collections, you start to get inside the head of the author as they explore similar themes and sometimes even the same plot points (look out for oranges). Halfway through this book I realized that it had been written by the same author as Faith for Beginners.

What I liked about this collection of stories was the writing. I also liked the information about Prague (the story of Stalin's head is pretty interesting) and the description of the lives of gay men and Jewish people there met my basic needs.

What I did not like was the self-hatred so many of Hamburger's protagonists. All of us have self doubt and a lack of confidence at times, but story after story about people who truly seem to just hate themselves is a bit much for me.

This brings me to something else I did not like: at the library, I thought I had found a novel written from a Czech perspective. When I got home and realized it had actually been penned by an American, disappointed , but I remained optimistic.

However, an expatriate perspective that uses self-hate to cloak privilege and imperialist desire is not cool.

In other words, while it might happen a lot, I don't have a ton of respect for Americans who go to other countries to find power in the subjugation of non-American people. This was probably the thing that bothered my the most about Faith for Beginners.

I understand that Hamburger's white protagonists' use of Palestinian, Czech and Spanish men for sex might be intended in a ironic or meaningful way, but ultimately there is an earnestness to their actions (either as a means to find power inside of themselves or to reaffirm their lack of worth) that unsettled me.

[Catherine · Rating 3 out of 5]

Awarding a star for style. 10 stories about Jewish and ex-Jewish expatriates, some gay, some straight, in Prague in the early nineties. They are beautifully written and interesting character studies, but not exactly plot-driven, falling more into the uncomfortable/awkward encounters after which nothing much happens school of short story telling. Not a terrible book, by any means, but hard to connect with.

[Edie Hoesterey · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have always said I am not someone who enjoys short story collections, and I still think that is true, but I LOVED this one. Set in Prague in the 1990s, the impact of WWII and communism reverberates throughout the entire novel. He has such interesting ideas and all of his stories had very complete, lived in characters. I like how he paints a layered portrait of the exact historical moment through his many characters and their differing lives. So many interesting ideas! And it all felt so clear!

Very reminiscent of Christopher Isherwood, and I probably should read more than Christopher and His Friends. Also why have I only been reading books about women in America? That’s so boring. I have so much experience being a women in America, why wouldn’t I explore other worlds in my reading

[Anne · Rating 4 out of 5]

Picked up this enchanting collection of short stories in a museum shop in Prague and had it half finished by the time I got to the airport. Young Americans come to post-Cold War Prague to escape bourgeois backgrounds and find identity, faith, love, and/or sex. Their quests for the real Bohemia turn out differently than they imagine. A few stories focus on Czech characters with the title one--about a former dissident who can't get used to the lack of police intrusion and abuse in his life--perhaps the most successful.

[Kim · Rating 3 out of 5]

The book cover says the connection between these stories is Prague, but it could very well be homosexuality, Judaism, or anything we cling to in order to effectively ostracize ourselves because of our own insecurities.

[Maddy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Enoyable but maybe not very memorable. Didn't seem like the author had a great grasp on how heterosexual ladies and gents behave and I feel like we kept meeting the same combinations of character types in slightly different settings around Prague. But some interesting moments and insights too.

[Tuck · Rating 3 out of 5]

nice stories about usaer in Czech land. looking for love in all the wrong places. very matter-of-fact but made surreal by us weird humans.

[Yooperprof · Rating 3 out of 5]

Shows promise.

[David · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the best short story collection I've read in years! I'm surprised this didn't receive greater acclaim.

[Surfing Moose · Rating 2 out of 5]

DNF

[Debra B. · Rating 3 out of 5]

I found the characters and plots of these stories interesting, but frequently thought the endings missed something.

[Jim Grimsley · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a strong collection of stories, the most impressive aspect of which is the setting and material, Americans, and particularly Jewish Americans, in the Czech Republic, most in Prague, a city that was the cool destination for artists for quite a number of years. The most memorable of the stories for me is the title story and its examination of (and a very subtle examination of) domination dynamics and betrayal between two boys and an older man who is reliving his days as an opponent of what I would call Stalinism, because of the title. There are other jewels here: the first story, "A Man of the Country" and its subtle portrayal of longing, friendship, and a hope that is marginal and fogged. "The Ground You Are Standing On" has a remarkable power, an evocation of the Holocaust as it is still fought out in the present day. I would call "You Say You Want a Revolution" the weakest of the stories, never quite certain of its purpose, though containing some lovely dialogue moments and portraits. These stories viewed in today's gender setting are examinations of types of people, not particularly centered on queer themes, though queers are welcome here. The stories hold to their territory with strength and integrity and mark out the further development of a fine writer. I have been hesitant as to my rating because I know Aaron but when I think of the presence of an oversized paper mâché bust of Stalin in the basement of a grim apartment where a strange fantasy is repeated... Well, that settles the issue.

[Donnie Sturm · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sister book to The Berlin Stories.

Light and fun read touching on Judaism, communism, and the Holocaust. Ten short stories, all with unique perspectives within the same universe (1990s Prague). Lots to think about, but it is delivered through easy-to-read dialogue delivered with personality, so the reader feels as if they’re debating with friends rather than reading a history book. Loved it!

[Brendan · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a decent collection of stories. The themes running through most of them- identity, expatriation, a longing for connection- as well as the shared setting of Prague, tie everything together into an enjoyable, easy-to-read package. A promising debut from a writer I would read again.

[AS · Rating 2 out of 5]

I liked Faith for Beginners so much that I looked this one up as well, but it is not worth recommending. Nothing happens!

[Liam Ostermann · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this collection of stories and I have no problem with recommending it and I will be going on to read Mr. Hamburger's other novels but, and I must admit the fault is mine, to a certain extent I came to this book to late and, although I do not in anyway think it is purely a book of its time - it is part of a large literature of those who went to Eastern Europe immediately after the fall of communism in search of - well lots of things - they have been called a new 'lost generation' (usually by Americans who often don't seem to realise that other young people went to places like Prague - ok end of rant against parochialism) - they were looking for adventure, sex, to see somewhere different or that they had only read about, or feared or never heard of and of course they were also looking for themselves - and these stories reflect that search beautifully. The sad thing is that I have finally read them after experiencing in print and elsewhere a lot of post communist east European stories/experiences. I think Hamburger's will last and still continue to be of value - and that is a sign of good writing. So pardon my lack of enthusiasm - I would have definitely been far more gung-ho if I was writing this in the past - but, having said that I do recommend them and I think anyone who likes short stories, new experiences, etc. will enjoy these stories.

[Jim Manis · Rating 3 out of 5]

Homosexual Americans in Prague, and the women whom they frustrate and are frustrated by them. Not quite Will and Grace.

[Benjamin Rubenstein]

This afternoon, I will meet the author for tea, for he is my brilliant writing mentor at the Stonecoast MFA in creative writing program. I want to bring my Kindle to him and have him e-inscribe it. But alas, that technology either doesn't exist or is held from we e-book readers who face such prejudice because of how we practice the act of reading. I will not be manipulated or discouraged, however, and will keep reading the way I want to read and hope that one day my people are accepted into the book-inscription community.