Read Russia!: An Anthology of New Voices

by Elena Shubina (Editor), Antonina W. Bouis (Introduction), Olga Slavnikova (Contributor)

Read Russia!: An Anthology of New Voices presents a new gift to American and English-speaking readers: thirty short works from Russia's leading contemporary writers. This 448-page collection is weighty and substantial, yet is also just a taste of the stunning writing coming out of Russia today.

Contents:
Basileus / Olga Slavnikova; Translated by Andrew Bromfield
Whatever Day of the Week It Happens To Be / Zakhar Prilepin; Translated by Simon Patterson and Nina Chordas
Shelter / Alexander Kabakov; Translated by Daniel Jaffe
Dauntless Women of the Russian Steppe / Ludmila Ulitskaya; Translated by Arch Tait
The Half-Belt Overcoat / Mikhail Shishkin; Translated by Leo Shtutin
Sindbad the Sailor / Yury Buida; Translated by Oliver Ready
A Family of Monsters / Igor Sakhnovsky; Translated by Hugh Aplin
Hiroshima / Vladimir Sorokin; Translated by Jamey Gambrell
Psycho’s One Night Stand / Sergey Kuznetsov; Translated by Andrew Bromfield
Basya Solomovna’s Third World War / Margarita Khemlin; Translated by Lisa Hayden Espenschade
The Lizard / Maria Galina; Translated by Deborah Hoffmann
Birds of A Feather / Alexander Genis; Translated by Daniel Genis
Gonzo / Andrei Rubanov; Translated by Polly Gannon
Monologue of A Life Model / Dina Rubina; Translated by Marian Schwartz
The Death of Manon / Yuri Miloslavsky; Translated by David Lapeza
The Stone Bridge (Fragment) / Alexander Terekhov; Translated by Simon Patterson
The Life and Death of Nicholas II / Eduard Radzinsky; Translated by Marian Schwartz
Mozharovo / Dmitry Bykov; Translated by James Rann
Chechnya, To Chechnya / Sergei Shargunov; Translated by John Narins
More Elderly Person / Dmitry Danilov; Translated by Douglas Robinson
The One-Day War / Vladimir Makanin; Translated by Bela Shayevich
Verbal TNT / Yuri Polyakov; Translated by Leo Shtutin
Idzhim / Roman Senchin; Translated by Lisa Hayden Espenschade
The Agency / Anna Starobinets; Translated by Hugh Alpin
Shaitans / Alisa Ganieva; Translated by Marian Schwartz
Stars Over Lake Teleskoye / Irina Bogatyreva; Translated by Arch Tait
Strike the Iron While It’s Hot, Boys! / Alexei Lukyanov; Translated by Michele Berdy
The People’s Book / Igor Savelyev; Translated by Amanda Love-Darragh
The Day When You Phone the Dead / German Sadulaev; Translated by Anna Gunin
The Sparrow / Alexander Ilichevsky; Translated by Benjamin Paloff

Genres: Russia, Short Stories, Anthologies, Fiction

446 pages, ebook

First published January 1, 2012

Reviews

[Viviane Cordeiro · Rating 5 out of 5]

Maybe one of the best anthologies I have ever read! Many of those authors will become a part of my bookshelf from now on - I just need to find them translated into English, because in Portuguese (my mother tongue!) this is a completely impossible task. Of course that you need to enjoy some Russian culture/literature to handle a book like this, but totally it!
My only indication is that you should try to read one story at time - do not do like me (I read the whole book at once!), it's not going to work or give you the same effect. Maybe read one today, read another story tomorrow it would be the best thing to do to digest this book correctly.
But I do loved it! :D

[Madeleine · Rating 3 out of 5]

Anthologies are inevitably uneven, but some of the stories in here are very good. My favorite by far was Mikhail Shishkin's "The Half-Belt Overcoat."

[Evert Bos · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fabulous collection of mostly unknown writers for me except Bykov, Prilepin and Ulitskaya and Sorokin. Yuri Polyakov is a big discovery, his "Verbal TNT" is absolutely hilarious and reminds me of Polish writer Mrozek. Only one problem: what are the original titels of these short stories so I can look them up?
Elena Shubina gets five stars but that one omission is painful for those that want to find the originals.
Dmitry Danilov I have to mention as excellent, Maria Galina, Roman S, I will probably mention them all. Sergey Kuznetsov.. quite chilling story. I have lived with this free download (unbelievable) since January 2020 and I am still reading and rereading. A great wonderful anthology which will keep me reading for years. Ozon.ru has many of these authors. Elena Shubina, your name will be on the lips of each Russofile. Большое спасибо!!!

[Kerry · Rating 5 out of 5]

Such an excellent anthology of contemporary Russian writers. Many Westerners are familiar with the classics, but Russia continues to produce writers of excellent merit, and these writers will be the classics future generations turn to for insight into the Russian cultural psyche. Some of these writers have more work translated into English, allowing the reader of Read Russia! to continue to explore modern writers from this country.

Incredible that this anthology was offered for free, albeit in PDF format. A yearly anthology of this type would be much welcomed by lovers of Russian literature reading in English.

[Lisa · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent blend of new Russian writers.

[Daniel Genis · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Genis piece in my translation takes the cake!