El capitán Dikshtein

by Mikhail Kuraev, Jorge Ferrer (translator)

"We live in a fantastic reality," Mikhail Kuraev writes. "Life itself, the turns of history, people’s fates are unlikely, amazing and fantastic." This is the strange reality, the fantastic world of Russia before glasnost, that comes to life in Kuraev’s remarkable short stories and novellas. Celebrated as one of the true innovators to emerge in recent years, Kuraev mines the rich literary tradition and the deep and not so distant past of his native Russia to produce tales that are both deeply moving and stylistically intriguing.
Though steeped in history, his stories pluck from obscurity the little people history ignores—and, in the Soviet Union of Stalin, often crushed. In the complex "Captain Dikshtein," a fictional account of an incident in the 1921 Kronstad, Kuraev evokes life within Soviet military culture and draws a vivid, difficult portrait of one particular life amid the ships and artillery. In "Night Patrol," a lowly member of the Soviet secret police narrates his evening rounds, interspersing the nightly arrests with reflections on his long career in the KGB. In "Petya on His Way to the Heavenly Kingdom," set in a construction site for a hydroelectric dam near Murmansk, a soldier’s murder of the village simpleton resonates through a small community committed to an enormous and enormously dubious technological project. Ranging over a broad landscape of historical foibles, Kuraev’s sympathetic wit and satiric brilliance have invited comparison to Gogol, but are finally unique. In this book, English-reading audiences will discover a new and challenging voice in a tradition that has given the world some of its greatest stories.

224 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1988

Reviews

[Mercedes Macías · Rating 3 out of 5]

es posible que merezca 4 estrellas, una escritura oscura, recuerda a "el orden del día", es una novela compleja, crítica con el gobierno de Stalin, casi me sorprende que Kurayev no esté exiliado. quizá hay que leerla 2 veces .

[Aitirir · Rating 3 out of 5]

Esperaba más. La historia era interesante y me gusta el estilo del autor, pero no me ha convencido del todo.

[Trounin · Rating 3 out of 5]

Капитан Дикштейн жил, а может и не жил, возможно отметился существованием, либо существовал в иной действительности, периодически проявляясь и воплощая в себе представителя человечества. О нём рассказывает читателю Михаил Кураев. Берёт для того разные временные отрезки, описывает их и продвигает повествование вперёд. В самом деле родившись, иначе на Земле никто ещё не появлялся (постулат №1), главный герой предстаёт на страницах в разных ситуациях. Вот его детство — сей поры никто ещё на Земле не избежал (постулат №2) , вот воспитывающие его родители — никто ещё на Земле не появлялся без чьей-то на то случайной воли (постулат №3), вот буйная молодость — никто ещё на Земле не избежал совершения ошибок (постулат №4), вот он, согласно постулату №5, умирает, ибо все умирают.

(c) Trounin

[Howard Thompson · Rating 5 out of 5]

The writing style takes some getting used to. There is very little in the way of plot. But when you understand what the writer is doing, it makes more sense. His goal is to take normal, otherwise forgotten people and tell their stories. This isn't supposed to be gripping tales about a heroic figures, it is supposed to be views into the lives of ordinary people. And I find it an interesting read from that perspective.