The Penguin Book of New Russian Writing

by Andrew Reynolds (Editor), Victor Erofeyev (Editor)

In his remarkable introductory essay 'Russia's Fleurs du Mal' Victor Erofeyev discusses the alternative literature, the new Russian writing that is supplanting both the hothouse flowers of Soviet socialism and the polemics of dissidence. The new Russian literature as evidenced by this collection is characteristically raw, abrasive and sceptical, calling everything into question, including the 'Boring West'.
Writer such as Andrei Sinyavsky have concentrated on reinventing a dead language; one of them, Vladimir Sorokin, refuses to be called a writer at all, acceding only to his vocation as 'a leading monster' of the new Russian literature. Within this collection can be found the particular cynicism of Dovlatov and Limonov, the voluptuous style of Tatyana Tolstaya and the poignant wit of Evgeny Kharitonov, among many others.
A landmark in new Russian fiction, this volume brings together the works of twenty-one leading writers, some already acclaimed, many others reaching a new audience in the West for the first time. It has been edited by Victor Erofeyev, with Andrew Reynolds, who has also translated some of the works.

Genres: Short Stories

416 pages, Paperback

First published March 1, 1996

Reviews

[MJ Nicholls · Rating 5 out of 5]

This new (old) anthology of Russian writing (from 1995) is an excellent introduction to luminaries of the late twentieth century, including some fine realist prose from Varlam Shalamov and Viktor Astafiev, vintage absurdism from Sergei Dovlatov and Evgeny Popov, and avant-garde transgression from Vladimir Sorokin and (co-editor) Victor Erofeyev. Some more well-known names such as Tatyana Tolstaya and Sasha Sokolov also appear, alongside a raft of undiscovered oddballs such as Abram Terts and Vyacheslav Pietsukh. The hit-to-miss rate is high for an anthology of this sort, and Erofeyev’s introductory essay provides a perfect manifesto for the restlessness of the (then) contemporary Russian scene, one marked by bleak laughter and radical inventiveness. Recommended.

[Katrinka · Rating 3 out of 5]

Like most anthologies, a mixed bag. The stories by Tatyana Tolstaya and Dmitry Prigov were tops for me.

[H.E. Bulstrode · Rating 4 out of 5]

The highlight: Sergei Dovlatov's 'The Fifth Compromise.'