The Little Angel

by Leonid Andreyev

Andreyev's short stories explore the world of deprivation and depravity.

Between the two Revolutions of 1905 and 1917 Leonid Andreyev was without a doubt the foremost writer in Russia. His name was always spoken with veneration, in mysterious whispers, as a grim portentous magician who descended into the ultimate depths of the nether side of life and fathomed the beauty and tragedy of the struggle. Leonid Nickolayevitch was born in the province of Oryol, in 1871, and studied law at the University of Moscow. Those were days of suffering and starvation; he gazed into the abyss of sorrow and despair. In January 1894 he made an unsuccessful attempt to kill himself by shooting, and then was forced by the authorities to severe penitence, which augmented the natural morbidness of his temperament. As a lawyer his career was short-lived, and he soon abandoned it for literature, beginning as a police-court reporter on the Moscow Courier. In 1902 he published the short story In the Fog, which for the first time brought him universal recognition. He was imprisoned during the revolution of 1905, together with Maxim Gorky, on political charges. Such are the few significant details of his personal life, for the true Andreyev is entirely in his stories and plays.

Genres: Russian Literature, Short Stories, Fiction, Russia, Horror, Literature, Classics

280 pages, Paperback

First published March 10, 1916

About the author

Leonid Nikolayevich Andreyev (Russian: Леонид Николаевич Андреев; 1871-1919) was a Russian playwright and short-story writer who led the Expressionist movement in the national literature. He was active between the revolution of 1905 and the Communist revolution which finally overthrew the Tsarist government. His first story published was About a Poor Student, a narrative based upon his own experiences. It was not, however, until Gorky discovered him by stories appearing in the Moscow Courier and elsewhere that Andreyevs literary career really began. His first collection of stories appeared in 1901, and sold a quarter-million copies in short time. He was hailed as a new star in Russia, where his name soon became a byword. He published his short story, In the Fog in 1902. Although he started out in the Russian vein he soon startled his readers by his eccentricities, which grew even faster than his fame. His two best known stories may be The Red Laugh (1904) and The Seven Who Were Hanged (1908). His dramas include the Symbolist plays The Life of Man (1906), Tsar Hunger (1907), Black Masks (1908), Anathema (1909) and He Who Gets Slapped (1915).

Reviews

[Tawfek · Rating 4 out of 5]

هحط تقييمات لكل قصة و نوفيلا لوحدها و بعد كده هحاول اتكلم عن كل واحده او علي الاقل علي اللي فاكره عنها لان انا بقرأ الكتاب متقطع بقالي شهرين تقريبًا
الفوز الكبير 3/5
القصة دي كانت غريبة جدًا بتتكلم عن المقامرة عمومًا و الشخصية النحس اللي لازم تكون علي كل منضدة مقامرة بيكسب في الآخر بس بعد ما بيموت من سكته قلبية لان قلبه لم يحتمل محستش القصة خالص
علي النهر 4/5
القصة دي كانت لطيفة جدًا و عذبة و مليئة بروح الريف القديم و التعاون و الحب بين الناس و سرعة غفرانهم لاخطاء الآخرين و قبولهم داخل مجتمعهم
كان فيما مضي 5/5
القصة دي بتدور احداثها كلها بداخل مستشفي للأمراض العقلية بين ثلاث شخصيات رئيسية تاجر كبير و طالب و رجل دين
و ازاي كل واحد فيهم بيواجه حياته الجديدة داخل المستشفي بعد ما ارهقته الحياة الخارجية و وصلته للمكان ده
حياة فاسيلي فيفسكي 3/5
دي بقي نعتبرها اول رواية قصيرة (نوفيلا) في المجموعة دي و الحقيقة و من رأيي الشخصي دي أكثر رواية سادية بعد جوستين أقراها في حياتي
السادية مش بالضرورة تكون تعذيب جسدي ممكن يكون تعذيب نفسي
فاسيلي فيفسكي حياته مليئة بالمصائب و كل ما هتفكر ان خلاص كده النهاية السعيدة قادمة هيحصله مصيبة سوده جديدة
لحد ما فاسيلي نفسه هيموت في الآخر بعد ما ماتت مراته محروقه و بيته اتحرق معاها
بعد ما فاسيلي نفسه رجل الدين التقي من كثر ايمانه و من كثر المصائب اللي حصلتله اللي مفكر انه وصل لمرحلة القديسين و هيحصل معجزة علي ايده يخذله ربنا مرة تانية و ميحصلش اي حاجة متوقعها و ينتهي الامر به مجنون و ميت
ممكن تكون تستحق تقييم أعلي بس للأسف دي خدت مني أطول فترة قراءة بسبب مود شخصي
قصة سبعة مشنوقين 5/5
سبع شخصيات مختلفه الحقيقة مش بس سبعة ممكن نقول ثمان شخصيات مختلفة
سبعة منهم بيتعرضوا للاعدام كل شخصية حية بجد كل شخصية بتمثل نفسها بجد و مفيش شخصية تانية شبهها كل شخصية بتقابل الموت بطريقتها الخاصة كل شخصية بتمر بمراحل في الرواية دي مختلفه عن باقي الشخصيات
و الوزير نفسه اللي كان هيتقتل شخصية مميزة جدًا و هو الشخصية التامنة المميزة جدًا في الرواية و اللي بنقضي تقريبًا اول 20 صفحة معاها
و النهاية نفسها الترقب اللي هتحسه جواك شعور انك اتنقلت من مكانك و بقيت معاهم هناك في المكان المظلم الموحش في الغابة منتظر شنق كل واحد فيهم
ليونيد أندرييف و دي تجربتي الأولي معاه من رأي تاني أقوي أديب روسي بعد ميخائيل بولغاكوف مع العلم اني لسه مقرأتش لديستوفسكي حاجة
الراجل فعلًا مبدع بطريقة فظيعة و تعمق في المشاهد المختلفة اللي عرضها و تعمق في نفوس الشخصيات المختلفه اللي عرضها و مش هتكون آخر تجربة ليا مع الكاتب العظيم

[Andy · Rating 4 out of 5]

I first came across Leonid Andreyev in a rather unconventional place -- a 1927 issue of Weird Tales magazine. The story was "Lazarus," and it struck me as an incredibly modern story, far ahead of it's time. It was written in 1906, but it's themes of human insignificance and it's cosmic tone made it like something one would expect from a modern weird fiction author.

I'd prefer to read a more modern translation of these stories, but I suppose...

...the sun will rise,
the moon will set,
and you'll learn to settle
with what you get.

Or something to that effect...

Of course after reading these stories you'll likely feel a lot better about your lot in life, they're a pretty dark bunch. They certainly evoked Dostoevsky to me at times, although Andreyev seems more focused on mood and capturing small moments than does Dostoevsky.

Some of these stories are downright horrific and have themes of madness and crime. The best examples of this are "The Lie," "Silence," "Laughter" and "The City." There are more tenderly sad tales too like "Snapper" or "The Friend." And there's some stories that can't exactly be categorized like "An Original" which is a strange story, funny but racist by today's standards.

Andreyev is an author I've wanted to read for some time, and I came away more impressed than I expected.

The Little Angel - A sad story about regret, misery and poverty, and finding a bit of solace. I like how Andreyev could have ended the story on a loud dark note, but ended it on a bit of a whimper. A miserable, angry boy and his ill, poverty-worn father find a small hope on Christmas Eve with something that brings them a little peace.

At The Roadside Station - A sort of brief sketch of a place and a man. The narrator likes to hang around a train station which is only peopled by a restless, bored policeman who never finds a purpose for his duties.

Snapper - A touching story, in this case about a dog. Snapper is a dirty dog, homeless and perpetually abused by the people of the town. He overcomes his fear of people when a family moves into the bungalow he often sleeps beside, but they will only be there for a season.

The Lie - An excellent, and very grim story with a feverish, Poe-like, murderous obsessiveness. A man is convinced that the woman he loves is having an affair with another and her lies drive him to extremes.

An Original - This story is pretty racist, but still very funny I thought. It has a downright absurd comedy that reminded me of Gogol's short stories like "The Nose." A civil servant becomes notorious, famous and intriguing to his colleagues after making up a story about how he "loves negresses."

Petka At The Bungalow - Another tale where Andreyev holds out a little hope to the reader, only to pull the rug out from under us! It's a bit like "Snapper," except here it's contrasting the perpetual work and misery of the urban with the more leisurely, pleasant rural atmosphere. A boy assisting in a barber shop lives only to receive beatings and abuse, but gets a respite when he travels with his mother to the country.

Silence - Another very grim story, focused on grief and seeking for an answer that is never coming, an answer someone has taken to the grave. This is also one of the best, with a very effective atmosphere and an increasing, but muted intensity. A priest loses his daughter in a horrific way, seems to blame himself and is haunted by the horrible silence of his house.

Laughter - A nightmarish story, with a decadent flavor. A young man stood up for a date accompanies a group of friends to a masquerade ball, but his costume makes everyone bowl over with laughter when they see him.

The Friend - This is a terribly sad story, probably the most affecting story in the book. It's strong on the theme of forgetting who your real friends are, those who love you for yourself. A young writer yearns for fame, and forgets his faithful dog when he eventually finds it.

In The Basement - This is another touching tale, with a bit more optimism in it than the others. I loved the grimy squalor setting and characters. The story in theme is a bit similar to the opening story, "The Little Angel." A drunkard retreats to a filthy cellar inhabited by thieves and prostitutes, without hope and looking forward only to death. A stranger enters this world, bringing a little hope to them.

The City - This is an amazing story, it really expresses the alienation and loneliness of urban life. The protagonist is made more lonely by virtue of being around so many people he will never know. Andreyev gives it an almost mildly horrific tone at times. A lonely bank clerk wanders his large city, never feeling he knows people, he is intimidated by the unending stream of humanity that he will never know.

The Marseillaise - A very brief story about a group of men in prison who despise a young man who is imprisoned with them.

The Tocsin - I liked this one quite a bit, it's weird and surreal at times, with striking visuals and sort of menace and about it I enjoyed. During a dry, hot summer several wildfires break out and a man witnesses one he will never forget.

Bargamot And Garaska - The most optimistic story in the book perhaps, but one of the least interesting. An all-business policeman takes pity on a drink on Easter.

Stepping-stones - An evocative sort of prose poem, brief. A man contemplates a cemetery, buried with his own talents, hopes and dreams.

The Spy - A very strange little story to end the collection, a sort of questioning of what makes someone individual. A teacher to amuse himself frightens a young college girl by appearing like a spy and following her to her room. Something that starts as a mere joke leading to an identity crisis.

[S̶e̶a̶n̶ · Rating 3 out of 5]

Dark tales, dark nights spent in the grip of fear....utter despair encroaching all around.

In the winter it was quiet in his rooms, but when spring came, and the snow was removed from the streets, the rumble of the traffic began again, and the double walls were no protection from it.

In the daytime, while he was occupied with something, and himself moved about and made a noise, he did not notice the rumbling, though it never ceased for a moment; but when night came on and all became quiet in the house, then the noisy street forced its way into the dark chamber, and deprived it of all quiet and privacy. The jarring and disjointed sounds of individual vehicles were heard; an indistinct, slight sound would come to life somewhere in the distance, grow louder and clearer, and by degrees die down again, and in its place would be heard a new one, and so on and on without intermission. Sometimes only the hoofs of the horses struck the ground evenly and rhythmically, and there was no sound of wheels—this was when a calèche went by on rubber tyres; but often the noise of individual vehicles would blend into a terrible loud rumble, which made the stone walls tremble slightly, and set the bottles vibrating in the cupboard. And all this was caused by human beings! They sat in hired and private carriages, they drove no one knew whence or whither, they disappeared into the unknown depths of the immense city, and in their place appeared fresh people, other human beings, and there was no end to this incessant movement, so terrible in its incessancy. And every passerby was a separate microcosm, with his own rules and aims of life, with his own affinity, whom he loved, with his own separate joys and sorrows, and each was like a ghost, which appeared for a moment and then disappeared inexplicably and unrecognized. And the more people there were, who were unknown to one another, the more terrible became the solitude of each. And during those black, rumbling nights Petrov often felt inclined to cry out in fear, and to betake himself to the deep cellar, in order to be there perfectly alone. There one might think only of those one knew, and not feel oneself so infinitely alone among a multitude of strange people.

(from 'The City')

[Eadweard · Rating 5 out of 5]

I've said it before, Leonid Andreyev is such an underrated author, these stories made me sad, knowing that he's not being read as much as other russian authors. Or maybe I'm sad because of the stories, probably both.

[Perry Ruhland · Rating 3 out of 5]

Andreyev's particular brand of expressionist sorrow is a difficult balancing act, and an unfortunate chunk of stories in this collection end up collapsing under the weight of their own baroque miseries. That said, the best pieces in the collection are towering examples of expressionist fiction, particularly the title story, the Poe-esque tales 'The Lie' and 'Laughter', the weird 'The Tocsin', and the closing prose poem 'Stepping Stones'.

[Manuel Alfonseca · Rating 3 out of 5]

ENGLISH: This edition contains 16 stories by Andreiev. Interesting set of short stories by the author of the play He Who Gets Slapped, who has been called the Russian Edgar Allan Poe. His stories are supposed to be very dark, but not all of them are, the same as happens with Poe.

My favorites: "Bergamot & Garaska," the least dark of all; "The Little Angel" and "Petka in the Bungalow," two stories about underprivileged children who find brief, fleeting relief; "Silence," the dreadful story of a remorse meeting the silence of the tomb; "Stepping stones," a hymn to the after life; "Snapper," about a dog, with a sad ending; and several others. I only liked less four of the sixteen stories.

ESPAÑOL: Esta edición contiene 16 cuentos de Andreiev. Interesante conjunto de relatos breves del autor de la obra "El que recibe las bofetadas", a quien se ha llamado el Edgar Allan Poe ruso. Se supone que sus historias son muy oscuras, pero no todas lo son; pasa lo mismo con las de Poe.

Mis favoritas: "Bergamot y Garaska", el menos oscuro de todos; "El angelito" y "Petka en el bungalow", dos cuentos sobre niños desfavorecidos que encuentran un breve y fugaz alivio; "Silencio", la historia de un remordimiento ante el silencio de la tumba; "Stepping Stones", un himno a la otra vida; "Snapper", historia de un perro con final triste; y varios más. Sólo me gustaron menos cuatro de los 16 cuentos.

[Axolotl · Rating 3 out of 5]

A handful of really great stories in The Little Angel and Other Stories. Themes include abuse and perpetual disappointment (self-inflicted and otherwise).

Some of the standouts:

-"The Little Angel" -a story with two twists, which has as its twin...

-"Snapper" -this time about an abused canine, rather than a naughty little boy--rings even more true.

-"An Original" -a story about the soul-danger of habitual abstraction.

Other good stories include: "Silence", "The Friend", "In the Basement", "The City", and "Stepping Stones".

[Illiterate · Rating 2 out of 5]

Shorts on life as pretense, love as sorrow, loneliness and death, etc. Top tip: Silence.

[Kenneth Shersley · Rating 4 out of 5]

Moving, tragic, doom-laden, depressing even. Some stories I found a little 'out there' - couldn't get a grip on these. Never been good with modernist authors. Wonderful evocations of the lost Russian peasant, the office clerk, the ordinary man. No women that I can recall. Anyway, well worth reading; a very fine writer.

[Anna Kļaviņa · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ангелочек, Молчание, Бездна, В тумане, Первый гонорар, Петька на даче, В темную даль

[ihateverythingfan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Leonid Andreyev is an obscure long nineteenth century writer -- if the graphics design is my passion EPUB cover, never mind the typos in the Goodreads description, *hadn't* already showed that clear as day. The English translation I found of this collection online -- and, seemingly, the main one -- stem from the mid-1900s where Andreyev, "Russia's Edgar Allan Poe", was imported to the United States by A.A. Knopf. That being said, his obscureness is one of the biggest crimes in literary history (so says me!).

The prose is a feast for the mind, and stories like In the Basement and Snapper, not to mention the title story, Little Angel, tugged at my heart strings like a motherfucker, LOL. Silence is also superb, and the vivid description of Father Ignaty sitting in the darkness, demanding his atheist, dead daughter to say something -- anything -- in vain, was chilling as hell to me; the bit about his memories with her becoming unreliable and hazy hit home.

On a more analytical level, I found the critique of urban living that pervades a myriad of these stories interesting. In Petka at the Bungalo, the boy working at the barbershop gets more intimate, rural living, only to have it stripped from him by circumstance, whereas in the City, the main character feels increasingly isolated and lonely because of the throngs of "strange" urbanites whom he will never have deeper, serious connection with.

Isolation and a general jaded dourness concerning life are explored best in the Little Angel and In the Basement; in the former, the father and his mediocre life and fizzled relationship with a scion of a wealthier family is juxtaposed with his child, Sashka, and his relative innocence -- symbolized by the Angel taken from the Christmas tree -- despite Sashka having some deeper suicidality. In the latter story, In the Basement, a hungover bum in the lower levels of a flat, and his surrender to the brackish waves of life, is bitterly contrasted with a newborn brought by a friend of the recently-deceased Katya.

Stories like At the Roadside Station and Tocsin are on the weaker end narratively, but ironically have some of the strongest imagery I've ever read from fiction, while the Spy brilliantly fosters schizophrenic paranoia and humor from the interiority of the teacher despite literally *nothing* fucking happening, LOL.

The weakest story, though not without its humor, is An Original, where a contrarian civil worker fibs about having a preference for black women, eliciting fame and riches, but at the expense of his true love. What could have been a clever tale about racial fetishism falls apart under the stories' own racist proclivities and humor.

Nonetheless, I can't wait to read more from this guy!

[Mohammad Alfailkawy · Rating 5 out of 5]

بعض الكتّاب نودّعهم عند الصفحة الأخيرة ، وبعضهم يظلّون جالسين في زاوية من الروح بعد أن ينتهي الكتاب.
ليونيد أندرييف من هؤلاء القلائل الذين لا يغادرون بسهولة ، كاتب أشعر كلما قرأت له أنني أقترب خطوة أخرى من شيء غامض وجميل ومخيف في آنٍ واحد ، شيء يصعب تسميته لكنه يترك أثره في النفس طويلًا.

في " الملاك الصغير وقصص أخرى " وجدت وجوهًا متعددة للإنسان ، أحلامه الصغيرة ، آماله الهشة ، وحدته ، خوفه ، ومحاولاته المستمرة لإضفاء معنى على حياة لا تمنحه دائمًا إجابات واضحة.
تختلف القصص في موضوعاتها وأجوائها ، لكنها تلتقي جميعًا عند تلك المساحة الإنسانية الصامتة التي نادرًا ما يقترب منها الأدب بهذا الصدق.

أكثر ما يميز أندرييف بالنسبة لي أنه لا يسعى إلى الإدهاش ولا إلى الوعظ ، بل يكتب بصدق مؤلم ، وكأنه يعرف الإنسان أكثر مما يعرف الإنسان نفسه ، لا يقدم أجوبة مريحة ، ولا يزيّن الواقع ، لكنه أيضًا لا يفقد حساسيته تجاه الجمال العابر واللحظات الصغيرة التي تمنح الحياة معناها.

أثناء القراءة شعرت بالحزن أحيانًا ، وبالحنين أحيانًا أخرى ، لكن الشعور الذي بقي معي بعد الصفحة الأخيرة كان الدهشة ، دهشة أن كاتبًا يستطيع أن يرى كل هذا القدر من العتمة ، ثم يكتب عنها بهذا القدر من الإنسانية.

أندرييف بالنسبة لي عبقرية مريبة ، كأنه يكتب من مكان بعيد بين الحلم والاعتراف ، بين الحقيقة والوهم ، وكلما قرأت له أكثر ، ازددت اقتناعًا بأن بعض الكتّاب لا نقرأهم فقط ، بل يغيّرون الطريقة التي ننظر بها إلى أنفسنا وإلى العالم.

[Wejdan M · Rating 5 out of 5]

يسحرني الانتيك و الرسمات التي فيها ملايكة

الان اكتشفت بعد انتهائي من القصة لماذا احببت كل شيء يتعلق بالملائكة
لاني مثل ساشا الطفل المتمرد الذي يعيش في بؤس
سحرته رؤية الملاك في لحظة جمال خاطفة
و اضاء غرفته بالسكينة والسلام
المؤلف يرمز بها
الى هشاشة السعادة الانسانية

و يعبر على ان لحظات النقاء و الجمال قد تكون عابرة و قصيرة جداً

[Dylan Rock · Rating 5 out of 5]

A fantastic collection of short expressionist stories by an underrated Russian master Leonid Andreyev. The locals of his fiction are ones of deprivation, depravity and despair. I would highly recommend this fans of Edgar Allan Poe, Franz Kafka and Nikolai Gogol

[Ehab mohamed · Rating 3 out of 5]

مجموعة قصصية تنسمت فيها رائحة قصص تشيخوف، قصص من قلب الحياة، خريفية، واقعية، مملة أحيانا، يسردها الكاتب دون تجميل، دون محاولات فنية روائية، كما ولو أنه يقيم جلسة تعارف بين القارئ وشخصيته، ثم يتركهم ويرحل.

[Saskia Juliette · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was recommended to me by a knowledgeable bookstore owner in my hometown who told me that it offers an experience like no other. As someone who enjoys exploring various types of books I decided to take it home with me and I'm glad I did.

The Little Angel is a collection of short stories with haunting beauty. They are not intended for the faint of heart as they delve into realms of despair, tragedy, and the fragility of the human spirit. Andreyev's way of writing dark stories is both impressive and disquieting. While not every story held equal power, there were several that surprised me and left a lasting impact. It was a powerful reminder of the influence a story can have on the reader.

I understand that this book may not appeal to everyone as it challenges and pushes boundaries. I found it to be a refreshingly transformative read that took me beyond my comfort zone and significantly influenced my literary journey.

[Lulu]

BARGAMOT AND GARASKA 1898
THE LITTLE ANGEL 1899
THE FRIEND 1899
PETKA AT THE BUNGALOW 1899
SILENCE 1900
AT THE ROADSIDE STATION
SNAPPER
THE LIE
AN ORIGINAL
LAUGHTER
IN THE BASEMENT
THE CITY
THE MARSEILLAISE
THE TOCSIN
STEPPING-STONES
THE SPY



https://www.gutenberg.org/files/49598...

[Vincent · Rating 3 out of 5]

Read "The Silence"

[Jonathan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Varying between the the bleakly profound and the comically miserable.

[Val]

Russia