Russian Tales of the Fantastic

by Marilyn Minto (Editor)

The stories translated in this fascinating anthology reveal the peculiarly Russian world of fantasy: conversations among corpses in a graveyard; a skeleton bounding up to its undertaker at a party; a dead man's account of the wasteland of the afterlife; a woman disappearing into a mirror to become the refleciton within. Are these really incursions into other worlds, or are the characters quite simply mad? Marily Minto gives brief biographical details for each author along with an analysis of the story, providing both general readers and students of Russian literature with a basis on which to build their own interpretations

Genres: Anthologies

224 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1998

Reviews

[Quicksilver Quill · Rating 4 out of 5]

In Russian Tales of the Fantastic Marilyn Minto has put together a nice collection of short stories dealing with supernatural occurrences. This slim volume manages to include offerings by most of the heavy-hitting Russian authors of the 19th century, including Pushkin, Gogol, Lermontov, Dostoevsky, and Turgenev--as well as a few other authors besides.

For the most part these Russian fantastic tales will entertain you with ghosts, spirits, and voyages into other realms. An informative preface sets the scene and helps to unravel the meanings behind some of the stories. For fans of Russian literature, this book is a great chance to read a sampling of their fantastic fare. Bon appétit.