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Russian Short Stories from Pushkin to Buida
From the reign of the Tsars in the early 19th century to the collapse of the Soviet Union and beyond, the short story has long occupied a central place in Russian culture. Included are pieces from many of the acknowledged masters of Russian literature - including Pushkin, Turgenev, Dostoyevsky, Tolstoy, and Solzhenitsyn - alongside tales by long-suppressed figures such as the subversive Kryzhanowsky and the surrealist Shalamov. Whether written in reaction to the cruelty of the bourgeoisie, the bureaucracy of communism or the torture of the prison camps, they offer a wonderfully wide-ranging and exciting representation of one of the most vital and enduring forms of Russian literature.
417 pages, Kindle Edition
First published May 26, 2005
129 people are currently reading
1698 people want to read
About the author
Robert Chandler
37 books78 followersRobert Chandler (b. 1953) is a British poet and translator. He is the editor of Russian Short Stories from Pushkin to Buida (Penguin) and the author of Alexander Pushkin (Hesperus).
His translations include numerous works by Andrei Platonov, Vasily Grossman's Life and Fate, and Pushkin's The Captain's Daughter. Chandler's co-translation of Platonov's Soul was chosen in 2004 as “best translation of the year from a Slavonic language” by the American Association of Teachers of Slavic and East European Languages (AATSEEL). His translation of Hamid Ismailov’s The Railway won the AATSEEL prize for Best Translation into English in 2007,[1] and received a special commendation from the judges of the 2007 Rossica Translation Prize. Chandler’s translations of Sappho and Guillaume Apollinaire are published in the Everyman’s Poetry series.
His translations include numerous works by Andrei Platonov, Vasily Grossman's Life and Fate, and Pushkin's The Captain's Daughter. Chandler's co-translation of Platonov's Soul was chosen in 2004 as “best translation of the year from a Slavonic language” by the American Association of Teachers of Slavic and East European Languages (AATSEEL). His translation of Hamid Ismailov’s The Railway won the AATSEEL prize for Best Translation into English in 2007,[1] and received a special commendation from the judges of the 2007 Rossica Translation Prize. Chandler’s translations of Sappho and Guillaume Apollinaire are published in the Everyman’s Poetry series.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 64 reviews
February 23, 2016
From Kharms' "The Old Woman"-Out on the street, boys are shouting, making a horrible din. I lie there and think up ways of putting them to death. The one I like the best would be to infect them with tetanus so they would suddenly stop moving. Then their parents drag them back home. They lie in their little beds and can't even eat, because their mouths won't open. They're fed artificially. After a week the tetanus wears off, but the children are so weak they have to lie another whole month in bed. Then they slowly begin to get better, but I give them tetanus a second time and they all croak.
September 3, 2021
It is likely, if you're reading this review or browsing this , that you like Russian literature, short stories or possible both. In which case, in brief, you should definitely read this book.
Now the slightly longer review: Russian literature is highly respected, it's biggest names critically acclaimed and rightly placed upon literature's highest pedestals, and one would be perfectly justified in saying that it is the long form prose novel that Russia and it's authors are most famous for; rather than the short story. I suspect more people would be able to name 'Crime and Punishment' for example then could tell you the name of a Pushkin short story. Which is a great shame, because as this book proves, Russian authors are masters of this form of writing and these words deserve to be read.
Leaving aside the stories for the moment, the book is superbly edited (it also has a very pretty cover), and works fantastically well as a sort of Russian literature primer having as it does a brief potted biography of each author before introducing a story (or two or even three) by that writer. This proves to be highly useful as not only does it give one an idea of the background and life of the author (very important when dealing with many Russian authors; time and place are essential in many of the stories, for example Solzhenitsyn's work is always better enjoyed with the understanding of the time he spent in the Gulag) but it also often gives an idea of what the story is actually about. Much of the stories are allegorical, metaphorical or allusionary in nature (often thinly veiled criticism of the Russian of the time) and although the stories are all highly enjoyable with no background it is a nice touch. As is the note on military rank, something which has often confused me as a reader of the Russian novels.
And the stories themselves then? Almost all wonderful. The idea to lay them out in chronological order is a good one, not only allowing the reader to trace influences through the biographies, but as I have mentioned previously, since so much of the works seems indebted to time and place, it is easy to see how national and international events shaped and inspired the authors of the time. The choice of authors too is impeccable for every well known author like a Gogol, a Chekhov, or a Tolstoy you get a less well known but no less great writer, a Teffi, a Zinovyevaanibal or Eppel. In fact one of the joys of this book (as it should be) is discovering a writer one has never heard of, and looking forward to reading some of their other work. The works in this book, are not for the faint hearted; many are sad, perhaps depressing, heartbreaking, and full of loneliness, but they are also sympathetic, sentimental, beautiful and hopeful. To paraphrase Anthony Burgess "All human life is here". In fact, contrary to Burgess, the holy ghost is here too or at least the spectre of catholicism is to be found in some stories.
And how to pick a story to recommend? It's unlikely that every reader of this book will appreciate the same stories, and unlike a book review, it'd be hard to define and recommend this anthology based on one. But if I had to pick a few, then the astonishing 'Queen Of Spades' by Pushkin would be one; Leskov's entertaining and really quite modern 'The Steel Flea' for another, both Bunin selections, Zoshchenko's The Hat, and Buida's heartwrenching 'Sindbad the Sailor'. On another day, it could be any of the others.
Ultimately this is a fantastic collection, bringing as it does the known and not so known of Russian short story writing to a new audience and at the same time adding a wealth of background information which only helps to further the enjoyment of the stories and the culture they come from. This is worthy of anyone's time.
Now the slightly longer review: Russian literature is highly respected, it's biggest names critically acclaimed and rightly placed upon literature's highest pedestals, and one would be perfectly justified in saying that it is the long form prose novel that Russia and it's authors are most famous for; rather than the short story. I suspect more people would be able to name 'Crime and Punishment' for example then could tell you the name of a Pushkin short story. Which is a great shame, because as this book proves, Russian authors are masters of this form of writing and these words deserve to be read.
Leaving aside the stories for the moment, the book is superbly edited (it also has a very pretty cover), and works fantastically well as a sort of Russian literature primer having as it does a brief potted biography of each author before introducing a story (or two or even three) by that writer. This proves to be highly useful as not only does it give one an idea of the background and life of the author (very important when dealing with many Russian authors; time and place are essential in many of the stories, for example Solzhenitsyn's work is always better enjoyed with the understanding of the time he spent in the Gulag) but it also often gives an idea of what the story is actually about. Much of the stories are allegorical, metaphorical or allusionary in nature (often thinly veiled criticism of the Russian of the time) and although the stories are all highly enjoyable with no background it is a nice touch. As is the note on military rank, something which has often confused me as a reader of the Russian novels.
And the stories themselves then? Almost all wonderful. The idea to lay them out in chronological order is a good one, not only allowing the reader to trace influences through the biographies, but as I have mentioned previously, since so much of the works seems indebted to time and place, it is easy to see how national and international events shaped and inspired the authors of the time. The choice of authors too is impeccable for every well known author like a Gogol, a Chekhov, or a Tolstoy you get a less well known but no less great writer, a Teffi, a Zinovyevaanibal or Eppel. In fact one of the joys of this book (as it should be) is discovering a writer one has never heard of, and looking forward to reading some of their other work. The works in this book, are not for the faint hearted; many are sad, perhaps depressing, heartbreaking, and full of loneliness, but they are also sympathetic, sentimental, beautiful and hopeful. To paraphrase Anthony Burgess "All human life is here". In fact, contrary to Burgess, the holy ghost is here too or at least the spectre of catholicism is to be found in some stories.
And how to pick a story to recommend? It's unlikely that every reader of this book will appreciate the same stories, and unlike a book review, it'd be hard to define and recommend this anthology based on one. But if I had to pick a few, then the astonishing 'Queen Of Spades' by Pushkin would be one; Leskov's entertaining and really quite modern 'The Steel Flea' for another, both Bunin selections, Zoshchenko's The Hat, and Buida's heartwrenching 'Sindbad the Sailor'. On another day, it could be any of the others.
Ultimately this is a fantastic collection, bringing as it does the known and not so known of Russian short story writing to a new audience and at the same time adding a wealth of background information which only helps to further the enjoyment of the stories and the culture they come from. This is worthy of anyone's time.
September 13, 2011
For the stories alone I would give this four stars but it deserves the extra star for the inclusion of excellent, informative background material; the readable introduction; the short biography preceding each author’s work; the appendix notes; and even some interesting explanation of Russian names.
Russian literature, the introduction explains, is comparatively young and the published dates run from the earliest, 1834 to the latest in 1998. Two things struck me about the early ones, though I don’t know if it’s true of all works of this period; the writers came from noble classes (though, we learn, social mobility was quite possible in Russia between Peter the Great and the revolution), and every story was concluded by having the protagonist die.
Though I didn’t find a duff story in the book, my favourites gathered around the middle chapters; the post-revolution and Stalinist eras, and by authors who I hadn’t known. Krzhizhanovsky’s strange expanding bedsit in Quadraturin; Zoshchenko’s sketched satires on life and efficiency under Stalin; Platonov’s postwar family drama, The Return, (which reminded me somewhat of Sillitoe); Kharms absurdist tale of the Old Woman; and Shalamov’s gulag sketches.
The later third showed a gentler side to Russian life; love, sex, kindness, and poetry; though beautifully told. I felt sad upon coming to the end of it, always a good sign of an excellent book. This is one I’d like to come back to at a later day. Thoroughly recommended.
(fwiw, I think there's an error in the book's description. It's 396 pages not 696 pages as stated).
Russian literature, the introduction explains, is comparatively young and the published dates run from the earliest, 1834 to the latest in 1998. Two things struck me about the early ones, though I don’t know if it’s true of all works of this period; the writers came from noble classes (though, we learn, social mobility was quite possible in Russia between Peter the Great and the revolution), and every story was concluded by having the protagonist die.
Though I didn’t find a duff story in the book, my favourites gathered around the middle chapters; the post-revolution and Stalinist eras, and by authors who I hadn’t known. Krzhizhanovsky’s strange expanding bedsit in Quadraturin; Zoshchenko’s sketched satires on life and efficiency under Stalin; Platonov’s postwar family drama, The Return, (which reminded me somewhat of Sillitoe); Kharms absurdist tale of the Old Woman; and Shalamov’s gulag sketches.
The later third showed a gentler side to Russian life; love, sex, kindness, and poetry; though beautifully told. I felt sad upon coming to the end of it, always a good sign of an excellent book. This is one I’d like to come back to at a later day. Thoroughly recommended.
(fwiw, I think there's an error in the book's description. It's 396 pages not 696 pages as stated).
on-hold
April 10, 20171. Pushkin - The Queen of Spades ****
2. Lermontov - The Fatalist ***
3. Gogol - The Greatcoat *****
4. Turgenev - The Knocking
5. Dostoyevsky - Bobok
6. Tolstoy - God sees the Truth, but waits
7. Leskov - The Steel Flea
8. Chekhov - In the Cart
9. Zinovyeva-Annibal - The Monster
10. Bunin - The Gentleman from San Francisco
11. Bunin - In Paris
12. Teffi - Love
13. Teffi - A Family Journey
14. Zamyatin - The Lion
15. Krzhizhanovsky - Quadraturin
16. Inber - Lalla's Interests
17. Bulgakov - The Embroidered Towel
18. Babel - My First Goose
19. Babel - The Death of Dolgushov
20. Babel - Salt
21. Zoshchenko - Electrification
22. Zoshchenko - Pelageya
23. Zoshchenko - The Bathhouse
24. Zoshchenko - The Crisis
25. Zoshchenko - The Galosh
26. Zoshchenko - The Hat
27. Dobychin - Medical Auxiliary
28. Dobychin - The Father
29. Dobychin - Please Do
30. Platonov - The Third Son
31. Platonov - The Return
32. Kharms - The Old Woman
33. Shalamov - Through the Snow
34. Shalamov - Berries
35. Shalamov - The Snake Charmer
36. Shalamov - Duck
37. Solzhenitsyn - What a Pity
38. Shukshin - In the Autumn
39. Eppel - Red Caviar Sandwiches
40. Dovlatov - The Officer's Belt
41. Buida - Sindbad the Sailor
2. Lermontov - The Fatalist ***
3. Gogol - The Greatcoat *****
4. Turgenev - The Knocking
5. Dostoyevsky - Bobok
6. Tolstoy - God sees the Truth, but waits
7. Leskov - The Steel Flea
8. Chekhov - In the Cart
9. Zinovyeva-Annibal - The Monster
10. Bunin - The Gentleman from San Francisco
11. Bunin - In Paris
12. Teffi - Love
13. Teffi - A Family Journey
14. Zamyatin - The Lion
15. Krzhizhanovsky - Quadraturin
16. Inber - Lalla's Interests
17. Bulgakov - The Embroidered Towel
18. Babel - My First Goose
19. Babel - The Death of Dolgushov
20. Babel - Salt
21. Zoshchenko - Electrification
22. Zoshchenko - Pelageya
23. Zoshchenko - The Bathhouse
24. Zoshchenko - The Crisis
25. Zoshchenko - The Galosh
26. Zoshchenko - The Hat
27. Dobychin - Medical Auxiliary
28. Dobychin - The Father
29. Dobychin - Please Do
30. Platonov - The Third Son
31. Platonov - The Return
32. Kharms - The Old Woman
33. Shalamov - Through the Snow
34. Shalamov - Berries
35. Shalamov - The Snake Charmer
36. Shalamov - Duck
37. Solzhenitsyn - What a Pity
38. Shukshin - In the Autumn
39. Eppel - Red Caviar Sandwiches
40. Dovlatov - The Officer's Belt
41. Buida - Sindbad the Sailor
August 7, 2012
A wonderful compilation of Russian short stories, and an excellent selection of lesser-known authors. Beautifully edited by Robert Chandler. Highly recommended.
April 28, 2010
I was always going to enjoy this book. I have loved Russian literature from an early age, and this short story collection is a Hall of Fame of Russian literature. With a few exceptions, which the editor Robert Chandler highlights in his introduction, the big names are all here. The main omissions are Gorky, Grossman, Pasternak and Sholokhov, because their best work is in other forms like novels or poetry, and Nabokov, because agreement couldn’t be reached with his publishers. But there’s still Pushkin and Tolstoy and Dostoevsky and Gogol and Turgenev and Solzhenitsyn and Bulgakov and Chekhov … and also a selection of other writers, some of whom I hadn’t read before, but all of whom I was glad to get to know.
Of course in all collections the quality varies, but I was amazed to find that I liked almost all of these. I also appreciated the editor’s short introduction to each story, giving a quick biography of the writer and some notes on what makes the story worth including, or things you might need to know to understand it. I’d recommend this book to anyone looking to get a flavour of Russian literature, or to people like me who could read Dostoevsky etc all day! I've posted full reviews of all the stories on my website, www.andrewblackman.net.
Of course in all collections the quality varies, but I was amazed to find that I liked almost all of these. I also appreciated the editor’s short introduction to each story, giving a quick biography of the writer and some notes on what makes the story worth including, or things you might need to know to understand it. I’d recommend this book to anyone looking to get a flavour of Russian literature, or to people like me who could read Dostoevsky etc all day! I've posted full reviews of all the stories on my website, www.andrewblackman.net.
November 16, 2021
Good breadth, enjoyable stories and informative introductions. My favorites, in the order of appearance in this book:
1. Gogol's "The Greatcoat": I'm not sure that "all [came] out of Gogol's Greatcoat", but certainly a good deal of Chekhov, Kafka, and Danil Kharms (whose "The Old Woman" is featured later). Only Gogol can maintain that perfect tension between bathos and pathos.
2. Turgenev's "The Knocking": I don't know why Richard Chandler chose "In the Cart" to represent Chekhov in this anthology--off the top of my head I can think of about three dozens stories that would have been better suited. Oddly enough "The Knocking" is the most Chekhovian short story in this whole collection--the last two paragraphs really give rise to that "astonishing sense of freedom"--and mystery.
3. Zinovyeta-Annibal's "The Monster": This piece alone is worth the price of admission. I don't know how I haven't heard of this author. The story feels oddly familiar, the metaphor is so obvious as to be almost trite--and yet the prose seems to be flickering hazily and luminously in the hot sepia air of summer in a Russian country estate.
4. Platonov's "The Return": Socialist realism strikes and delivers a knock-out punch. I can't think of the last scene without tears welling up,
5. Solzhenitsyn's "What a Pity": A deceptively simple piece that hides some serious skills. Did you know that water drops differ in shape, depending on whether they're clinging to the underside of little twigs or curving branches?
6. Eppel's "Red Caviar Sandwiches": The sensuousness and deadpan humor all remind me of Lolita . Again, why haven't I heard of this author before???
1. Gogol's "The Greatcoat": I'm not sure that "all [came] out of Gogol's Greatcoat", but certainly a good deal of Chekhov, Kafka, and Danil Kharms (whose "The Old Woman" is featured later). Only Gogol can maintain that perfect tension between bathos and pathos.
2. Turgenev's "The Knocking": I don't know why Richard Chandler chose "In the Cart" to represent Chekhov in this anthology--off the top of my head I can think of about three dozens stories that would have been better suited. Oddly enough "The Knocking" is the most Chekhovian short story in this whole collection--the last two paragraphs really give rise to that "astonishing sense of freedom"--and mystery.
3. Zinovyeta-Annibal's "The Monster": This piece alone is worth the price of admission. I don't know how I haven't heard of this author. The story feels oddly familiar, the metaphor is so obvious as to be almost trite--and yet the prose seems to be flickering hazily and luminously in the hot sepia air of summer in a Russian country estate.
4. Platonov's "The Return": Socialist realism strikes and delivers a knock-out punch. I can't think of the last scene without tears welling up,
5. Solzhenitsyn's "What a Pity": A deceptively simple piece that hides some serious skills. Did you know that water drops differ in shape, depending on whether they're clinging to the underside of little twigs or curving branches?
6. Eppel's "Red Caviar Sandwiches": The sensuousness and deadpan humor all remind me of Lolita . Again, why haven't I heard of this author before???
September 9, 2019
Great collection of Russian short stories. Attempts to emphasize authors that aren’t so well-known, so great for discovering new authors. Contains (I think) the best English translation of Gogol’s Шинель. Caryl Emerson called Robert Chander a genius translator, not going to argue with that. :)
February 22, 2024
i love me some russian lit!
December 26, 2020
Great collection. If this doesn't make you a lover of Russian literature nothing will.
December 15, 2024
Turgenev - The Knocking
‘I was aroused not by my own intention of waking up exactly one hour later, the way one often does, but by a strange, if faint, squelching and gurgling right next to my ears … everything was still, as silent, as if we were in a magic realm’
Lermontov - The Fatalist
I prefer not to dwell on abstract ideas: where do they lead you? As a boy I was a dreamer: I loved to caress the images, now gloomy, now iridescent, traced by my restless and avid imagination. But what did that leave me with? Weariness - as if I had been struggling all night with a phantom - only weariness and some dim memory, filled with regrets. In this hopeless battle I exhausted all the ardour of soul and constancy of will required for life;
I entered real life only after living through it all in my mind and I felt bored and disgusted, as if I were reading a poor imitation of a book I had known for a long time.
Leskov - The Steel Flea
‘Don’t drink too much, don’t drink too little - drink middlesome’
‘It goes without saying that Tula no longer has such master craftsmen as the legendary Lefty: machines have evened up the inequalities in gifts and talents, and genius no longer strains itself in a struggle agains diligence and exactness. Even though they encourage the raising of salaries, machines do not encourage artistic daring, which sometime went so far beyond ordinary bounds as to inspire the folk imagination to create unbelievable legends like this one. The workmen, of course, can appreciate the advantages they have gained through practical applications of mechanical science, but the still recall those olden times with pride and affection. These memorit are their epic - an epic that has a genuinely "human soul'.
Bunin - In Paris
‘I’m not sure … somehow it’ll feel strange not to be seeing you’. He looked at her gracefully and blushed. ‘Strange for me too. There are so few meetings in life that bring happiness’’
Bulgakov - The Embroidered Towel
‘A truly rare beauty was fading away in front of my eyes. Seldom in life does see a face such like that’
Zoshchenko - Electrification
‘Lights all very well brothers, but it’s not easy to live with’
Kharms - The Old Woman
'The departed,' my thoughts explained to me, 'are a troublesome lot. It's not true to say they've gone to their rest - the dear departed give us no rest at all. They need to be watched all the time. Ask any mortuary attendant. Why, do you imagine, has he been put there? For one reason only: to stop the departed crawling all over the place.
‘I was aroused not by my own intention of waking up exactly one hour later, the way one often does, but by a strange, if faint, squelching and gurgling right next to my ears … everything was still, as silent, as if we were in a magic realm’
Lermontov - The Fatalist
I prefer not to dwell on abstract ideas: where do they lead you? As a boy I was a dreamer: I loved to caress the images, now gloomy, now iridescent, traced by my restless and avid imagination. But what did that leave me with? Weariness - as if I had been struggling all night with a phantom - only weariness and some dim memory, filled with regrets. In this hopeless battle I exhausted all the ardour of soul and constancy of will required for life;
I entered real life only after living through it all in my mind and I felt bored and disgusted, as if I were reading a poor imitation of a book I had known for a long time.
Leskov - The Steel Flea
‘Don’t drink too much, don’t drink too little - drink middlesome’
‘It goes without saying that Tula no longer has such master craftsmen as the legendary Lefty: machines have evened up the inequalities in gifts and talents, and genius no longer strains itself in a struggle agains diligence and exactness. Even though they encourage the raising of salaries, machines do not encourage artistic daring, which sometime went so far beyond ordinary bounds as to inspire the folk imagination to create unbelievable legends like this one. The workmen, of course, can appreciate the advantages they have gained through practical applications of mechanical science, but the still recall those olden times with pride and affection. These memorit are their epic - an epic that has a genuinely "human soul'.
Bunin - In Paris
‘I’m not sure … somehow it’ll feel strange not to be seeing you’. He looked at her gracefully and blushed. ‘Strange for me too. There are so few meetings in life that bring happiness’’
Bulgakov - The Embroidered Towel
‘A truly rare beauty was fading away in front of my eyes. Seldom in life does see a face such like that’
Zoshchenko - Electrification
‘Lights all very well brothers, but it’s not easy to live with’
Kharms - The Old Woman
'The departed,' my thoughts explained to me, 'are a troublesome lot. It's not true to say they've gone to their rest - the dear departed give us no rest at all. They need to be watched all the time. Ask any mortuary attendant. Why, do you imagine, has he been put there? For one reason only: to stop the departed crawling all over the place.
January 8, 2022
NOOOOO one does literature like the Russians <3 <3 <3 some faves- In Paris, The Galosh, The Return, The Old Woman
January 1, 2021
How would you go about calculating the literary/artistic/cultural greatness of a particular nation?
Is there some formula you could apply? Add up the number of acknowledged great works, divide it by head of population, multiply it by time and you've got a number you can hold on to.
If there was such a formula for calculating the literary greatness of a nation i'm going to say that the winner would be a toss up between Russia and Ireland.
This anthology collects great Russian short stories from the Tsarist era through Soviet times and into the early Putin years.
To say that Russia punches above its weight in short stories is an understatement.
Not all of them are great or to everyone's taste but you're going to find some real gems here. Well worth the price.
Is there some formula you could apply? Add up the number of acknowledged great works, divide it by head of population, multiply it by time and you've got a number you can hold on to.
If there was such a formula for calculating the literary greatness of a nation i'm going to say that the winner would be a toss up between Russia and Ireland.
This anthology collects great Russian short stories from the Tsarist era through Soviet times and into the early Putin years.
To say that Russia punches above its weight in short stories is an understatement.
Not all of them are great or to everyone's taste but you're going to find some real gems here. Well worth the price.
September 14, 2023
From the reign of the Tsars in the early 19th century to the collapse of the Soviet Union and beyond, the short story has long occupied a central place in Russian culture. Included are pieces from many of the acknowledged masters of Russian literature - including Pushkin, Turgenev, Dostoyevsky, Tolstoy, and Solzhenitsyn - alongside tales by long-suppressed figures such as the subversive Kryzhanowsky and the surrealist Shalamov. Whether written in reaction to the cruelty of the bourgeoisie, the bureaucracy of communism or the torture of the prison camps, they offer a wonderfully wide-ranging and exciting representation of one of the most vital and enduring forms of Russian literature.
**
### Review
“A smartly executed bid . . . to broaden our view of Russian literature and life.” — ** *The Independent***
“As one might expect from one of UK’s leading translators, [Chandler’s] translations . . . are both accurate and highly readable.” — ** *The East-West Journal***
“[An] entirely authoritative and marvellous collection.” — ** *The Guardian***
### About the Author
**Robert Chandler** is an acclaimed poet and translator. His many translations from Russian include works by Aleksandr Pushkin, Nikolay Leskov, Vasily Grossman, and Andrey Platonov; his anthologies *Russian Magic Tales* and *The Penguin Book of Russian Poetry* are both published by Penguin Classics.
**
### Review
“A smartly executed bid . . . to broaden our view of Russian literature and life.” — ** *The Independent***
“As one might expect from one of UK’s leading translators, [Chandler’s] translations . . . are both accurate and highly readable.” — ** *The East-West Journal***
“[An] entirely authoritative and marvellous collection.” — ** *The Guardian***
### About the Author
**Robert Chandler** is an acclaimed poet and translator. His many translations from Russian include works by Aleksandr Pushkin, Nikolay Leskov, Vasily Grossman, and Andrey Platonov; his anthologies *Russian Magic Tales* and *The Penguin Book of Russian Poetry* are both published by Penguin Classics.
August 19, 2010
Excellent collection of short stories from a country where short stories have forever flourished. From Tolstoy to Chekhov to newer authors such as Kharms and Dovlatov, some for me were re-reads and some were read for the first time.
And then there's my favorite satirist of all time, Mikhail Zoshckenko, who writes about life in Russia in the 1920's. He says of living conditions in Moscow, "In twenty years' time, maybe even less, every citizen ... will have a whole room to himself. But in the meantime, he is forced to rent out a bathroom and is told, You can live quite a life ... in that bathroom. There are no windows ... but there's a door."
Editor and translator of some of the stories, Robert Chandler, did a wonderful job. My only complaint is that for some reason he left out Gorky.
And then there's my favorite satirist of all time, Mikhail Zoshckenko, who writes about life in Russia in the 1920's. He says of living conditions in Moscow, "In twenty years' time, maybe even less, every citizen ... will have a whole room to himself. But in the meantime, he is forced to rent out a bathroom and is told, You can live quite a life ... in that bathroom. There are no windows ... but there's a door."
Editor and translator of some of the stories, Robert Chandler, did a wonderful job. My only complaint is that for some reason he left out Gorky.
October 24, 2012
I have read a fair amount of Russian short stories. This collection is excellent. It features the standard masters of Dostoyevsky, Turgenev, Tolstoy, Chekhov, Pushkin (The Queen of Spades), Lermontov (The Fatalist) Gogol and Bunin but there is much more. Two of the gems of the collection are Nikolay Leskov's "The Steel Flea" and Yuri Buida'a "Sinbad the Sailor".
There is not an overabundance of Russian female prose writers present in 19th century and early 20th century literature. This collection contains works by Vera Inber and Lidiya Zinovyeva Annibal and both are very good.
This is a very fair representation of Russian short stories by 26 different authors. There are 45 stories in all and one would be hard pressed to find a truly bad one.
There is not an overabundance of Russian female prose writers present in 19th century and early 20th century literature. This collection contains works by Vera Inber and Lidiya Zinovyeva Annibal and both are very good.
This is a very fair representation of Russian short stories by 26 different authors. There are 45 stories in all and one would be hard pressed to find a truly bad one.
December 26, 2018
After Pushkin, Lermontov, Gogol, Turgenev, Dostoyevsky, Tolstoy, even Leskov - I found myself unable to read anymore. There's one story in there by Bulgakov that I'm willing to give my attention to before I shut the book forever. The stories I read were absolutely brilliant, the best I've ever read, and I'm so happy they were combined in the same binding. I'm now verging on another Russian adventure; Deal Souls, Fathers and Sons, maybe, maybe War and Peace even if Tolstoy refers to his older work as immoral. The best story in this collection (from the ones I read) was The Queen of Spades by Pushkin. It indeed warrants the title of greatest of all Russian short stories.
October 11, 2019
Revisited some old favourites and discovered some wonderful new authors, particularly Zoshchenko, Bunin and Kharms. Surprised Makine and Gazdanov didn’t make it in there, but perhaps they’re considered more French than Russian. Still, a brilliant collection.
September 9, 2016
Excellent way to become familiar with the most famous and talented Russian authors from the early 19th century to the 1980s.
March 17, 2018
There is nothing to rival the breadth and the depth of the Russian soul captured by one of the greatest of Russian writers. You feel swept away and carried into the depths of every story, only to come up for air at the end of it and be instantly pulled in again by the next one.
There are several master strokes to each story one can only hope to emulate.
Firstly, each story has something to say, something to contemplate, something to register at the back of the reader’s mind. It is usually a deep philosophical question which is very cleverly reduced to a small, everyday occurrence that somehow manages to burst out of the straight jacket of triviality. It leaves you deep in thought.
Secondly, the plot yields to the character. People come to life in these stories. They are all sorts of them – such richness of personalities and their quirks and secrets; their delusions and their simple-mindedness, their vulnerabilities and their killer-instincts. It’s all there, throbbing and competing for air. The landscape – the famous Russian landscape – isn’t a setting; it is a character too. It plays its part to perfection.
Thirdly, humour. It is only ever so subtle. It lives in the undertones of the language (excellently captured by Chandler), in situational comedy and in the characters’ minds. It also lives in the shadow of the darkness and fear that are never too far, squatting in that bigger, grander house next door.
Fourthly, the silence and the understatement have their role to play too. The stories don’t quite end. It’s up to the reader to conclude them in her mind. The stories rely on an intelligent reader who can take them further.
Bobok is probably my favourite, but then I am biased towards Dostoyevsky as one of my idols (no, not as the flawed, prejudiced human being he was, but as an amazing writer). It is a story of a little man overhearing the dead in a graveyard. The dialogue brings them all to life! This quote makes you think, The wisest person of all (..) is the one who calls himself a fool at least once a month – an unheard of ability in this day and age. In the olden days a fool understood at least once a year that he was a fool, but nowadays – not a hope!
My First Goose by Babel left me covered with goose-bumps! Try it to learn about the survival of the fittest in Bolshevik Russia – read it.
Whilst Chekhov’s The Lady with the Little Dog made me think that life was too short to waste it, Lermontov’s The Fatalist made me reflect on whether any of it really mattered because as he put it, After all, the worst that can happen to you is death – and death is inescapable.
But then again, just contemplate the afterlife for a minute, as in The Greatcoat by Gogol, and that may put even death in its place. Perhaps revenge lives just that little bit longer than death? And if revenge does, then why not everything else?
There are several master strokes to each story one can only hope to emulate.
Firstly, each story has something to say, something to contemplate, something to register at the back of the reader’s mind. It is usually a deep philosophical question which is very cleverly reduced to a small, everyday occurrence that somehow manages to burst out of the straight jacket of triviality. It leaves you deep in thought.
Secondly, the plot yields to the character. People come to life in these stories. They are all sorts of them – such richness of personalities and their quirks and secrets; their delusions and their simple-mindedness, their vulnerabilities and their killer-instincts. It’s all there, throbbing and competing for air. The landscape – the famous Russian landscape – isn’t a setting; it is a character too. It plays its part to perfection.
Thirdly, humour. It is only ever so subtle. It lives in the undertones of the language (excellently captured by Chandler), in situational comedy and in the characters’ minds. It also lives in the shadow of the darkness and fear that are never too far, squatting in that bigger, grander house next door.
Fourthly, the silence and the understatement have their role to play too. The stories don’t quite end. It’s up to the reader to conclude them in her mind. The stories rely on an intelligent reader who can take them further.
Bobok is probably my favourite, but then I am biased towards Dostoyevsky as one of my idols (no, not as the flawed, prejudiced human being he was, but as an amazing writer). It is a story of a little man overhearing the dead in a graveyard. The dialogue brings them all to life! This quote makes you think, The wisest person of all (..) is the one who calls himself a fool at least once a month – an unheard of ability in this day and age. In the olden days a fool understood at least once a year that he was a fool, but nowadays – not a hope!
My First Goose by Babel left me covered with goose-bumps! Try it to learn about the survival of the fittest in Bolshevik Russia – read it.
Whilst Chekhov’s The Lady with the Little Dog made me think that life was too short to waste it, Lermontov’s The Fatalist made me reflect on whether any of it really mattered because as he put it, After all, the worst that can happen to you is death – and death is inescapable.
But then again, just contemplate the afterlife for a minute, as in The Greatcoat by Gogol, and that may put even death in its place. Perhaps revenge lives just that little bit longer than death? And if revenge does, then why not everything else?
September 25, 2022
"The Hat" by Mikhail Zoshchenko (1927)
Only now can one totally understand and grasp the great strides with which, in the last ten years, we have advanced forward. Take any aspect of our life - nothing can be seen but total development and happy success.
And I, my brothers, as a former transport worker, can see very evidently what, for instance, has been achieved on this really rather important front.
Trains run backwards and forwards. Rotten sleepers are removed. Signals are repaired. Whistles give the right whistles. Travelling has become truly pleasant and satisfactory.
Whereas in the past! Back in 1918! You travelled, you travelled, and then - total standstill. And the engine driver, up at the head of the train, is shouting: 'Brothers, come here!'
So the passengers gather.
And the driver says to them: 'I'm afraid I can't brothers, for reasons of fuel, keep going. Those of you with an interest in further travel should jump down from your carriages. And run along into the forest to collect firewood.'
Well, the passengers aren't too happy. They fuss and grumble about this kind of new innovation, but soon enough they're in the forest. Chopping and sawing. They saw up a yard of firewood and we move off. The wood, needless to say, is green. Hisses like hell and our progress is halting.
And I remember another incident. In 1919. We were moving moderately along towards Leningrad ... We stop in the middle of nowhere. Then - reverse drive. And we come to a standstill. The passengers ask: 'Why have we stopped? And why all that way in reverse? Do we, dear God, need firewood? Is the driver looking for birch trees? Is it an upsurge of banditry?'
The fireman explains: 'There's been an unfortunate incident. The driver's hat's blown off. He's gone to look for it.'
Passengers got off the train. Settled down the embankment. Suddenly they see the driver, coming out of the forest. Downcast. Pale. Shrugging his shoulders. 'No,' he says, 'I can't find it. The devil knows where it's blown.' They move the train back another five hundred yards. The passengers are divided into search parties.
About twenty minutes later some man with a sack shouts out: 'Here it is, you devils! Look!' And there it is. The engine driver's hat. Hanging up on a bush.
The driver puts his hat on, tied it with string to one of his buttons so it wouldn't blow off again, and began getting up steam. And half an hour later we were safely on our way.
Yes, transport was in a totally bad state.
But today, even if a passenger - let alone a mere hat - were blown off, we wouldn't stop more than a minute.
Because time is precious. We must keep moving.
Only now can one totally understand and grasp the great strides with which, in the last ten years, we have advanced forward. Take any aspect of our life - nothing can be seen but total development and happy success.
And I, my brothers, as a former transport worker, can see very evidently what, for instance, has been achieved on this really rather important front.
Trains run backwards and forwards. Rotten sleepers are removed. Signals are repaired. Whistles give the right whistles. Travelling has become truly pleasant and satisfactory.
Whereas in the past! Back in 1918! You travelled, you travelled, and then - total standstill. And the engine driver, up at the head of the train, is shouting: 'Brothers, come here!'
So the passengers gather.
And the driver says to them: 'I'm afraid I can't brothers, for reasons of fuel, keep going. Those of you with an interest in further travel should jump down from your carriages. And run along into the forest to collect firewood.'
Well, the passengers aren't too happy. They fuss and grumble about this kind of new innovation, but soon enough they're in the forest. Chopping and sawing. They saw up a yard of firewood and we move off. The wood, needless to say, is green. Hisses like hell and our progress is halting.
And I remember another incident. In 1919. We were moving moderately along towards Leningrad ... We stop in the middle of nowhere. Then - reverse drive. And we come to a standstill. The passengers ask: 'Why have we stopped? And why all that way in reverse? Do we, dear God, need firewood? Is the driver looking for birch trees? Is it an upsurge of banditry?'
The fireman explains: 'There's been an unfortunate incident. The driver's hat's blown off. He's gone to look for it.'
Passengers got off the train. Settled down the embankment. Suddenly they see the driver, coming out of the forest. Downcast. Pale. Shrugging his shoulders. 'No,' he says, 'I can't find it. The devil knows where it's blown.' They move the train back another five hundred yards. The passengers are divided into search parties.
About twenty minutes later some man with a sack shouts out: 'Here it is, you devils! Look!' And there it is. The engine driver's hat. Hanging up on a bush.
The driver puts his hat on, tied it with string to one of his buttons so it wouldn't blow off again, and began getting up steam. And half an hour later we were safely on our way.
Yes, transport was in a totally bad state.
But today, even if a passenger - let alone a mere hat - were blown off, we wouldn't stop more than a minute.
Because time is precious. We must keep moving.
August 2, 2020
Cannot recommend this anthology highly enough. A few of the stories have stayed with me for a long time. Just something about those Russians, they surely could write about life. How it is.
I had hoped this anthology would provide a taster of all those famous Russian authors whom I have not yet read. It certainly did that. But I was also struck by all the effort that Penguin (and the editor/ translator) put into providing extra supporting material. The end result is a superb production.
The Introduction stands as a brilliant piece of writing all on its own.
Each story is prefaced by a short bio of the author which helps tremendously in understanding its context and background. Together with a handy timeline of Russian history in the beginning of the book, one can get the picture of where a particular author or story slotted in. There are also copious explanatory notes to the text. An appendix contains a useful explanation of ranks and the civil service in tsarist Russia. Also, essential for a non-Russian reader, a brief explanation of Russian names (yeah that old obstacle that can make reading Russian literature so tricky to follow)
And to top it all there is suggested "Further Reading" list, compiled by the translator. It gave my "to-read" list quite a boost.
Only one minor qualm: The front cover, although certainly eye catching, has absolutely nothing to do with any of the stories?
Just for fun I ranked the stories along the way and am using this review to capture that ranking somewhere. Its meant just for myself, but happy to share in case others also find it interesting:-
1. The Greatcoat by Nikolai Gogol
2. The Steel Flea by Nikolai Leskov
3. The Queen of Spades by Alexander Pushkin
4. Bobok by Fyodor Dostoyevsky (Still want to read Lincoln in the Bardo as it sounds like it may have a link to this story)
5. The Monster by Lydia Zinovieva-Annibal
6. In the Cart by Anton Chekhov
7. The Gentleman from San Francisco by Ivan Bunin
8. The Knocking by Ivan Turgenev
9. The Embroidered Towel by Mikhail Bulgakov
10. Extracts from Kolyma Tales by Varlam Shalamov
11. Electrification by Mikhail Zoshchenko
12. The Third Son, The Return by Andrei Platonov
13. Lalla's Interests by Vera Inber
14. The Fatalist by Mikhail Lermontov
15. What a Pity by Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn
16. The Lion by Yevgeny Zamyatin
17. The Galosh and The Crisis by Mikhail Zoshchenko
18. The Officer's Belt by Sergei Dovlatov
19. In the Autumn by Vasily Shukshin
20. Sindbad the Sailor by Yuri Buida
21. Pelageya by Mikhail Zoshchenko
22. The Hat by Mikhail Zoshchenko
23. The Bathhouse by Mikhail Zoshchenko
24. Quadraturin by Sigizmund Krzhizhanovsky
25. My First Goose by Isaac Babel
26. Love by Teffi
27. Medical Auxiliary by Leonid Dobychin
28. The Death of Dolgushov by Isaac Babel
29. God sees the Truth, but Waits by Leo Tolstoy
30. A Family Journey by Teffi
31. In Paris by Ivan Bunin
32. Red Caviar Sandwiches by Asar Eppel
33. Salt by Isaac Babel
34. The Old Woman by Daniil Kharms
I had hoped this anthology would provide a taster of all those famous Russian authors whom I have not yet read. It certainly did that. But I was also struck by all the effort that Penguin (and the editor/ translator) put into providing extra supporting material. The end result is a superb production.
The Introduction stands as a brilliant piece of writing all on its own.
Each story is prefaced by a short bio of the author which helps tremendously in understanding its context and background. Together with a handy timeline of Russian history in the beginning of the book, one can get the picture of where a particular author or story slotted in. There are also copious explanatory notes to the text. An appendix contains a useful explanation of ranks and the civil service in tsarist Russia. Also, essential for a non-Russian reader, a brief explanation of Russian names (yeah that old obstacle that can make reading Russian literature so tricky to follow)
And to top it all there is suggested "Further Reading" list, compiled by the translator. It gave my "to-read" list quite a boost.
Only one minor qualm: The front cover, although certainly eye catching, has absolutely nothing to do with any of the stories?
Just for fun I ranked the stories along the way and am using this review to capture that ranking somewhere. Its meant just for myself, but happy to share in case others also find it interesting:-
1. The Greatcoat by Nikolai Gogol
2. The Steel Flea by Nikolai Leskov
3. The Queen of Spades by Alexander Pushkin
4. Bobok by Fyodor Dostoyevsky (Still want to read Lincoln in the Bardo as it sounds like it may have a link to this story)
5. The Monster by Lydia Zinovieva-Annibal
6. In the Cart by Anton Chekhov
7. The Gentleman from San Francisco by Ivan Bunin
8. The Knocking by Ivan Turgenev
9. The Embroidered Towel by Mikhail Bulgakov
10. Extracts from Kolyma Tales by Varlam Shalamov
11. Electrification by Mikhail Zoshchenko
12. The Third Son, The Return by Andrei Platonov
13. Lalla's Interests by Vera Inber
14. The Fatalist by Mikhail Lermontov
15. What a Pity by Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn
16. The Lion by Yevgeny Zamyatin
17. The Galosh and The Crisis by Mikhail Zoshchenko
18. The Officer's Belt by Sergei Dovlatov
19. In the Autumn by Vasily Shukshin
20. Sindbad the Sailor by Yuri Buida
21. Pelageya by Mikhail Zoshchenko
22. The Hat by Mikhail Zoshchenko
23. The Bathhouse by Mikhail Zoshchenko
24. Quadraturin by Sigizmund Krzhizhanovsky
25. My First Goose by Isaac Babel
26. Love by Teffi
27. Medical Auxiliary by Leonid Dobychin
28. The Death of Dolgushov by Isaac Babel
29. God sees the Truth, but Waits by Leo Tolstoy
30. A Family Journey by Teffi
31. In Paris by Ivan Bunin
32. Red Caviar Sandwiches by Asar Eppel
33. Salt by Isaac Babel
34. The Old Woman by Daniil Kharms
February 4, 2020
This collection of Russian short stories includes many writers that I have never heard of & who have only been translated into English since the 1980s (perestroika & all that) so there were some real surprises. It is a goodly mix of authors from early 19th to mid-20th century with quite a few of them writing and showing an undercurrent of political criticism or satire inherent to the story, addressing somewhat indirectly, at times, issues to do with changes in social life after the Revolution, and of course some subtle digs, say to do with housing issues, or penal gulag life or just medical or family relationships. They are all expertly nicely translated and sometimes the plotlines develop with unexpected, clever, twists too - a real insight into Russian culture up to about the Gorbachev era. I would recommend this book to anyone who likes the great Russian writers (e.g. Tolstoy, Gogol, Dostovesky, etc.) but also because of the other authors included who are relatively unknown in the West, all of whom have put their lively minds to what turn out to be jolly good short and in some instances, not so short stories. Probably will re-read it at some point as it was so enjoyable.
January 8, 2021
A treasure trove of meaningful short stories spanning the ages. I found the chapter/author biographical and bibliographical material insightful, and educational concerning the importance of the selection included in this collection. Additional material includes: a chronology of the authors in context with relevant historical events; bibliography of further reading; references; translation notes; a note on names; a note and table of ranks; and Pushkin's I Loved You as translated by Jim Reed.
I was at first leery of purchasing this book. Boy was that apprehension unwarranted. This collection hits a home run not only on authors and selections included, but also, in my opinion for a readability perspective, a grand slam on translations. Although multiple translators are included, the book reads smoothly without the road bumps of differing styles, age level readability, etc.
I HIGHLY recommend this book for the person wanting to acquaint themselves with a variety of authors, styles, subjects, and time periods.
I was at first leery of purchasing this book. Boy was that apprehension unwarranted. This collection hits a home run not only on authors and selections included, but also, in my opinion for a readability perspective, a grand slam on translations. Although multiple translators are included, the book reads smoothly without the road bumps of differing styles, age level readability, etc.
I HIGHLY recommend this book for the person wanting to acquaint themselves with a variety of authors, styles, subjects, and time periods.
August 28, 2018
An excellent collection of Russian short stories from essentially the beginning (Pushkin) not quite up to the present (Buida). Robert Chandler has an excellent introduction and each writer begins with a short bio/criticism focused on their stories and their role in Russian literature. The selections are generally the canonical stories ("Queen of Spades" for Pushkin, "The Overcoat" for Gogol, etc.). Every nineteenth century story was excellent, I did not care for the exiles who seemed dated (including Bunin and Teffi), liked the Soviet writers I already knew (including Bulgakov, Babel and Zoschenko) but did not find myself warming to any new Soviet writers (including Kharms, Shalamov, Eppel or Buida)--some of which I skimmed through relatively quickly.
November 19, 2020
Great collection
Where do you start with Russian literature? So many great writers, so many long novels. This is a great introduction not only to the most renowned Russian novelists, but also to many writers who it would take a long time to get to, if ever. I usually prefer novels to short stories which sometimes feel like cul de sacs, but my overall feeling with this book was one of broadened horizons. Another good reason to read this is importance of the short story in Russian literature. I discovered some great writers from whom I will read more, such as Shalamov (Kolma Tales).I really appreciated the brief biographies of the writers which put them in historical context and the collator/ translator Robert Chandler's commentaries.
Where do you start with Russian literature? So many great writers, so many long novels. This is a great introduction not only to the most renowned Russian novelists, but also to many writers who it would take a long time to get to, if ever. I usually prefer novels to short stories which sometimes feel like cul de sacs, but my overall feeling with this book was one of broadened horizons. Another good reason to read this is importance of the short story in Russian literature. I discovered some great writers from whom I will read more, such as Shalamov (Kolma Tales).I really appreciated the brief biographies of the writers which put them in historical context and the collator/ translator Robert Chandler's commentaries.
October 15, 2020
I tried to teach this boom to some troubled young men who were semi-incarcerated. They were a captive audience, so to speak. During one story, a fight broke out among the young men. I used to dream about people getting worked up about literature. But I didn’t think it would go down like that. I see from the cover they Robert Chandler translated the stories. If there’s a better Russian translator, I’ll eat my iPhone.
October 25, 2025
It's kinda like if you've been drinking Jaegerbombs for months, and someone gives you 4cl of aged whiskey. You forgot what taste is. You've been reading trash for so long, that you feel like prostrating yourself before the Lord for even straying from literature. I'm so sorry Russia I wasn't familiar with your game, I will go read Pushkin.
But this is cap bc im reading Haunting Adeline right now (dont look it up)
But this is cap bc im reading Haunting Adeline right now (dont look it up)
August 19, 2017
I could describe how Gogol's short story The overcoat drove me nuts, but I won't. Just that I had to pause, leave the bookmark in the middle of the story and move on to the next story. After a week I got back to the overcoat and I recommend it. All the stories are fantastically imaginative and can be read over and over and over...
June 22, 2019
A good collection of Russian short stories for someone, like myself, who is a bit of a beginner as far as Russian literature is concerned. This anthology makes you feel like searching more stories by the authors and provides you with biographies of each of them, so it is also a brief history of Russian literature,
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