Back at last: it’s been quite a month of May! This week I
have quick—and rather awkward, since their genres aren’t my usual reading—summaries
of books by two writers who will be in New York soon for Read Russia and BookExpo America events, plus aging news
on two awards, plus a bit about upcoming posts…
First the books... Andrei
Astvatsaturov’s Люди
в голом (People
in the Nude), labelled a novel, is a book of what I’d call vignettes—some
feel especially essayistic and/or autobiographical—that Astvatsaturov links with
the motif of nudity, psychological and physical. I only read Part One, which I loved
for its humorously biting accounts of childhood and its absurdities. Little Andrei
Astvatsaturov, for example, isn’t allowed to use a local swimming pool because he
talks with a friend, though the pool lady tells his mother it’s because he’s
not strong and athletic enough. The friend who lent me People
in the Nude especially liked a passage where Andrei and another friend
communicate, wordlessly, during a field trip to a Lenin museum: the friend
moves his shoulder and mouths “хрусть,
хрусть” (“crack, crack”), referencing their interest in skeletons, which
arose out of some poetry, drawing, and the idea of skeletons climbing the
stairs to Lenin… trust us, it’s funnier and more wonderful than I can make it
sound here. (I Googled because I was curious to see if anyone else liked that passage:
it’s quoted here in Власть.)
Economical communication is Astvatsaturov’s strength as a
writer, too: his portrayals of being a kid—playing at home alone, say, and
taking a phone message—are brief but feel richly (arche)typical, with a
combination of could-be-anywhere themes plus details, like involving imported
beer cans in play, that feel distinctly Soviet-era. I gave the home alone dialogue
to my first-year Russian students: the language was simple enough that they
could read and enjoy some real Russian. (Bonus: They loved the book’s cover!)
I’ll read Part Two later, if I can renew my book loan… it feels different from childhood, beginning with
reflections on writing then moving on to a scene where a literary “dama,”
smoking a cigarette, tells Andrei, “У вас не проза, Аствацатуров... а огрызки из отрывок” (literally
“You don’t have prose, Astvatsaturov… but bits of excerpts.”) True enough, but
his blend of invention and apparent autobiography were funny enough that I laughed out loud. Many times.
Reading Sergei Shargunov’s Книга
без фотографий (A Book Without Photographs) immediately after People in the Nude certainly emphasized stylistic
differences: where Astvatsaturov’s leisurely descriptions blend real life and
invention, Shargunov composes a terser, more straightforward memoir that methodically
barrels through episodes in his life, linking them through photographs and
photography. Shargunov also covers childhood and young adulthood, beginning as the
child of a priest and not joining the Pioneers, then winning the Debut Prize,
becoming a political activist, and visiting political hot spots, including
Chechnya, as a journalist. I thought the quick pace suited the material well, given
Shargunov’s writings about politics, including the October 1993 Events, his
attempt at elected office, and mentions of where he’s not allowed to
photograph. A Book Without Photographs
reads easily, as a perceptive personal history of the late Soviet and early
post-Soviet eras. I enjoyed Shargunov’s combination of toughness and honesty,
which—again!—contrasts with Astvatsaturov, whose book also feels very honest, though
People in the Nude has more of a
feel of irony and vulnerability than toughness.
Rossica Awards. Better late than never on this information! Academia Rossica
announced last week that John Elsworth won the 2012 Rossica Translation Prize
for his translation of Andrei Bely’s Petersburg,
and Gregory Afinogenov won the Rossica Young Translators Award for his
translation of excerpts of Viktor Pelevin’s S.N.U.F.F. Congratulations to both.
What’s Coming Next:
A guest post from Olga Bukhina about books for children and teenagers written
by writers who usually write for adults. Her post is especially topical since
two of the writers she chose—Dmitry Bykov
and Boris
Minaev—will be in New York next week. Award information: the Big Book short
list is coming very soon, and the National Bestseller winner will be announced on
June 3. Then Zakhar Prilepin’s Black
Monkey. I’ll be in New York for a week, attending Read Russia
events and BookExpo America… let
me know if you’ll be there, too!
Disclaimers: The usual.
And I am working on Read Russia.
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