Best Russian Short Stories- Edited by Thomas Seltzer

Best Russian short stories- Edited by Thomas Seltzer

   …I am not in the position to sacrifice the necessary in the hope of winning the superfluous.

I believe that the subtitle, a quote from Pushkin’s ‘The Queen of Spades’, depicts what the Russian literature is all about- veracity, simplicity and revelation of the basic nature of human. Through his meticulously selected compilation of short stories from some of the most acclaimed Russian writers, Thomas Seltzer is able to put this visceral sense of Russian style across to the readers. From the romance of Pushkin to the simplicity of Tolstoy to the innovation and economy of Chekov- everything is quite apparent in this compilation. It would be impossible to say whether or not these short stories are the ‘best’ Russian short stories and also treat these as a single work while critiquing them. I think the best way, although a long one, would be to take up the task author-wise.

Pushkin’s ‘The queen of spades’ stands on the cusp of romance and realism of Russian literature. His characters are able to lie to themselves and accentuate the base nature of greed hidden in the quasi love of the story. ‘The cloak’ by Gogol is no ordinary story, and yet, it has the most ordinary plot that hauls characters, fixated between ennui, poverty and plainness, against a preternatural backdrop. Gogol is able to create his own world of drudgery, reality, bureaucracy and a certain almost hidden sense of grotesqueness. Turgenev’s ‘The district doctor’ is a beautiful work of Russian realism that depicts the conflict between profession and love while at the same time creating an image of love caused by the absence of it. Dostoevsky through his work ‘The Christmas Tree and the wedding’ has once again been able to achieve the same magnitude of extraordinary poignancy as ‘Crime and Punishment’ is able to bring about. His truth is adorned with nothing. It is stark naked, showing human emotions for what they are. Tolstoy’s sketch of the old man who is wrongfully convicted of a crime in ‘God sees the truth, but waits’ emanates the futility of indignation and superiority of moral actions. It almost betrays his own doubt regarding the justness of God, although this could very well be my own perception(for Tolstoy had firm faith in Christianity). Saltykov’s tale ‘How a Muzhik fed two officials’ is quite allegorical and though I believe that it is not the best example of Russian realism, it shines as a glorious example of satire in Russian literature. Though Muzhik has no obligation – either professional or moral- to server the officers, he does so gratefully like it is his nature. This sort of image brings a strong sense of absurdity in mind and when one puts this absurdity with the reality of serfdom, one is amazed by how much the system didn’t make sense. I am partial to Socrates and because he is the protagonist in Korolenko’s work ‘The shades, a phantasy’, which has quite magnificent imagery, I don’t think I am able to critique his work neutrally. I found his work to be disproportionately unlike any other Russian works that I’ve read and still without a doubt one of the most significant ones. Socrates, in my mind, in a not a hero but a ‘gadfly’ as the author puts it- who prevents us from dozing off into the slumber of ignorance and groupthink. Garshin’s ‘The signal’ is again a simple sketch that shows the Russian society as it was from the perspective of a track-walker. It is without any charms and purpose and I feel it somehow, although not perfectly, achieves the pity evoking quality of Dostoevsky.

All of three Chekov’s works are brilliant and ‘inventive’ as Seltzer himself describes when introducing the compilation. His economy of words and simplicity are exemplary. No doubt he is one of the most acclaimed short story writers of the world. From the futility of material after attainment of knowledge presented in ‘The bet’ to the elements of misery that emanate from a simple letter of a child in ‘Vanka’ to the never told lack of self-image a lady in ‘The darling’- Chekov’s brilliance shines in brevity and plots of his tales. The magic of the little girl’s utterance of “Tiu Tiu, Mamochka!” in Sologub’s work ‘Hide and seek’ evokes a heart rending feeling that is unlike sadness or pity. Its sweetness is a mixture of tears and joy. Potapenko’s ‘Dethroned’ presents an insignificant and laughable picture of aristocracy through the depiction of competition between two ladies in the backdrop of servility and pseudo-loyalty of a ladies tailor. S.T. Semyonov is able to present the Russian poor through the glass of his own eyes. His tale portrays sacrifice as a simple unsaid thing for the poor, quite different from how the men of means see it. Gorky’s works ‘One autumn night’ and ‘ Her lover’ are brazen and do not shy away from the unsaid elements of the society. Andreyev’s ‘Lazarus’ is a philosophical work more than a literary one- ‘In the eyes of the infinite wisdom and folly are the same, for infinite knows them not’. This work is one of my favorite stories, if not the favorite, in this compilation. It addresses the question “what is death?” and hints at questions “What is God?” without the sophistry that often comes with these questions. Artzybashev’s work ‘The revolutionist’ tries to capture the same zeal as Doestovsky’s ‘Crime and punishment’ and partially succeeds in it. Kuprin’s work ‘The Outrage’ treats the grave subject of pogrom(religious persecution of Jews) in a light way but succeeds as a story with a flavor that doesn’t care about morality and tries to intentionally stick to a fallacious flow of logic. I really enjoyed reading this story.

All in all, this compilation is a must read for all those who want to be acquainted with some of the most acclaimed Russian short story writers. The pithy introduction to this work by Seltzer is a cherry on the top and is best read after the work instead of before it.