A collection of short stories probes the legacy of Russia's involvement in Afghanistan, examining the lives of a schoolmistress in a rural hamlet, a young man awaiting conscription, and a wounded veteran trying to rebuild his career. 10,000 first printing.
Book Description
Editorial Reviews
From Publishers Weekly
Set for the most part in Afghanistan, these 10 short works of fiction by a young Russian writer capture the scope of the Soviet experience in this beautiful, hauntingly barren land. Eschewing conventional narrative, Yermakov frames a series of powerful vignettes whose immediacy and raw passion recall war reportage. His English-language debut covers a wide range of emotional terrain: young men tested by battle for the first time; a Soviet soldier tortured and executed by Afghan guerillas; the love-starved wife who waits at home for her husband's return. The result is a rich tapestry of images. Dangerously bored by their long sojourn in Afghanistan, the Soviets indulge in hazing, become addicted to hashish and forget their own language, using a garbled mixture of Russian and Afghan words. Yermakov makes palpable the brutality of a war in which both sides summarily execute their prisoners, injecting from time to time mocking glimpses of the official Soviet propaganda that supposedly justifies the senseless violence. This visceral book captures the cadence of battle, the sounds of gunfire and the smell of fear, poignantly showing the reader why this military campaign has since been labeled "Russia's Vietnam."
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc.
From Kirkus Reviews
The Afghan war occasions these Russian stories by a 30-year-old Soviet Army veteran--stories of waiting, of flashing terror, boredom, of soldiers on leave, of draftees trying to cram in as much freedom as they can before war-death gets a chance at removing the possibility forever. Apart from some striking local details (such as an Afghan sandstorm), the war-scene stories evince little more than the undeniable reminder that all wars share the same awful parameters. More interesting are the pieces (``The Yellow Mountain,'' for example, or ``A Springtime Walk'') that plug into that particularly Russian literary unit--the day, time's passage--to produce elements of apprehension and loss among conscripts and the demobbed alike. Yermakov, though, is a placid, not terribly vivid writer--and the parallelism of the publisher's narrow hook here, ``Stories from Russia's Vietnam,'' pretty much sums up the whole package without a lot to spare. -- Copyright ©1993, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Gritty war narratives,
By A Customer
Amazon Verified Purchase(What's this?)
This review is from: Afghan Tales: Stories from Russia's Vietnam (Hardcover)
The dust, sweat, danger, and fatigue of soldiering in the Afghan plains and mountains comes through vividly, as does something of the social dynamics of Soviet infantry units.Strong sense of the least glamorous aspects of combat and military life.
3.0 out of 5 stars
Not what I hoped for,
By
Amazon Verified Purchase(What's this?)
This review is from: Afghan Tales: Stories from Russia's Vietnam (Hardcover)
A few of the stories within the pages of this book might be of interest if you're looking for examples of combat in the hills and villages of Afghanistan, but keep in mind that they will be very few. This is a small book and most of the stories have to do with the soldiers themselves; thus, if you have an interest in a soldier's imagination, thoughts, dreams, and what he thinks about during the war, their conversations with each other, rather than the raids/battles they might become engaged in, you'll find something of interest within the pages of this book. Otherwise, I'd say give this one a pass. This won't be a book I keep around nor is it something one can readily cite as a source.
2 of 10 people found the following review helpful:
1.0 out of 5 stars
Another Afghan Stinker,
By
This review is from: Afghan Tales: Stories from Russia's Vietnam (Hardcover)
... Most of it was barely tolerable. To get through it was quite a chore. Read this and you'll be amazed when you think the people written about in this book were representing a major super power. I can't even imagine the fact we were once fearful of these people. It seems the only people Russia used in their little war, were found in some bowery or skid row. After reading the book I am still left seeking the answer to a few questions. Like..Did any Russian units actually go on patrols? set an ambush? Does anyone have any of those experiences to share? I have read about a dozen books written by former Russian soldiers and it strikes me that none of them have any combat experiences worth sharing. You will hear plenty about guys hanging out at the camp beating each other up, or drinking. They will even excite you with babble about the dangers of traveling from one place to the other. (which may explain why they never left the capms) Those that did leave the camps, never seem to have gotten out of their BMPS's. Maybe I'll stumble across that one real good book detailing some real combat experienced by The soldiers who fought in Afghanistan. But this one just plain stunk.
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