Customer Reviews

An Incident at Krechetovka Station & Matryona's House: "We Never Make Mistakes" Two Short Novels

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This is a collection of two short novels written by Nobel Prize-winning author Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn that appeared in the January 1963 issue of a Soviet literary magazine called "Novy Mir."

The first novel, "An Incident at Krechetovka Station," centers around Lieutenant Zotov who works at one of the railway stations ensuring men and provisions make it to their proper destinations. One stormy night, full of wind and cold, an army straggler appears at the station, and it's up to Zotov to determine if he is who he says and what should be done with him. A fine novel about the idiosyncracies of war and justice.

In the second novel, "Matryona's House," a young teacher is placed out in the country and finds lodging with an old peasant woman. Through the cold winter, he watches her put up withe cold, hunger and greedy relatives, never once asking for anything in return. It isn't until after she has died that he truly understands her. A powerful tale about what remaining true to yourself and to your ideals.

Both novels make for great, worthwhile reading.