Customer Reviews

PU-239 and Other Russian Fantasies: A Novella and Stories

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Whoever sent Ken Kalfus' wife to work in Moscow has done a great service to readers. Placed in such a strange environment, Kalfus has crafted a collection of short stories (and a novella)focusing on individuals who find their own dreams and desires at odds with the system, any system. The result is a rich and satisfying book of great skill, honesty and insight.

In the title story, a scientist contaminated by exposure to radioactivity enters the black market to provide security to his family. In "Orbit," a very human Yuri Gargarin spends an eventful night before his first spaceflight. The novella, "Peredelkino" explores the tension between creativity, love and politics. In each of these stories, and the others, the characters are finely drawn, the narration is deft and the impact made without contrivance or manipulation of the reader.

Kalfus' first book, "Thirst," was a wonderfully diverse collection of stories. "Pu-239" follows up, and even surpasses the promise of that book. "Pu-239" is a treasure.

Kalfus' second collection of stories has a lot to commend it. The title story "PU-239" is the best of the book. Like all short story collections, some are very successful and some are complete misses. In general, I like the way he draws out characters and he is excellent at describing the movements that define a person. In some of the stories, I felt that he only had a cursory, historical knowledge of places and events and that made the story seems a little shallow. Overall, this is a worthwhile book to own and enjoy.

This book reminds you that a good short story can fill you up as much as the best novel because it tantalizes and teases you with its economy.

Pu-239 consists of a collection of six short stories followed by a novella. The short stories cover a broad range of topics and cross the vast geographic expanse (Moscow, Chechnya, an area like Chernobyl, and the former Soviet/Jewish Republic of Birobidzhan) that is the former USSR. Some of the stories work and read well. Pu-239 and Birobidzhan work particularly well. Others, Orbit and Anzhelika, 13 are acceptable. Salt and Budyonnovsk, are not particularly good. The Novella, Peredelkino, concludes the collection and is Kalfus' best piece of writing. Ironically, it also explains the pitfall that keeps this work from a higher rating. Much has been made in prior reviews and in the dust jacket of Kalfus' 4-year stay in the USSR/CIS. Some have argued that the stories reflect the broad but ultimately superficial range of Kalfus' knowledge of Russia. This is a valid criticism. However, the importance of that criticism depends upon whether you believe that a short story requires the same kind of depth one would look for in a novel. Further, it depends upon whether you view in-depth knowledge to be a pre-requisite for a good story. Peredelkino centers on a Soviet writer and member of the Writer's Union during the Brezhnev regime. The protagonist receives fierce criticism for a novel that focuses on life on a Soviet merchant vessel. The criticism centers on his lack of precise in-depth information about life on the ship. It shows, his critics argue, a lack of concern for Soviet realism. The writer complains that the facts were not essential. He writes fiction and the ship was merely a fiction delivery device. Kalfus, to a certain extent, faces the same criticism. Despite his 4-year stay, his stories do not seem to cut below the outer levels of reality of Soviet life. On the other hand, if we accept the settings merely as a fiction delivery device rather than an in-depth excursion into the soul of Mother Russia, the value of the stories as stories are heightened. Ultimately, this is a book worth reading despite its uneven quality.

There's an old Russian story about a serf who's granted a wish by a genie. "Kill my neighbour's cow" is the wish. This book expands on that thought process. There's everything, from modern gangster Russia, to the beginning of the Russian space program, to a failed writer surpassed by a lesser, defecting, talent, to a fairy tale involving salt and Russian dog-in-the-manger thinking. This is a great book.

I found this to be a great collection of short stories, and I think those who are interested in life in the Soviet Union/Russia of the 20th Century will also find it to be a compelling read. The author clearly knows how to handle the short story genre (although the "novella" piece at the end of the book was my personal favorite - great development of characters in this particular piece!), and his experiences living in Russia have obviously influenced the way his stories ring true.

If you like short stories, and you're interested in the sociology/psychology of life in the Soviet Union/Russia, you'll really like this collection. I did.

Don't expect this collection of short stories to be anywhere as good as the author's first work Thirst. The first titled story was the best of the bunch, similar in style and technique to what made the stories in Thirst great. However it's downhill from there; you keep hoping that something interesting will happen but the other stories are as dreary as the Russian weather.

Kathleen Turner and Michael Douglas heat up the screen in this stellar sequel to "Romancing the Stone." Danny DeVito provides plenty of comic relief. As good as the first!

These are dark gritty stories of Russia's past, from pre-WWII to mid coldwar. They evoke a sense of familiarity of what we conventionally think of as an oppressive Soviet state, but these stories also let us imagine what it might be like to be entirely human during those times, and how one might have been inspired by the ideals of socialism, representing a notion of human development which is lost upon the present-day American mind.

I ran across this book entirely by accident. While scanning the shelf for yet another author, the title caught my eye, and being a Russian language undergraduate and traveler; I decided to take the book home to find out more these "russian fantasies". When at home, I randomly opened the book and landed straight on the story Birobidzhan and decided that was were I would start and within a few lines, I was totally in love. Mr. Kalfus has a writing style that instantly transports his readers into the same realm of his characters. Not only could I envision Israel and Larissa dancing, but I could also hear that insistent jazz unwinding from its record. It's been a long time since I've been memorized by an author, albeit a male author and I must say that the story Birobidzhan is enough for me to say this book is wonderful.