In the Past Night: The Siberian Stories [Hardcover]

Dmitry Stonov (Author), Natasha Stonov (Translator), Kathryn Darrell (Translator)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 15, 1996

Each night, he composed stories in his head, memorizing every line. In the day, he secretly scribbled down on cigarette paper the tales he had created in the past night. Dmitry Stonov was already a well-known Russian author when he was sentenced to a Siberian work camp in 1949. Denied all writing materials, he developed and memorized stories at night. During the day while he worked in the prison library, he removed the tobacco from his cigarettes and recorded his stories in tiny script on the rescued papers. These Stonov managed to smuggle to his family. Terrified that discovery would lead to Stonov's execution, his wife and son buried the stories and hoped for his return. In 1954, when Stonov was released, he transcribed the stories into a notebook. Upon his death in 1962, the stories were concealed again. When Stonov's son Leonid and Leonid's wife Natasha finally won their freedom in 1990, they brought this remarkable manuscript with them to the United States. In the Past Night brings gripping clarity not only to prison life, but also those imprisoning aspects that pervaded every level of Russian society—fear, betrayal, loneliness, the death of hope. Yet Stonov's simple, lyrical compassion allows the reader to glimpse the transcending human spirit.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

This remarkable collection of short fiction bears the weight of the author's own experiences, as detailed by his son in a foreword. In 1949, during the throes of Stalin's anti-Jewish campaign, Stonov (1898-1962), a renowned Russian-Jewish writer, was sentenced to a Siberian work camp; during his six-year imprisonment, he composed these stories on cigarette paper (writing materials were forbidden) that he later smuggled out to family members. The 17 tales reveal the life of political prisoners of that era. Their stark settings but complex rendering of characters make them memorable, particularly in the relationship Stonov draws between the repressive Stalinist mind-set and its often devastating psychological toll on individuals. Stonov writes in a conversational, exuberant style (the translation reads naturally), and he's able to capture a character in a few swift strokes; the new prison overseer, for example, is noted to be "fat, flabby and pathologically suspicious." The stories tend to fall into two categories. There are those set in prison camps; the most disturbing of these consists of the remaining fragments of "Seven Slashes," recounting Stonov's experience of seven solitary days in "the cabinet," a cell too small to lie down in. Then there are those that concern released prisoners, who are either bent on revenge or find themselves facing an unexpectedly brutal world. An afterword, based on talks with Stonov's wife, explains the autobiographical aspects of the stories, which are invigorated time and again by their creator's refusal to settle for simple dichotomies, no matter how victimized his characters or how reprehensible their situations. Twelve photos.
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Language Notes

Text: English (translation)
Original Language: Russian

Product Details

• Hardcover: 211 pages
• Publisher: Texas Tech University Press; 1st ed edition (January 15, 1996)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0896723585
• ISBN-13: 978-0896723580
• Product Dimensions: 8.8 x 5.8 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #809,531 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Moving Stories, September 21, 1997

By A Customer

This review is from: In the Past Night: The Siberian Stories (Hardcover)

The stories in this book are moving, written in prose as spare as the detention camps its stories describe and continue to haunt one long after the book has been put down

0 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Unforgettable Short Stories, November 27, 1997

By A Customer

This review is from: In the Past Night: The Siberian Stories (Hardcover)

17 unforgettable short stories, each with the impact of a novel. If you read one book on the Russian experience, this is the one to read.