Siberia on Fire brings together some of the best stories and essays by Valentin Rasputin, widely regarded as the finest writer in the Soviet Union today. Although the people and places that make up his fiction are characteristically Siberian, Rasputin's broad appeal and international recognition stem from universal themes—the interdependent elements of nature; the cultural and historical continuum maintained by past, present, and future generations; and the clash between modern and traditional mores.
Rasputin was born in a small Siberian village on the Angara River in 1937 and educated at Irkutsk University. His work displays his continuing concern about the economic development of the vast wilderness of Siberia and its effects on the land and the people. Siberia has undergone monumental changes brought on by the excesses of Stalinism in the twenties and thirties, the losses and deprivations during World War II, and the massive construction and modernization projects of more recent decades. A prominent feature of Rasputin's fiction, often associated with the "village prose" movement, is the portrayal of a traditional way of life that is vanishing along with huge tracts of forests and three-hundred-year-old villages.
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Editorial Reviews
From Publishers Weekly
A major contemporary Soviet writer charts the terrain of his native Siberia. Rasputin's dazzling stories are sophisticated splicings of nonchronological episodes. Of special interest is "The Fire," which analyzes the various types of chaos caused by political and social upheaval, and natural disasters, as well as their cost to the individual: "A sensitive person . . . views himself not as a doctor would, seeing primarily organs fulfilling specific functions, but as the powerful, weak-willed sovereign of an immense, incomprehensible kingdom." The nonfiction here, however, is almost redundant, returning the aesthetic transformations of the stories to their factual roots. Rasputin's essays advocating preservation of Siberia's natural resources reveal his convictions but lack documentation and proposals for change; discussions of Soviet writers Vasily Shukshin and Aleksandr Vampilov will not engage the lay reader.
Copyright 1989 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.
Copyright 1989 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.
Review
"Dazzling stories."—Publishers Weekly
"The quality of the translations is uniformly high, an impressive achievement."—New York Times Book Review
"A fine translation of Valentin Rasputin's works, appropriate for use in college and university literature classes."—World Literature Today
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
3.0 out of 5 stars
Okay...charming for what it is...,
By Jessica (Hunter, NY, USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: SIBERIA ON FIRE: STORIES AND ESSAYS (Paperback)
I expected more from this book. Some of the stories are too intangible for me, too much about emotion with too much personification. The more simple, narrative stories are incredible. I've read many stories from Lapland, northern Canada, Alaska and beyond, and the stories all have many things in common. The stories can be slow at times and illustrate the simple life of Siberia, but they are win/lose -- as I said, I liked about 60% of stories and the other 40% bored me to some extent. If you're interested in northern life, especially old/traditional life in the north or in Siberia, this is a good read, but don't expect too much...the stories are very simple, with very human but blunt themes.
2 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Well worth a read,
This review is from: SIBERIA ON FIRE: STORIES AND ESSAYS (Paperback)
A collection of short stories and essays by one of Siberia's most famous modern writers. Well worth a read to look into the heart of Siberian life.
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