Andrew

Vaclav & Lena, the children of Russian emigrés, find comfort in their common origins, camaraderie in their attempts to navigate the English language, and purpose in their ambition to create a magic act in Brighton Beach. Then Lena disappears—and it’s not an act. The path to solving the mystery of Lena’s whereabouts will make you laugh and cry as Vaclav grows older and eventually uncovers the hidden truths behind the scenes of his friendship with Lena. Haley Tanner perfectly captures the wonder and possibilities of an imaginative childhood, one complicated by the incomprehensible, protective, and sometimes cruel behavior of adults.

Super Sad True Love Story is a piece of gushy, Russian-Jewish self-flagellating, romantically improbable, adolescent autostimulation. It is studded with many bits of highly irreverent cleverness, conceptual cultural criticism and socio-political commentary that beg to be read aloud: Such as intergenerational, cross-cultural visit to Lenny's parents' house and dinner with Eunice's parents; or the omnipresent äppärät pda which no self-respecting hipster is ever without, incessantly broadcasts its bearer's financial, cholesterol, and even sexual (“fuckability”) rankings to the world at large; or the aging generation's vain attempts to prolong their lives with wheatgrass beverages and cosmetic surgery via the seductive Post Human Services which promises to help them live forever—for a very large price. This novel is not for the meek. Like Lenny, Super Sad True Love Story, deserves to be loved with all its imperfections.

The Prospector is the story of a young man’s quest for his personal identity. Having grown up the privileged son of colonists in Africa, he turns to a life of traveling and adventure after his father dies and a hurricane destroys his plantation. In turns, he becomes a sailor, a treasure hunter, and a soldier in the trenches of France during World War I. A sweeping tale of the beginning of the century, The Prospector is also a highly recommended introduction to Nobel Laureate Jean-Marie Gustave Le Clezio’s work.

The Surrendered begins forcefully, revealing the traumatic suffering inflicted on children attempting to flee the advancing war in Korea. Throughout the novel—over the course of the century— Chang-rae Lee explores the residual impact of the lingering loss and emotional damage for three principal characters: a young girl, a missionary, and a soldier. As it did with Franklin and Henry in A Gesture Life and Native Speaker, respectively, the past continues to restrict June, Sophie, and Hector, and prevents them from fully engaging with those to whom they long to relate. A grippingly powerful and tragically beautiful story, this is Lee’s most evocative and compelling book yet.

So you think Pevear & Volokhonsky's translations have introduced you to Russian literature? Think again, and meet your contemporaries. A Werewolf Problem in Central Russia: And Other Stories, by Victor Pelevin and There Once Lived a Woman Who Tried to Kill Her Neighbor's Baby: Scary Fairy Tales, by Ludmilla Petrushevskaya will introduce you to the rough impact on ordinary citizens during the transition at the end of the Soviet period to the failures of the new economy. In classic yet shockingly current Russian style, Pelevin plays with the surreal and absurb; Petrushevskaya explores the realm of strange occurences and fantasy; throughout their stories, there is a relentless hope and longing for a better, more deeply meaningful existence. Aren't these elements what make everyday reality so shockingly brutal and harsh, but also bearable? Because if we can't laugh at bizarre twists of fate and escape into dreams, what else does the world have to offer?