Siberia on Fire: Stories and Essays (NIU Series in Slavic, East European, and Eurasian Studies) - Softcover

Rasputin, Valentin

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0875805477 ISBN 13: 9780875805474

Publisher: Northern Illinois University Press, 1989

Synopsis

"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."

About this title

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

Synopsis

Offers a brief profile of the Russian writer, and gathers his stories and essays about life in modern Siberia.

Edition details

• Publisher: Northern Illinois University Press
• Publication date: 1989
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0875805477
• ISBN 13: 9780875805474
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 252