Siberia on Fire : Stories and Essays by Valentin Rasputin

Rasputin, Valentin; Mikkelson, Gerald (translator); Winchell, Margaret (translator)

ISBN 10: 0875801528 / ISBN 13: 9780875801520

Published by DeKalb, IL, U.S.A., 1989, First Edition, Northern Illinois University Press,, 1989

About this Item

hardcover in dj; orange cloth, black spine lettering; exterior boards NEAR FINE; NEAR FINE dj; Selected, Translated, and with an Introduction by Gerald Mikkelson and Margaret Winchell; SIGNED AND INSCRIBED BY GERALD MIKKELSON on front forepage; frontispiece photo of Valentin Rasputin; 230 pages including 6 stories, 6 essays, appendix (guide to word stress in Russian names), and bibliography of major works by Valentin Rasputin, plus a 14-page introduction which includes two maps; a few small to tiny page stains (all print fully readable); almost all pages are extremely clean; glossy pictorial dj of strong paper has light creasing; tight copy; a scholarly work.

Seller Inventory # 20452

Bibliographic Details

• Title: Siberia on Fire : Stories and Essays by Valentin Rasputin
• Publisher: DeKalb, IL, U.S.A., 1989, First Edition, Northern Illinois University Press,
• Publication Date: 1989
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0875801528
• ISBN 13: 9780875801520
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition: 1st Edition
• Condition: Very Good
• Dust Jacket Condition: Dust Jacket Included
• Signed: Signed by Author(s)

About this title

Synopsis

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

Reviews

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.