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From one of modern Russia's finest writers, a spellbinding collection of eighteen stories, her first to be translated into English in more than twenty years. Ordinary realities and yearnings to transcend them lead to miraculous other worlds in this dazzling collection of stories. A woman's deceased father appears in her dreams with clues about the afterlife; a Russian professor in a small American town constructs elaborate fantasies during her cigarette break; a man falls in love with a marble statue as his marriage falls apart; a child glimpses heaven through a stained-glass window. With the emotional insight of Chekhov, the surreal satire of Gogol, and a unique blend of humor and poetry all her own, Tolstaya transmutes the quotidian into aetherial alternatives. These tales, about politics, identity, love, and loss, cut to the core of the Russian psyche, even as they lay bare human universals. Tolstaya's characters--seekers all--are daydreaming children, lonely adults, dislocated foreigners in unfamiliar lands. Whether contemplating the strategic complexities of delivering telegrams in Leningrad or the meditative melancholy of holiday aspic, vibrant inner lives and the grim elements of existence are registered in equally sharp detail in a starkly bleak but sympathetic vision of life on earth. A unique collection from one of the first women in years to rank among Russia's most important writers.… (more)
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These stories, some derived from Tolstaya's personal experiences, some glorious works of fiction are a fascinating example of the everlasting beauty of Russian Literature. Aetherial Worlds open with a powerful introduction where the writer juxtaposes her experience of a myopia operation to the writing of her first short story. These are some of the highlights of the collection.
"And if you feel like senselessly crying, do it now, while nobody can see you."
Aspic: The preparation of a formal dinner. The obligation of the hostess to put on a mask in front of her guests.
"Life is but smoke and shadows."
Smoke and Shadows: To say this story was shocking would be an understatement.What starts as the musings of a love affair doomed by cultural differences becomes a tale of obsession. Fantastic!
There: A story of socks lost in the washing machine and domestic goblins. The disappearing socks provide a simile for the people who used to simply disappear during the nightmare of the Soviet era.
"Was she happy? Did she see from her window the white night outside, the alleyways covered with transparent haze and twilight-colored bushes? Whom does she love? Who loves her? And me, whom do I love?
A Young Lady in Bloom: A lively story about a summer job in a post-office during the 1970s. A beautiful, strangely sad journey to Saint Petersburg delivering telegrams...
Father: An ode to the paternal figure through the writer's memories of her now deceased father. A beautiful, tenderly haunting text that brought tears to my eyes...
The Square: A beautiful text on the great Kazimir Malevich and the sacred literary figure of Leo Tolstoy.
"Don’t piss on my leg and tell me it’s raining, I’ll corner you and eat your brains for breakfast."
Aetherial Worlds: Apart from the fact that this quote is me in a nutshell, the story that lends its title to the collection is a moving, thoughtful piece about cultural shock and the will to understand each other, no matter how difficult it may be. Tolstaya's pen is sad, nostalgic, funny as a new house becomes the metaphor for a new life.
P.S. I never stop marveling at the stupidity of a certain type of students....
See the Reverse: A beautiful text on the marvel that is Ravenna, a moving elegy for the writer's father and the finest closure for a shuttering, tender and meaningful collection.
In these beautiful, funny and sometimes tragic passages, Tolstaya has poured her heart and soul to speak to the reader. We should listen....One small complain, though. I think the writer had the Mycenaeans and the Minoans awfully confused.....
‘’I don’t know its geography, its mountains, or its seas; it’s so vast, it must be limitless. Or perhaps it’s not simply one world—perhaps there are many. They are unpredictable: they can show themselves to you, or not. Some days they may not let you inside: Sorry, the doors are locked, we’re on holiday. But to the patient and the devoted, they will in the end always yield. The doors will open, and you won’t know what you will come across until you enter."
Many thanks to Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group and NetGalley for the ARC in exchange of an honest review.