Apricot Jam

October 3, 2011
In this uneven but fascinating collection of eight stories written after the late Nobel Prize winning author's 1994 return to Russia, seven are structured "binarily," describing Russians from all walks of life both before and after the Soviet upheavals of war, revolution, and reform. This conceit includes enough variation to avoid becoming too schematic, though several of the longer war narratives will mesmerize or fatigue, depending on the reader's willingness to accept form as contentâtheir lumbering progress and myopic point of view closely mirrors a grunt's progress from trench to trench. In "Adlig Schwenkitten: A Tale of Twenty-Four Hours" the commander of a sound-ranging unit charged with locating enemy troops (as Solzhenitsyn himself was) is as frustrated by his inability to find Nazis as he is dismayed by the whereabouts of the Soviet battalions for whom he is scouting. More crisply told is the title story, in which a prisoner sends a desperate letter to a famous writer, pleading for food and recalling an apricot tree from his peasant childhood; upon receiving the letter, the writer envies the prisoner's naive writing style. After surviving imprisonment, censor, and deportation, Solzhenitsyn (The Gulag Archipelago) more than earns his moments of irony, though a sense of resignation permeates these pages.

August 1, 2011
Eight newly translated stories show Soviet dissident and Nobel laureate Solzhenitsyn (19182008) exploring familiar themesWWII, Soviet and post-Soviet life, government oppression, related hardships. Formally, the stories reveal an experimental side to the writer. Each consists of two variously related or overlapping parts, a device that allows Solzhenitsyn to highlight contrasts and contradictions and make ample use of irony to hammer home his points as well as indulge in a little fun now and then. In one half of the title story, a kulak who has lost his wealth still has his memories of his mother's sweet preserves; in the other, powerful men in an elegant dacha praise Stalin as they eat apricot jam. In another story, we meet two women named Nastenka, who lead very different lives. To those new to Solzhenitsyn, this selection probably will not replace the classic One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich (1962), which is a more accessible work, as a first recommendation. Those seeking a more comprehensive understanding of the author, however, will appreciate these stories. High-Demand Backstory: Promotion at the recent BookExpo indicates the publisher fully intends to bring this important author back into the public eye.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2011, American Library Association.)