Author:Nikolay Leskov,David McDuff
Five great stories from one of the most quintessentially Russian of writers, Nikolai Leskov.
In the best of Leskov's stories, as in almost no others apart from those of Gogol, we can hear the voice of nineteenth-century Russia. An outsider by birth and instinct, Leskov is one of the most undeservedly neglected figures in Russian literature. He combined a profoundly religious spirit with a fascination for crime, an occasionally lurid imagination and a great love for the Russian vernacular. This volume includes five of his greatest stories, including the masterful Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk.
Nikolai Semyonovich Leskov was born in 1831 in Gorokhovo, Oryol Province and was orphaned early. In 1860 he became a journalist and moved to Petersburg where he published his first story. He subsequently wrote a number of folk legends and Christmas tales, along with a few anti-nihilistic novels which resulted in isolation from the literary circles of his day. He died in 1895.
David McDuff is a translator of Russian and Nordic literature. His translations of nineteenth and twentieth century Russian prose classics (including works by Dostoyevsky,Tolstoy, Bely and Babel) are published by Penguin.
Effortlessly conjures surprises, brilliantly realized, pricelessly entertaining
—— ObserverTremendous, unsettling, brilliantly creepy
—— IndependentA compelling and often startling collection of stories. Vickers is a storyteller of note and grace
—— Daily ExpressTense and mysterious
—— The LadyThe best of these stories are very good indeed ... While there are few happy souls in these arresting stories, the reader can find consolation in Fox's supple prose and frequently subtle insights
—— Irish IndependentFox joins a band of new talented Irish short story writers, like Colin Barrett and Mary Costello, with this assured debut collection
—— RTE GuideThese are thoughtful, well-told stories that bring home how hard it can be to belong
—— HeraldImpressive ... First-person narrators, their voices deceptively casual and conversational, draw the unsuspecting reader in before they strike. Against a backdrop of ordinary settings and pared-down realism, the arresting images, when they come, have an explosive force
—— The LadyA superb collection ... compassionate and knowing
—— Irish ExaminerOutstanding
—— Hot PressA remarkable new talent ... He is able to tread so lightly that we only realise we have been cleverly punched in the solar plexus after we finish the last line
—— Dermot Bolger , Irish Mail on SundaySam Miller's memoir Fathers is ostensibly about a family secret. But its true subject is a family silence… The book is about ways to be a father, but also, more generally, about ways to be a man, from the 1950s to now. Should you be an intellectual, and write letters full of irony and wit? How camp are you allowed to be, or how fearful of homoeroticism? Must you be good at manual labour? Where do you stand in relation to class or entitlement? Should you be more interested in football than you are?
—— William Leith , Evening StandardMorrissy has been compared to Joyce and Chekov. She’s brilliant.
—— iMary Morrissy’s persuasive stories sidle up to you quietly and before you know it have you wrapped up in their embrace… We meet people on the edge… in this resonant collection from an accomplished writer.
—— Donal O'Donoghue , RTE GuideAn outstanding collection…She is a true heir to Chekhov and the great writers
—— Éilís Ní Dhuibhne , Irish Times