IVANOV SEVEN

Years before Stepan's father had gone off to find out where the thunderstorms that destroyed the grapes came from. Now Stepan, another questioner, is recruited into the Tsar's army with the promise of a hero's return and a warning-- no questions. Divested of his Unpronounceable last name, Stepan becomes the seventh Ivanov in the regiment, learns to tell his right foot from his left foot, and accepts the daily drills with cheerful resignation--until he is ordered to shoot into the peasants who are protecting their fields from target practice; then he Says ""no."" What to do With Ivanov who has saved the colonel from a terrible blunder as well as saving the lives of the people? but he must be punished for his mutiny--""it is one of those troublesome situations in which everyone is right."" Set in the indefinite past, told With the easy swing of the raconteur, this is a crypto-fable that comes off. Too deliberate and dry for wide popularity, it should still find enthusiastic acceptance from youngsters who appreciate its inherent humor, from adults who perceive the underlying ironies.