by Sergei Dovlatov ‧ RELEASE DATE: Sept. 14, 1983
Short comic episodes from a Soviet ÉmigrÉ, neither hilarious nor brilliant, but with two intriguing, specific elements: they're all set in Estonia, in the coastal city of Tallinn; and they all involve, more or less, the ""compromises"" made by an ordinary, notterribly-upright Soviet journalist. In each of the eleven chapters here, then, rather dissolute narrator-hero Dovlatov begins with a clipping from his file of newspaper writings (1973-76), followed by the real story--what led up to, or resulted from, the published version. Several of the pieces, as you might expect, involve the vicissitudes of censorship and officialese: Dovlatov is lectured on the proper way to list countries in a news item (""You've put East Germany after Hungary! Again alphabetical order? Forget that opportunistic expression! . . . Hungary goes third! They had an uprising there""); he is shown the possible political message in a harmless fable for children; he searches for an ideologically acceptable baby to write about in a silly feature (can't be Jewish, can't be half-Ethiopian)--just as his friend Lida must find an untainted ""interesting person"" for her new radio-interview program. (Says philologist Alikhanov: ""I'm not suitable for a radio broadcast! Yesterday I got drunk! I have debts and alimony to pay! My name has been mentioned on the German radio! I'm sort of dissident! You'll be fired. . . ."") Elsewhere, however, the foibles are as much personal as political: in order to get some money for a crony's stranded girlfriend, Dovlatov fabricates an interview with her (""For the 'Guests of Tallinn' column. A student studies Gothic architecture. Always travels with a volume of Blok. Feeds squirrels in the park. They'll pay her twenty rubles or so""); a trip to interview a productive milkmaid becomes the excuse for a bucolic, boozy romp; and the funeral of a TV-station biggie--with Dovaltov as a reluctant, last-minute eulogist--turns into a minor, somewhat strained farce. Throughout, in fact, the comedy is uneven, with oddly translated (perhaps untranslatable) puns, local references, belabored ironies. But most of these anecdotes have sharply amusing moments--and the Estonia details (about politics, the media, Jews) are often fresh and curious, even if somewhat dated.
Pub Date: Sept. 14, 1983
ISBN: N/A
Page Count: -
Publisher: Knopf
Review Posted Online: N/A
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 1983
Categories: FICTION
© Copyright 2024 Kirkus Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.
Hey there, book lover.
We’re glad you found a book that interests you!
We can’t wait for you to join Kirkus!
It’s free and takes less than 10 seconds!
Already have an account? Log in.
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
Welcome Back!
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
Don’t fret. We’ll find you.