Granta 64: Russia: The Wild East

Granta: The Magazine of New Writing #64

by Ian Jack (Editor)

This issue contains the voices of a people who have suffered under (and coped with) two of this century’s greatest experiments. With: fiction by Victor Pelevin and Andrei Platonov; Colin Thubron in Siberia, Masha Gessen on her grandmother, the censor; Vitali Vitaliev on the vodka escape, and more.

Genres: Fiction, Russia, Short Stories, Anthologies

255 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1998

About the author

Ian Jack is a British journalist and writer who has edited the Independent on Sunday and the literary magazine Granta and now writes regularly for The Guardian.

Reviews

[Jim · Rating 4 out of 5]

One of the better titles in the Granta series, Granta 64: Russia: The Wild East has a combination of fiction, essays, and photographs that make for an interesting read. By far the best piece in this issue is the story by Andrei Platonov entitled "The River Potudan," about two young small town Russians, one tired out by fighting the White Russian forces, and the other trying to survive while studying medicine. Also interesting is Victor Pelevin's "Moscow Dynamo," about a fantastic encounter with a Japanese company and its main representative.

Of the nonfiction, I was most moved by Anna Pyasetskaya and Heidi Bradner's "The Lost Boys," about one mother's yearlong effort to find the body of her son, who died as a soldier in the Chechen Wars of Putin.

Somewhat out of place is an essay by Barry Unsworth about a frustrating visit to Naples, Italy.

[Amy · Rating 5 out of 5]

I just love Granta. The stories and articles are just the right length, the size is small enough to keep in my purse, and none of the contents are mainstream.

The balance of history and fiction is great, and any photo galleries enclosed are incredibly touching. This has a section on soldiers who are so young, and the black and white images just lay open their innocence and at the same time reveal danger. Really subtle and well done.

I just love the cover image of the old Russian woman, tired and worn, yet smiling with a few flowers...perhaps I read too much into it, yet she has a face that looks hopeful and realistic all at the same time. And the boy with the water gun near her has its own impact and meaning.

[Cams · Rating 2 out of 5]

I bought this book years ago and read only one or two stories in it. The two chapters that stand out now were the two that I read back then too. The first is called the Last 18 Drops and is about alcoholism in Russia, two things I know about. Did you know that if you finish a bottle of vodka and then lay it down on its side for a while, you’ll get 18 drops out of it? I’ve not tried it myself, but the author swears it’s true.

The other story that stood out was that of a mother seeking her son’s body after he’s killed in Chechnya. It brings that situation to life in a moving way.

The rest of the book was pretty forgettable. In fact, it’s not that long since I finished it and the only other story that springs to mind is about the Romanovs, which was pretty dull, and a short story about a soldier coming home to his village and following a girl around like a lost sheep. Also pretty dull.