Mongolian Short Stories

by Henry G. Schwarz (Editor)

English (translation)

204 pages, Paperback

First published April 1, 1989

Reviews

[Nate Baker · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have never read anything written from Mongolia, so I did some searching and found this collection as a PDF online. I was mainly curious about writing between 1924 and 1992, during which the country was known as the Mongolian People's Republic. I know that I've missed several references in these stories, but they have also taught me a lot about a culture I have had little to no exposure with.

Some of the translations are a little weak, mainly a case of sentences with improper shifting verb tense, but this was a good introduction to literature written during the MPR. I'm hopeful to read more from this period and from other countries that were once listed as a part of the "Eastern Bloc."

My favorites included:
"Chulun" by Ch. Lodoidamba
"A New Deel for Sevjidma" by Sh. Gaadamba
"The Runaway" by S. Dadhdoorov
"So When Will Daddy Come Home" by L. Choijilsuren
"Off to Battle" by Ch. lkhamsuren
"Mother" by J. Dandindorj

[Anton Relin · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book would be of interest to any Mongolist, as there are very few translations of Mongolian works into English. The translations themselves are fine. For these reasons, I rate the book 3 stars. However the short stories themselves are not the best, to put it lightly. Besides a few standout works, such as Sunny Cranes by S. Erdene (which explains why he is one of the more translated authors in this collection, albeit into German), the works are all unfortunately hindered by either their unconvincing and stilted descriptions of love, or by coincidences that make the works seem incredibly incredibly unbelievable in the worst way possible.