Apricot Jam and Other Stories

'No matter what, you cannot change human nature,' exclaims a soldier in the final story of this collection, 'even under socialism.' Apricot Jam and Other Stories presents a series of astonishing portraits of Russian life before, during and after Soviet rule. In 'The New Generation', a professor promotes a student purely out of good will. Years later, the same professor finds himself arrested and, in a striking twist of fate, his student becomes his interrogator. In 'Nastenka', two young women with the same name lead routine, ordered lives - until the Revolution exacts radical change on them both. With an unforgettable cast of displaced family members, military commanders and imprisoned activists, these stories play out the moral dilemmas and ideological conflicts that defined Russia in the twentieth century.

About the Author :
Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1970, and his work continues to receive international acclaim. Through his writings, particularly The Gulag Archipelago and One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich, he helped to make the world aware of the Gulag, the Soviet Union's forced labour camp system. He was expelled from the Soviet Union in 1974 and returned to Russia in 1994. He died on 2 August 2008. These stories have been translated by Kenneth Lanz and Stephan Solzhenitsyn.

Review :
Described by scholars as ranking alongside his best work . . . one of the publishing events of the autumn. One of the greatest writers of his time A remarkable human being, a visionary, a crusader in the simplest sense, who was steered in his writing, as in his actions, by a deep sense of justice In terms of the effect he has had on history, Solzhenitsyn is the dominant writer of [the twentieth] century Read these stories for a reminder of an extraordinary life, for the range of the interests they encompass and for a pugnacious moral energy that even the octogenarian writer was hard pressed to tame In probing the relationship between action and belief during times of crisis, Solzhenitsyn is unsurpassed A great book...absolutely terrific With its unapologetic moralising and blunt irony, Apricot Jam is a perfect introduction to the stories in this volume. The binary method is essentially a satirical device, designed to capture the doubleness - and double-facedness - of Russian life under communism As fresh as masterpieces such as Cancer Ward or Matryona's Home The more experimental 'binary' or two-part tales, which dominate this collection, share the qualities of Solzhenitsyn's finest prose: its precision and visual clarity; the subtle irony and humour of its tone; its moral truth; and the skilful crafting and shaping of the story for emotional effect Beautifully illustrates the betrayal of the Soviet people, who sacrificed so much in the war only to be repaid with the gulag and stagnation Explores the impact of a century of turbulence on the lives of ordinary Russians The stories, collected by his son...provide a glimpse into the genius of one of Russia's greatest writers A reminder of an extraordinary life