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jensaperstein's review against another edition
5.0
After reading Zamyatin's short story "The Cave" I'm very tempted to go out and buy this entire book.
One of the short stories in this collection, in The Cave Zamyatin manages to throw on its back the Russian Revolution's model of progress and moving forward to create ideal human beings--he even sets the novel in Petrograd, ironic, of course, becuase at the time the city was paraded as a model of progress.
Zamyatin places Masha and Martin, two former members of the Russian intelligentsia, in a prehistoric setting of a "Cave"; the twist is that the cave is their own home. They have become trapped, starving and freezing, inside their own lives. Zamyatin also references to the "god" in the home--the fire--which is perhaps a not so subtle remark at the godlessness of Soviety society.
The idea and social critique stand alone as making this short story remarkable. Zamyatin's masterful prose only serves as a delightful cherry on top of this rich dessert.
One of the short stories in this collection, in The Cave Zamyatin manages to throw on its back the Russian Revolution's model of progress and moving forward to create ideal human beings--he even sets the novel in Petrograd, ironic, of course, becuase at the time the city was paraded as a model of progress.
Zamyatin places Masha and Martin, two former members of the Russian intelligentsia, in a prehistoric setting of a "Cave"; the twist is that the cave is their own home. They have become trapped, starving and freezing, inside their own lives. Zamyatin also references to the "god" in the home--the fire--which is perhaps a not so subtle remark at the godlessness of Soviety society.
The idea and social critique stand alone as making this short story remarkable. Zamyatin's masterful prose only serves as a delightful cherry on top of this rich dessert.
lamusadelils's review against another edition
4.0
No había leído a Zamyatin aparte de su famosísimo We, y debo decir que esta colección de cuentos es mucho mas entretenida de lo que esperaba. También es repugnante en partes: una especie de amalgama de gente horrible haciendo cosas horribles y/o gente miserable pasando por momentos miserables. Se nota que Zamyatin no estaba muy contento con la Rusia de su tiempo. Ahora entiendo el porqué de su exilio.
homosexual's review against another edition
4.0
3.5 stars rounded up to 4.
I liked a lot of stories in this collection, but god do the longer ones really drag on and just take the winds out of your sail.
Some favorites:
The Flood (honestly probably my fav in this collection)
The Lion
The Miracle of Ash Wednesday
The Healing of the Novice Erasmus
The North
The Ivans
A Provincial Tale
The translation seems to be pretty solid? I mean everything made sense on a technical level but I have a feeling a few Russian metaphors/similes were lost on me. Probably some Russian folklore tropes/Easter eggs were also lost on me. One of the stories ends with people being crushed to death by a bear sitting on them, and it feels like that should be a reference to something? But I have no idea of what it could be referencing. I liked more of this collection than I didn't, and I think Zamyatin's writing overall improved the further in the collection you go.
The worst stories are by far 'A Story of the Most Important Thing' and 'In Old Russia', I didn't like either of these and even from a storytelling perspective they just weren't interesting to me.
I liked a lot of stories in this collection, but god do the longer ones really drag on and just take the winds out of your sail.
Some favorites:
The Flood (honestly probably my fav in this collection)
The Lion
The Miracle of Ash Wednesday
The Healing of the Novice Erasmus
The North
The Ivans
A Provincial Tale
The translation seems to be pretty solid? I mean everything made sense on a technical level but I have a feeling a few Russian metaphors/similes were lost on me. Probably some Russian folklore tropes/Easter eggs were also lost on me. One of the stories ends with people being crushed to death by a bear sitting on them, and it feels like that should be a reference to something? But I have no idea of what it could be referencing. I liked more of this collection than I didn't, and I think Zamyatin's writing overall improved the further in the collection you go.
The worst stories are by far 'A Story of the Most Important Thing' and 'In Old Russia', I didn't like either of these and even from a storytelling perspective they just weren't interesting to me.
artdymond's review against another edition
challenging
dark
funny
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
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