Sketches of the criminal world : further Kolyma stories

The astonishing follow-up to 2018's Kolyma Stories . In 1936, Varlam Shalamov, a journalist and writer, was arrested for counterrevolutionary activities and sent to the Soviet Gulag. He survived fifteen years in the prison camps and returned from the Far North to write one of the masterpieces of twentieth-century literature, an epic array of short fictional tales reflecting the years he spent in the Gulag. Sketches of the Criminal World is the second of two volumes (the first, Kolyma Stories , was published by NYRB Classics in 2018) that together constitute the first complete English translation of Shalamov’s stories and the only one to be based on the authorized Russian text. In this second volume, Shalamov sets out to answer the fundamental moral questions that plagued him in the camps where he encountered firsthand the criminal world as a real place, far more evil than Dostoyevsky’s underground: “How does someone stop being human?” and “How are criminals made?” By 1972, when he was writing his last stories, the camps were being demolished, the guard towers and barracks razed. “Did we exist?” Shalamov asks, then answers without hesitation, “I reply, ‘We did.’” In 1936, Varlam Shalamov, a journalist and writer, was arrested for counterrevolutionary activities and sent to the Soviet Gulag. He survived fifteen years in the prison camps and returned from the Far North to write one of the masterpieces of twentieth-century literature, an epic array of short fictional tales reflecting the years he spent in the Gulag. Sketches from of the Criminal World is the second of two volumes (the first, Kolyma Stories , was published by NYRB Classics in 2018) that together constitute the first complete English translation of Shalamov's stories and the only one to be based on the authorized Russian text. Shalamov spent six years as a slave in the gold mines of Kolyma before finding a less intolerable life as a paramedic in the prison camps. He began writing his account of life in Kolyma after Stalin's death in 1953 and continued for the next twenty years. In this second volume, Shalamov sets out to answer the fundamental moral... Biographical Notes 2 Copyright and More Information 4 Title Page 6 Contents 7 Introduction 10 BOOK FOUR 20 WHAT FICTION WRITERS GET WRONG 21 CROOKS BY BLOOD 26 A WOMAN FROM THE CRIMINAL WORLD 57 THE PRISON BREAD RATION 71 THE WAR OF THE “BITCHES” 75 APOLLO AMONG THE CRIMINALS 97 SERGEI YESENIN AND THE WORLD OF THIEVES 108 HOW “NOVELS” ARE “PRINTED” 115 BOOK FIVE 124 THE PATH 125 GRAPHITE 127 HELL’S DOCK 132 SILENCE 135 TWO ENCOUNTERS 142 GRISHKA LOGUN’S THERMOMETER 146 A ROUNDUP 153 BRAVE EYES 160 MARCEL PROUST 165 THE FADED PHOTOGRAPH 170 THE BOSS OF THE POLITICAL ADMINISTRATION 174 RIABOKON 178 THE LIFE OF ENGINEER KIPREYEV 183 PAIN 197 THE NAMELESS CAT 205 SOMEONE ELSE’S BREAD 212 A THEFT 213 THE TOWN ON THE HILL 215 THE EXAMINATION 226 FETCHING A LETTER 236 THE GOLD MEDAL 242 BY THE STIRRUP 270 KHAN-GIREI 280 EVENING PRAYER 291 BORIS YUZHANIN 294 MR. POPP’S VISIT 302 THE SQUIRREL 312 THE WATERFALL 316 TAMING THE FIRE 318 THE RESURRECTION OF THE LARCH 323 BOOK SIX 327 THE GLOVE 328 GALINA PAVLOVNA ZYBALOVA 358 LIOSHA CHEKANOV, OR, A FELLOW-ACCUSED IN KOLYMA 373 THIRD-CLASS TRIANGULATION 383 WHEELBARROW I 390 WHEELBARROW II 393 WATER HEMLOCK 408 DR. YAMPOLSKY 412 LIEUTENANT COLONEL FRAGIN 420 PERMAFROST 426 IVAN BOGDANOV 430 YAKOV OVSEYEVICH ZAVODNIK 437 DR. KUZMENKO’S CHESS 449 THE MAN OFF THE SHIP 453 ALEKSANDR GHOGHOBERIDZE 456 LESSONS IN LOVE 462 ATHENIAN NIGHTS 470 A JOURNEY TO OLA 480 A LIEUTENANT COLONEL IN THE MEDICAL SERVICE 487 THE MILITARY COMMISSAR 501 RIVA-ROCCI 510 Notes 527 Kolyma Stories Is A Masterpiece Of Twentieth-century Literature, An Epic Array Of Short Fictional Tales Reflecting The Fifteen Year That Varlam Shalamov Spent In The Soviet Gulag. This Is The First Of Two Volumes (the Second The Appear In 2019) That Together Will Constitute The First Complete English Translation Of Shalamov's Stories And The Only One To Be Based On The Authorized Russian Text. Shalamov Spent Six Years As A Slave In The Gold Mines Of Kolyma Before Finding A Less Intolerable Life As A Paramedic In The Prison Camps. He Began Writing His Account Of Life In Kolyma After Stalin's Death In 1953. His Stories Are At Once The Biography A Rare Survivor, A Historical Record Of The Gulag, And Literary Work Of Unparalleled Creative Power, Insight, And Conviction--page 4 Of Cover. Book One: Kolyma Stories -- Book Two: The Left Bank -- Book Three: The Spade Artist. Varlam Shalamov ; Translated From The Russian And With An Introduction By Donald Rayfield. Originally Published In Russian In Sobranie Sochineniĭ V 6 + I Tomakh (collector Works, Vols. 1-7) By Terra-kniznyĭ Klub In 2013--title Page Verso. Includes Bibliographical References (pages 735-741). In English, Translated From Russian. A masterpiece of 20th-century Russian literature—now in its first complete English translation “One of the greatest Russian writers of short stories” chronicles life in a Soviet gulag, drawing on his own years in a USSR prison camp and laying bare the perils of totalitarianism ( Financial Times ). Kolyma Stories is a masterpiece of twentieth-century literature, an epic array of short fictional tales reflecting the fifteen years that Varlam Shalamov spent in the Soviet Gulag. This is the first of two volumes (the second to appear in 2019) that together will constitute the first complete English translation of Shalamov’s stories and the only one to be based on the authorized Russian text. Shalamov spent six years as a slave in the gold mines of Kolyma before finding a less intolerable life as a paramedic in the prison camps. He began writing his account of life in Kolyma after Stalin’s death in 1953. His stories are at once the biography of a rare survivor, a historical record of the Gulag, and a literary work of unparalleled creative power, insight, and conviction. Now in its first complete English translation, this masterpiece chronicles life in a Soviet gulag, based on the author’s own years in a USSR prison camp. Kolyma Stories is a masterpiece of twentieth-century literature, an epic array of short fictional tales reflecting the fifteen years that Varlam Shalamov spent in the Soviet Gulag. This is the first of two volumes (the second to appear in 2019) that together will constitute the first complete English translation of Shalamov’s stories and the only one to be based on the authorized Russian text. Shalamov spent six years as a slave in the gold mines of Kolyma before finding a less intolerable life as a paramedic in the prison camps. He began writing his account of life in Kolyma after Stalin’s death in 1953. His stories are at once the biography of a rare survivor, a historical record of the Gulag, and a literary work of unparalleled creative power, insight, and conviction. In 1936, Varlam Shalamov, a journalist and writer, was arrested for counterrevolutionary activities and sent to the Soviet Gulag. Kolyma Stories, a masterpiece of twentieth-century literature, is an epic array of short fictional tales reflecting the fifteen years that Varlam Shalamov spent in the Soviet Gulag. This is the first of two volumes (the second to appear in 2019) that together will constitute the first complete English translation of Shalamov’s stories and the only one to be based on the authorized Russian text. Shalamov spent six years as a slave in the gold mines of Kolyma before finding a less intolerable life as a paramedic in the prison camps. He began writing his account of life in Kolyma after Stalin’s death in 1953. His stories are at once the biography of a rare survivor, a historical record of the Gulag, and a literary work of unparalleled creative power, insight, and conviction.