Glas 22: The Nomadic Soul

Personal Russian melodramas unfold amid major historic ones in Muravyova's (The Curly-Headed Lieutenant) collection of one novella and two short stories. In the title story, beautiful Lydia is a young mother whose love for another man brings tragedy. Dreamily recalled by a distant relative, the melancholy tale takes place during the revolution, which ""started with half-educated youths still wet behind the ears taking exception to the world around them--youths with no soul who had never really experienced anything in their snivelling lives."" A member of the bourgeoisie, Lydia is at first repressed by, then targeted for, her social status. ""How did she endure,"" Lydia's grandniece muses. ""My soul-mate with the auburn plait, my coughing, tearful soul-mate, abandoned by love and consumed with remorse.... "" A shorter tale, ""Lala, Natasha, Toma"" follows a similar vein: three vivacious upper-class women must reconsider their dreams and purposes after the revolution. Ironically, Toma, who is best able to adapt to the new social order, pays most dearly for her effort. ""Philemon and Baucis"" is a brilliant, unsettling domestic tale, with the mythical characters transposed into Vanya and Zhenya, an elderly couple enjoying their twilight years at their summer cottage. The couple met when Zhenya was a prisoner in one of Stalin's labor camps, where Vanya was a commanding officer. Their daughter, Tatyana, a single mother, behaves strangely; ""unbalanced by her maternal instincts,"" she force-feeds her three-year-old daughter ""like a guinea pig in some bizarre experiment."" An unexpected plot twist makes this story unforgettable. Already a recognized talent in Russian literature, Muravyova should garner praise among English-language readers with this brisk and dynamic work. (July)