After my wonderful start to the #1937club with some lovely reads, I have to confess that I hit a bit of a wall… I had a great pile of possible reads, a mixture of old favourites and books which had been lurking on the TBR for a while. However, I picked up and put down several titles, and none were really gelling with my reading mood. So I had a bit of a search around online, checking out favourite authors to see if they had anything published in 1937 and *did* find a few extra books I had which would fit in (these ended up being the last image on my March round-up post). I was particularly pleased to find that there was a Russian author I could choose for the year, and that’s the great Andrei Platonov. His “Chevengur” was a standout read at the turn of the year, and according to Wikipedia he was publishing short stories in the 1930s, including two I can be fairly sure came from 1937. And fortunately, I had access to them…
The River Potudan
Apparently there was a whole collection which appeared in 1937 under this title, but I haven’t been able to find out which stories it contained. However, I do have this story, translated by Robert Chandler, Elizabeth Chandler and Angela Livingstone, in a Platonov collection called “The Return” and it was the perfect choice, as I adore Platonov’s writing.
“Potudan…” concerns a young man called Nikita Firsov who is returning home from fighting in the Civil War. He makes his way back to his home, near the titular river, and finds his father is the only surviving member of his family. It’s hard for him to adjust to a non-combative role, but he gradually does, reconnecting with Lyuba, a women he remembers from when they were both children. They eventually marry, but the War has left psychological scars on Nikita and he cannot consummate the marriage for fear of hurting Lyuba. Both he and his wife consider death, and there will be a period of separation while Nikita runs away and struggles both physically and mentally. The ending is perhaps a little ambiguous, but I’ll let you make up your own mind if you read this one!
“The River Potudan” is a moving, muted story which focuses on those who survive a major conflict and have to try to put life back together. Both Nikita and Lyuba have suffered and lost much, looking to each other for comfort. Yet it’s not easy to reconstruct a normal setting after such major upheaval. It’s a beautifully written story which really lingers in the mind.
The Fierce and Beautiful World
In contrast, “The Fierce and Beautiful World”, translated by Joseph Barnes (and from an older collection released in 1970), tells the story of an apprentice train driver, and his mentor Maltsev; the latter is an experienced and competent worker who has an almost symbiotic relationship with his engine and won’t let his apprentice touch it. However, events and nature conspire against Maltsev, and the narrator tries to help him when there is a near disaster and he’s investigated. Things do not go as planned, though, and the science he tries to employ just makes things worse.
Maltsev drove the locomotive on, throttle wide open. We were now headed straight for a big stormcloud which had appeared above the horizon. From our side the cloud was lighted up by the sun, but its interior was being ripped by severe, angry bolts of lightning, and we could see how the shafts of lightning plunged vertically down onto the quiet distant earth and we were racing madly toward that distant ground as if hurrying to its defense. It was clear that the sight appealed to Alexander Vassilievich; he leaned far out of his window as he stared ahead, and his eyes which were used to smoke and flame and distance were glittering now with excitement. He realized that the work and the power of our locomotive were comparable with the might of the storm, and perhaps this idea made him feel proud.
However, despite tragedy, the story has a beautiful and emotional ending; and its exploration of natures versus science is very thought-provoking.
*****
Interestingly, I felt resonances between both of these stories and “Chevengur”, in that both contain elements which feature in the larger work. The love of machines, the clash between old and new, science and nature is a strong theme at the start of that novel. And the need to reconstruct things after conflict also appears in “Chevengur”, so I did end up feeling that Platonov wove most of his recurring obsessions into his great novel.
But that’s by the by. These two stories were powerful and memorable, and I’m so glad that I had the chance to read them for for 1937. It’s sometimes the easy option for our clubs to focus on English-language originals, but so far this week I’ve managed to get some translated works in – and hopefully that will continue as the club progresses!!
Margot Kinberg
Apr 18, 2024 @ 12:08:11
How lucky you were to find those reads! I do like the writing style in the bits you shared, and I always give so much credit to authors who can explore those deeply human experiences in the space of a short story or novella.
kaggsysbookishramblings
Apr 18, 2024 @ 15:56:25
I was happy to track them down, Margot – wonderful stories and so well done.
Lisa Hill
Apr 18, 2024 @ 12:11:58
I really must read something by Platonov, I find both Soviet and post Soviet authors fascinating, the former because they had to be careful about what they wrote but still managed to convey reality, and the latter because they were at last free to write about life in the Soviet era while it was still in recent living memory.
kaggsysbookishramblings
Apr 18, 2024 @ 15:56:00
Yes, same here – some of my favourite authors are ones from the Soviet era who’ve been rediscovered or discovered later. Sigizmund Khrhizanovsky springs to mind – totally obscure during his lifetime, but his books are stunning!
madamebibilophile
Apr 18, 2024 @ 13:44:43
These do sound excellent Kaggsy. Platonov is an author I’m still to get to, but I am keen to read him.
kaggsysbookishramblings
Apr 18, 2024 @ 15:54:16
He’s so good – love his writing and I’m glad there’s so much available now in English!
languagehat
Apr 18, 2024 @ 15:59:01
I’m glad you like Platonov so much! Here are the other stories in that 1937 collection — I’m transliterating or translating the Russian titles, I don’t know if they’ve been translated or under what names: “Fro,” “The third son,” “Immortality,” “Clay house in the county garden,” “Semyon (A story of old times),” and “Takyr.”
kaggsysbookishramblings
Apr 18, 2024 @ 16:23:59
I love his writing! And thank you so much for this – I will see if I can track down titles in English which approximate those! 😀
griffandsarahthomas
Apr 18, 2024 @ 20:32:10
I do like the sound of The River Potudan especially but I also enjoyed the quote. I’m glad you were able to find another satisfying 1937 read. I can identify with that ‘lots on the tbr pile but nothing quite gelling feeling’ and it’s then such a relief to pick up a book that just hits that spot! You’ve had a great week so far.
kaggsysbookishramblings
Apr 19, 2024 @ 11:23:18
These turned out to be perfect reads for my mood, which was lovely. I was so convinced I had my week’s reading planned, but when it came to it I wasn’t going to force myself through something that obviously wasn’t right for me at the time. Luckily, the alternative books I chose have turned out to be great!
hopewellslibraryoflife
Apr 19, 2024 @ 00:06:11
Tremendous reviews!!
kaggsysbookishramblings
Apr 19, 2024 @ 11:22:06
Thank you!
heavenali
Apr 21, 2024 @ 11:45:51
Some good research there, finding these stories that would fit for 1937. Another reason why it’s a good thing to have lots of books tbr. Platanov is not a writer I know anything about at all.
kaggsysbookishramblings
Apr 21, 2024 @ 11:56:29
Indeed! Having lots of books on the shelves always means there are choices for our clubs! Platonov is a particular favourite of mine, but I think he’s still not that widely known.
#1937Club: your reviews! – Stuck in a Book
Apr 21, 2024 @ 19:59:08
Simon T
Apr 23, 2024 @ 20:39:38
Always good to get more languages involved in the club – this sounds so interesting. Love the cover too!
kaggsysbookishramblings
Apr 24, 2024 @ 20:57:25
I think so – I do like to try and bring in some translated works.
Marcie McCauley
May 13, 2024 @ 16:29:06
What a curious selection and how interesting to think about the relationship between “Man and Machine” considering where we are with technology now (the rise of AI relationships for the lonely, for instance).
kaggsysbookishramblings
May 13, 2024 @ 20:23:49
It’s fascinating how early this was being considered (and old-style original sci fi did the same). A really interesting take on the subject.