"Meta-literature", "parody and pastiche", "genre-bending", "narrative experiment"... sounds like a brainstorming session for a class about postmodernist literature - except that these are all terms which could fit Pushkin's "The Tales of Belkin". Written in the autumn of 1830, this is a collection of short tales supposedly collected by the recently-deceased Belkin, whose sketchy biography is provided in an introductory letter by an anonymous friend of the late author. The stories parody various genres - ranging from the supernatural/Gothic (The Undertaker) to the sentimental (The Mistress Peasant) - and show Pushkin's mastery of each.

This handsome Hesperus Classics edition also contains "A History of the Village of Goryukhino”, another witty pastiche, this time of the high-flown style adopted by 18th and 19th Century Russian historians. It is complemented by a two-and-a-half page "Fragment" in which the narrator describes the life of a friend of his who happens to be a poet. We eventually learn that the narrator is himself the "friend" of whom he is speaking - our expectations are then further dashed in a final paragraph in which the supposed "editors" of the text inform us that this is an introduction to an incomplete work. In this collection, "style becomes content" - but isn't that what postmodern literature is supposed to be about?

The fluent and idiomatic translation is by Hugh Aplin, who also provides an introduction about the circumstances in which the works were written. Adam Thirwell's foreword gives some interesting insights into Pushkin's playful use of parody and pastiche. ( )

"Meta-literature", "parody and pastiche", "genre-bending", "narrative experiment"... sounds like a brainstorming session for a class about postmodernist literature - except that these are all terms which could fit Pushkin's "The Tales of Belkin". Written in the autumn of 1830, this is a collection of short tales supposedly collected by the recently-deceased Belkin, whose sketchy biography is provided in an introductory letter by an anonymous friend of the late author. The stories parody various genres - ranging from the supernatural/Gothic (The Undertaker) to the sentimental (The Mistress Peasant) - and show Pushkin's mastery of each.

This handsome Hesperus Classics edition also contains "A History of the Village of Goryukhino”, another witty pastiche, this time of the high-flown style adopted by 18th and 19th Century Russian historians. It is complemented by a two-and-a-half page "Fragment" in which the narrator describes the life of a friend of his who happens to be a poet. We eventually learn that the narrator is himself the "friend" of whom he is speaking - our expectations are then further dashed in a final paragraph in which the supposed "editors" of the text inform us that this is an introduction to an incomplete work. In this collection, "style becomes content" - but isn't that what postmodern literature is supposed to be about?

The fluent and idiomatic translation is by Hugh Aplin, who also provides an introduction about the circumstances in which the works were written. Adam Thirwell's foreword gives some interesting insights into Pushkin's playful use of parody and pastiche. ( )

Ahora mismo me encuentro infectado por una fiebre de literatura rusa: decidí comprar y leer todo lo que cayera en mis manos del siglo XIX y XX ruso. La lista que hice comprende varios títulos en orden cronológico. Por supuesto, Pushkin encabeza la lista.

Hay un mito alrededor de la figura de Pushkin: se le ve en su tierra como una especie de Shakespeare en esteroides, con la diferencia de que el Bardo (siendo sinceros) nunca llegó a ser tan versátil en temas y formatos. Pushkin escribió poesía, cuentos, novelas, largos poemas épicos, teatro, sátiras, ensayos y párale de contar. Dicen que su fuerte siempre fue la poesía pero, desgraciadamente, no pude poner mis manos sobre alguno de sus libros de versos. Sólo conseguí éste y "La dama de pique", antologado en el volumen de "Grandes escritores rusos" de la siempre confiable y barata Grolier.

Los "Relatos de Iván Petrovich Belkin", a mi parecer, funcionan como esos portafolios que te dan los fotógrafos o los tatuadores antes de que los contrates: muestra exquisitamente el enorme rango de Pushkin. Hay aquí un cuento de fantasmas, un enredo amoroso, una crónica satírica de la vida de un pequeño pueblo ruso (contado en unas escasas treinta páginas), cuentos tanto fantásticos como de costumbres, etcétera.

Una de las cosas que más me gustó de esta antología (y del relato que leí anteriormente del autor) es la forma en la que Pushkin juega con las formas literarias establecidas del romanticismo, pero les imprime un sabor autóctono y plenamente ruso. Nunca para de burlarse de la literatura romántica europea, pero se erige como uno de sus más grandes herederos.

En fin, creo que cualquiera que desee comenzar un paseo a caballo por este denso bosque nevado que es la literatura rusa encontrará en los "Relatos de Iván Petrovich Belkin" un excelente primer maestro de postas. ( )

Wow, so many Early Reviewers putting forth their extremely positive viewpoints here! 4.38 average rating! Have these freebies clouded their judgement? Forgive me the accusation. I mention it only because these tales, whilst charming, are so very slight. Each story is very nicely written and comes with its own slight twist at the end, but there's nothing heavyweight here. Fine tales, each and every one. But insightful or particularly moving? No, they weren't. This isn't Dubliners or Turgenev's Sketches. A respectable, but average, three stars is all I can say Tales of Belkin is worth. ( )

What more can I say that hasn't already been covered by other reviewers? Not a lot... Coincidentally I received this book from the Early Reviewers giveaway in the same week as I was reading Eugene Onegin, so it was nice to read something a little different by him alongside it. Very enjoyable, and the Hesperus edition is lovely (as usual). ( )