When I Remember Olga...

The story “When I Remember Olga…” will interest a fan of Gazdanov not only with its novelty. It is written according to the canons of a classic Gazdanov story. The narration is in the voice of a narrator we know well—often referred to in manuscripts as Mr. Sosedov, rather than by name in publications.

However, the reader doesn’t need to be reminded of his name—too recognizable are the storyteller’s character, his subtlest inner movements, his ability to understand another person with just half a hint, his love of gymnastics, and his expectation of catastrophe. But the story’s main heroine cannot be “remembered,” because every female image in Gazdanov is an absolutely new face, a new personality. The women the Gazdanov hero falls in love with are first and foremost individual, and their psychological, ethical, and erotic characteristics matter insofar as they help reveal their essence. We practically don’t get portrait descriptions of the women; the writer tries to convey what the narrator felt when meeting a particular heroine, not what he saw. That is why we know what impression she left, but we don’t know what she looked like.