If we must look for a “universal writer” in the context of endless searches for the “Russian idea,” then, for today, no one fits that role better than Vasily Shukshin.
The range of heroes presented in his stories is very broad. Yet what impresses is not the breadth, but the precision and vividness with which these images are drawn. The narration is unusually cinematic, and you start to empathize with the characters literally from the very first lines. The only downside is that you can’t stop reading.
The following stories are included in Volume 2 of the Collection:
— Cosmos, the nervous system, and a piece of pork fat
— Suraz
— My son-in-law stole a cart of firewood
— Conversations in the light of the clear moon
— I believe!
— Cherednichenko and the circus
— Grief
— Withers, disappears
— A mother’s heart
— Wider stride, Maestro
— Grinka Malyugin
— A tough guy
— Critics
— Stepka
— Wolves!
— Dancing Shiva
— The hunt for living
— The owner of the bathhouse and the garden