"Playful and poetic . . . A foxy, original writer. Memory fuses with wonder, and wonder with worship." -- The Wall Street Journal "Marvelously vivid, perfectly tuned. . . Tolstaya is well known in Russia as a brilliant and caustic political critic, but her memories of her Soviet childhood have a tender, personal quality." -- The New York Times Book Review "Grimly hilarious ... Everything in this generous writer's hands is vivid and alive ...Tolstaya is divinely quotable--slangy, indignant, lyrical, crude...It's all ...
Read More
"Playful and poetic . . . A foxy, original writer. Memory fuses with wonder, and wonder with worship." -- The Wall Street Journal "Marvelously vivid, perfectly tuned. . . Tolstaya is well known in Russia as a brilliant and caustic political critic, but her memories of her Soviet childhood have a tender, personal quality." -- The New York Times Book Review "Grimly hilarious ... Everything in this generous writer's hands is vivid and alive ...Tolstaya is divinely quotable--slangy, indignant, lyrical, crude...It's all sublime...the swerve and cackle, the breeziness and dark depths...the torrents of language and the offhand perfect touch...She has been compared to Chekhov. Absurd...Tolstaya barrels by him and knocks him in the ditch." --Joy Williams, Bookforum From one of modern Russia's finest writers, a spellbinding collection of eighteen stories, her first to be translated into English in more than twenty years. Ordinary realities and yearnings to transcend them lead to miraculous other worlds in this dazzling collection of stories. A woman's deceased father appears in her dreams with clues about the afterlife; a Russian professor in a small American town constructs elaborate fantasies during her cigarette break; a man falls in love with a marble statue as his marriage falls apart; a child glimpses heaven through a stained-glass window. With the emotional insight of Chekhov, the surreal satire of Gogol, and a unique blend of humor and poetry all her own, Tolstaya transmutes the quotidian into aetherial alternatives. These tales, about politics, identity, love, and loss, cut to the core of the Russian psyche, even as they lay bare human universals. Tolstaya's characters--seekers all--are daydreaming children, lonely adults, dislocated foreigners in unfamiliar lands. Whether contemplating the strategic complexities of delivering telegrams in Leningrad or the meditative melancholy of holiday aspic, vibrant inner lives and the grim elements of existence are registered in equally sharp detail in a starkly bleak but sympathetic vision of life on earth. A unique collection from one of the first women in years to rank among Russia's most important writers.
Read Less
Add this copy of Aetherial Worlds: Stories to cart. $9.24, good condition, Sold by Goodwill of Colorado rated 5.0 out of 5 stars, ships from COLORADO SPRINGS, CO, UNITED STATES, published 2018 by Knopf Publishing Group.
Choose your shipping method in Checkout. Costs may vary based on destination.
Seller's Description:
This item is in overall good condition. Covers and dust jackets are intact but may have minor wear including slight curls or bends to corners as well as cosmetic blemishes including stickers. Pages are intact but may have minor highlighting/ writing. Binding is intact; however, spine may have slight wear overall. Digital codes may not be included and have not been tested to be redeemable and/or active. Minor shelf wear overall. Please note that all items are donated goods and are in used condition. Orders shipped Monday through Friday! Your purchase helps put people to work and learn life skills to reach their full potential. Orders shipped Monday through Friday. Your purchase helps put people to work and learn life skills to reach their full potential. Thank you!
Add this copy of Aetherial Worlds: Stories to cart. $10.82, very good condition, Sold by ThriftBooks-Dallas rated 5.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Dallas, TX, UNITED STATES, published 2018 by Knopf Publishing Group.
Add this copy of Aetherial Worlds: Stories to cart. $10.82, good condition, Sold by ThriftBooks-Reno rated 5.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Reno, NV, UNITED STATES, published 2018 by Knopf Publishing Group.
Add this copy of Aetherial Worlds: Stories to cart. $10.82, good condition, Sold by ThriftBooks-Dallas rated 5.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Dallas, TX, UNITED STATES, published 2018 by Knopf Publishing Group.
Add this copy of Aetherial Worlds: Stories to cart. $10.99, like new condition, Sold by 8trax Media rated 5.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Mansfield, MA, UNITED STATES, published 2018 by Knopf Publishing Group.
Add this copy of Aetherial Worlds: Stories to cart. $13.50, very good condition, Sold by HPB-Ruby rated 5.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Dallas, TX, UNITED STATES, published 2018 by Knopf.
Choose your shipping method in Checkout. Costs may vary based on destination.
Seller's Description:
Very good. Connecting readers with great books since 1972! Used books may not include companion materials, and may have some shelf wear or limited writing. We ship orders daily and Customer Service is our top priority!
Add this copy of Aetherial Worlds: Stories to cart. $14.50, very good condition, Sold by Orca Books Cooperative rated 4.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Olympia, WA, UNITED STATES, published 2018 by Knopf Publishing Group.
Choose your shipping method in Checkout. Costs may vary based on destination.
Seller's Description:
Used-VG. Minor wear. Text is clean. Slight fraying to corner edges. This book is in very good condition. Help support Orca Books Cooperative--Olympia's only Co-op Bookstore!
Add this copy of Aetherial Worlds: Stories to cart. $18.58, good condition, Sold by Open Books Ltd rated 4.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Chicago, IL, UNITED STATES, published 2018 by Knopf.
Choose your shipping method in Checkout. Costs may vary based on destination.
Seller's Description:
Good. Open Books is a nonprofit social venture that provides literacy experiences for thousands of readers each year through inspiring programs and creative capitalization of books.
Add this copy of Aetherial Worlds: Stories to cart. $22.00, like new condition, Sold by Dunaway Books rated 4.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Saint Louis, MO, UNITED STATES, published 2018 by Knopf.
Add this copy of Aetherial Worlds: Stories to cart. $22.00, like new condition, Sold by Abacus Bookshop rated 4.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Pittsford, NY, UNITED STATES, published 2018 by Alfred A. Knopf.
