Fish: A History of One Migration

Fish: A History of One Migration

This mesmerizing novel from one of Russiaâ€™s most important modern authors traces the life journey of a selfless Russian everywoman.

In the wake of the Soviet breakup, inexorable forces drag Vera (â€œFaithâ€ in Russian) from the desert of Central Asia, to exile in Southern Russia, to a remote forest-bound community of Estonians, to the chaos of Moscow. Facing a relentless onslaught of human and social trials, she swims against the current of life, countering adversity and pain with compassion and hope, in many ways personifying Mother Russiaâ€™s torment and resilience amid the Soviet disintegration. Vera gains the nickname â€œfishâ€ from her abusive husband, who feels she is cold and unfeeling. Yet nothing could be further from the truth. Vera in fact discovers she has a powerful gift to alleviate the suffering of others, while she can do little to fend off the adversity that buffets her own life.

Aleshkovskyâ€™s work is remarkable for his commitment to the realistic novel tradition, creating an expansive, gripping, often controversial story about the intimate fallout of imperial collapse. Indeed, Fish is the first Russian novel to grapple with post-Soviet colonial â€œothernessâ€ without transposing it into a fantastic, post-apocalyptic realm or reducing it to black-and-white conflicts of the popular detective genres. Stylistically, Aleshkovskyâ€™s prose most closely resembles the work of Vassily Aksyonov or Lyudmila Petrushevskaya, with its mastery of evocative detail and mystical undercurrents. The male authorâ€™s choice of a first-person, female narrator (extremely rare in Russia) makes Fish all the more significant.

Country	USA
Author	Peter Aleshkovsky
Binding	Kindle Edition
EISBN	9781880100622
Format	Kindle eBook
IsAdultProduct
Label	Russian Information Services
Manufacturer	Russian Information Services
NumberOfPages	232
PublicationDate	2010-08-30
Publisher	Russian Information Services
ReleaseDate	2010-08-30
Studio	Russian Information Services

Fish: A History of One Migration

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