 | A WRITER'S WIT |
New Yorker Fiction 2016
January 18, 2016, Ludmilla Petrushevskaya, “The Story of a Painter”: In this contemporary Russian tale, a painter, in a convoluted and circuitous chain of events, first loses his apartment, then gains it back. ¶ Igor is an honest, caring, but gullible man, and the only time in the story that he lies is to fool Adik, the very man who has swindled him out of his property. Several pages into the story Petrushevskaya skillfully releases information when the hungry reader must finally know about the thieving scoundrel:
“Full of compliments, Adik had offered to help such a gifted painter sell his apartment at a profit and buy a cheaper one. The same day, he’d given Adik the power of attorney for all his property. We know how that ended” (68).
And that is how we learn of the original sin. Even though written in the twenty-first century, this narrative—because of a refined magical realism—creates a feeling of a folk tale. To have our nonmagical, realistic eyes fall upon this kind of story is a welcome change, at least once in a while.
The author has written more than fifteen books, including There Once Lived a Mother Who Loved Her Children, Until They Moved Back In and a memoir, A Girl from the Metropol Hotel, which will be published in America next year.
Illustration by Henning Wagenbreth.
NEXT TIME: My Book World
The author has written more than fifteen books, including There Once Lived a Mother Who Loved Her Children, Until They Moved Back In and a memoir, A Girl from the Metropol Hotel, which will be published in America next year.
Illustration by Henning Wagenbreth.
NEXT TIME: My Book World
READ MY ‘BEHIND THE BOOK’ BLOG SERIES for My Long-Playing Records & Other Stories. In these posts I speak of the creative process I use to write each story. Buy a copy here!
Introduction to My Long-Playing Records
"My Long-Playing Records" — The Story
"A Certain Kind of Mischief"
"Ghost Riders"
"The Best Mud"
"Handy to Some"
"Blight"
"A Gambler's Debt"
"Tales of the Millerettes"
"Men at Sea"
"Basketball Is Not a Drug"
"Engineer"
"Snarked"
"Killing Lorenzo"
"The Age I Am Now"
"Bathed in Pink"
Listen to My Long-Playing Records Podcasts:
"A Certain Kind of Mischief"
"The Best Mud"
"Handy to Some"
"Tales of the Millerettes"
"Men at Sea"
"My Long-Playing Records"
"Basketball Is Not a Drug"
"Snarked"
"Killing Lorenzo"
"Bathed in Pink"
Also available on iTunes.
Introduction to My Long-Playing Records
"My Long-Playing Records" — The Story
"A Certain Kind of Mischief"
"Ghost Riders"
"The Best Mud"
"Handy to Some"
"Blight"
"A Gambler's Debt"
"Tales of the Millerettes"
"Men at Sea"
"Basketball Is Not a Drug"
"Engineer"
"Snarked"
"Killing Lorenzo"
"The Age I Am Now"
"Bathed in Pink"
Listen to My Long-Playing Records Podcasts:
"A Certain Kind of Mischief"
"The Best Mud"
"Handy to Some"
"Tales of the Millerettes"
"Men at Sea"
"My Long-Playing Records"
"Basketball Is Not a Drug"
"Snarked"
"Killing Lorenzo"
"Bathed in Pink"
Also available on iTunes.
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