Week 7 Year 2 - Monday, November 26th 2012
"Through the wall" by Ludmilla Petrushevskaya
5 very short stories enclosed in a small book, ideal for anyone looking for something to read that won’t be too demanding. Tales which go well beyond the boundaries of reality as we know them, and in many ways remind me of the old series "Tales of the unexpected". Characters being projected into that same future they keep imagining and dream about, for what will be a journey with no return. Or perhaps, with a little twisted reasoning, we might come to consider this future as their present and the present from which they depart as their past, why not after all. Love, as being totally irrational and a source of strength. Human behavior dictated by weakness, malice, revenge, envy, and so on. In short, even though we assist to everyday life routine scenarios, we’re always taken well beyond conventional situations, with scenarios and finales that are definitely unimaginable. transformations and even witchcraft. All these stories have one thing in common that I won’t reveal at this time and which remind us that what is really important is not our destination but our journey.
Ludmilla Petrushevskaya is a contemporary Russian writer widely known and loved in her own country. Though I did appreciate her immense and unusual fantasy, I must say that it took a while before I was involved. The first story is so simple and without any pace that I could not understand the meaning of this work. I only started to perceive a meaning, hoping it is the correct one, and grasp the highly veiled nuances for which however, a magnifying glass is needed, from the third story onwards. It might be due to the author’s own style, as she takes delight in spreading minute subtleties in such a graceful manner that it is difficult to actually take notice and read her meanings. Substantially, the author tells us about the human being, his weaknesses, his flaws, social interactions, various peculiarities of specific environments, and she does so through the unfolding of situations within these same environments.
Not a hint of irony, sarcasm, criticism, suspense, typical elements used in short stories of this kind. And it turns out that, it’s the writer’s style itself which is in fact the big sensation enclosed in these few pages, without wanting to undermine the narrative, of course. The way that she conceals her meanings, truths that she expresses through rather crude claims, come to think of it, but yet almost imperceptible. In other words, these aren’t stories that encourage the reader to develop their own train of thoughts, but they rather seem to be stories used to cover up on something, writing used to hide messages. Just like a secret agent, or something alike. Such a discreet style it never has any impact at all, even when we do pick up a hint. What I mean to say is, for instance, La Fontaine expresses vivacity, Oscar Wilde hits us with that irony which is proper to English humor. Ludmilla Petrushevskaya is silent, invisible, just as a spectator who carefully observes, without disrupting the environment, so as not to alter the course of things, and be able to grab the truth or just that specific moment. Like a fawn on alert that won’t miss a single detail, but in the meantime, stays put and motionless, holding its breath.
by lalitwist
Note 1 - about SUB ref. Monday, December the 5th 2011 "About a Druid and his mushrooms"
