Chekhov's Gun

I am enjoying Bulgakov's Black Snow , which is more or less a biographical account of the process of making his early book, The White Guard , into a play.  But, he spends most of the time satirizing the Moscow Art Theatre, which he dubs the International Theatre (IT) in this book.  His prime target appears to be Stanislavsky, who Michael Glenny notes in his forward Bulgakov characterized as an "old bitch."  Seems Bulgakov and Stanislavsky came to odds over his story Moliere , which Stanislavsky drastically revised into a play.  But, in this story Bulgakov focuses mostly on his first foray into playwriting and the personages he faced at the IT. Bulgakov has great fun with Stanislavsky in the second half of the book, as the old man takes a cleaver to his play.  The scene where Maxudov visits Ivan Vasilievich (Stanislavsky) in his home is hilarious, especially as Bombardov had described in detail exactly what would happen, but Maxudov chose to ignore the actor ...

No question about it, Krzhizhanovsky is a fabulous storyteller.  In "The Bookmark," he tells the story of a theme-catcher, a man who can make up a story on the spot on any theme you give him.  The narrator of the story meets the theme-catcher on a crowded park bench, able to capture anyone's attention with the stories he tells.  He points to a spot on a distant ledge and immediately falls into a story of a tomcat trapped on the ledge facing the indifference of tenants who won't let it back in through their windows.  Left to suffer his fate over two grueling nights and days, which the theme-catcher meticulously describes, creating a fabulous sense of suspense in the process, an ill-wind eventually lifts the shivering cat off the ledge and drops it to its sad end. Eventually, the narrator learns more about the theme-catcher, a man not much unlike Krzhizhanovsky who came to Moscow in 1922 and has struggled to get himself into print these past 5 years.  He tells...

I currently find myself reading Sigizmund Krzhizhanovsky.  Don't ask me how to pronounce his name.   Joanne Turnbull notes in her introduction to the collection of short stories, Memories of the Future , that Krzhizhanovsky originally came from Kiev, mastered a number of languages and traveled around Europe, and eventually settled in Moscow in 1922 in a small dark flat rented to him by a former Countess in exchange for English lessons.  Thanks to an undemanding job he was able to devote the next 20 years to his dark, otherworldly prose that evoked Gogol in such stories as "The Runaway Fingers," in which a concert pianist's hand literally runs away from him in a major recital.  Unfortunately, these stories languished for decades in the State Archives, only to be retrieved in recent years and find their way into print.  Vadim Perelmuter has since compiled and edited a five-volume collection of Krzhizhanovsky's work, and in Memories of the Future Turnbull transl...

Today in history, Boris Gudonov ascended to Tsar of Russia in 1598.  Pushkin immortalized Gudonov in his play .  In some ways Boris was like Richard III, as he was believed to have disposed of Ivan's sons so that he could become Tsar.  His reign was relatively short - 7 years, but he left his legacy to his son, Feodor II.  Mussorgsky made Pushkin's play into an opera , which premiered at Mariinsky Theatre on 5 February 1873, although earlier versions existed.  The opera has been staged countless times since and is considered one of the great masterpieces of Russian opera. Here's the death scene from the film version (1954) of the opera, with Aleksandr Pirogov in the lead role.

  Zhivago eventually finds his way back to Moscow after another long trek, bringing a teenage boy along with him who had escaped from the labor gang on the train headed to Yuriatin several chapters before.  Interesting how Pasternak likes to bring these characters back into the story.  But, their relationship eventually sours as the boy grows and develops a mind of his own, detaching himself from the cynical Zhivago who seems content to live a low life much to the chagrin of those around him. In time he even finds another woman, although the young woman is there mostly to serve him, and he fathers more children by her.  Just when it seems Yury has the opportunity  to return to his beloved medical profession he dies.  By chance Lara has returned to Moscow and learns of Yury's death and attends his memorial.  It is an odd gathering of new and old friends, most not really knowing each other.  But, everyone is curious in the lovely Lara. Not c...

After several weeks, Zhivago stumbles back to the town of Yuriatin, looking like a ragamuffin.  He manages to find a seamstress who cuts his hair and beard so that he will look more presentable to Lara, who has left a note for him in the little brick hole by the door to her flat. Yury had made the conscious choice to return to Lara and not Tonya, although it wouldn't have mattered as Tonya and her father had long returned to Moscow and were now in the process of being deported, along with Yury's son and daughter.  Lara had gone with her daughter to Varykino thinking Yury would first return there. Eventually our lovers find each other, but the final love scene plays out in a rather odd unromantic way, as Yury is once again torn by his emotions.  Lara plays the dutiful lover, administering to his every need.  Yury seems to find more appreciation for work habits than the tenderness she shows toward him.  With Komarovsky sniffing around town, they decide to hid...