The Enchanted Wanderer: Selected Tales [Paperback]

This is Lyeskov's (also sometimes called Leskov) Magnum opus and what a terrific tale it is!

As an avid reader of pre-Communist era Russian literature, I put this one right up there alongside other similar masterpieces such as War and Peace (Modern Library); Crime and Punishment (Oxford World's Classics); Fathers and Sons (Penguin Classics), and; Oblomov. However, this tale is a terrific "gateway novel" into Russian literature. It's straightforward and a pretty fast read.

This is the life story of the half-honorable monk, Ivan Severianich, who relates his episodic and remarkable chronicle to fellow passengers on a boat, chiefly to pass the time. We really don't know the name of Ivan's questioner but he extracts the entire incredible account out of the old charming and charmed Russian monk with great skill.

If one of your reading objectives is to get a true sense of life in 19th Century Russia then this is the book for you. Unlike most of "War and Peace," this one focuses upon the serf-peasants ("muzhiks") rather than on the nobility.

Lyeskov dispensed with an abundance of ambiance in terms of vivid descriptions of the rural countryside and numerous colorful characters -- he imparts this to us directly through dialogue and it holds the reader's interest with a refreshing fascination for his unique writing style.

I found this work to be a real hoot, albeit Lyeskov may not have meant it to be so much so. It's chiefly humorous in that modern Americans will view this little-known peasant culture as bizarre, perhaps even insane -- but these folks were actually remarkably clever and resilient in surviving the difficult religious, social, and political environment which existed under the authoritarian Tsar. The levity here is much akin to what one finds in Gogol's work of genius, Dead Souls (Everyman's Library). Lyeskov wrote his original Russian-language edition in 1873, not long after serfdom was technically banned by the Tsar.

The better title for this book would probably have been "Charmed Wanderer" (which is actually implied in the text) because Severianich gets out of more insurmountable peccadilloes than Bill Clinton!

As an historic novel of general interest, anyone can read this magnificent tale and enjoy it from beginning to end. If you enjoy this one, you might also try The Sentry, and Other Stories (The Hyperion Library of World Literature).

Highly recommended!

Chekhov is everyone's favourite Russian story teller. Without Chekhov we wouldn't have the twentieth century short story (and in the world of theatre, Stanislavski's method acting wouldn't have legs to stand on).

Sadly when a certain figure in literature is so popular, so repeatedly quoted, their works begin to overshadow and to some degree diminish the writings of near-contemporaries. Where Proust is grand, Gide and France are nearly forgotten. Mann and Rilke are present on bibliophile bookshelves but where's Broch and Hofmannsthal?

Leskov is one of those in the under-appreciated bull-pen of literature. He isn't minor but for some reason he's been ignored. And unjustly so.

Chekhov is great and so forth but so is Leskov - he just happens to be someone other than Chekhov writing a short story in 19th century Russia (I'm sure there were others). Isn't it interesting how much in common he shared with Anton Chekhov. As V.S. Pritchett's notes in the introduction to this text, Leskov wasn't educated by a French governess or raised in the same vein as Pushkin, Tolstoy and Dostoevsky. No, Nikolai Leskov came from a more humble background. He learned English from his Quaker Aunt Polly. He didn't attend a university. He was a man of the people and lived and worked amongst them.

The five tales (four really as the The Enchanted Wanderer feels more like a novella) are unique in their own way. Five different stories. The first is the famous "Lady Macbeth of the Mtsensk District" that eventually became the opera Shostakovich set music to. This isn't anything like Tolstoy's "Kreuzer Sonata" nor does it read like a naturalist story Zola could have written had he visited Russia. A woman, bored with her life, kept at home while her husband works falls in love with another man. What I loved about this story is that just when you think it's about to end, Leskov carries his tale to a more satisfying conclusion. (For fans of Flaubert, there are some interesting parallels between Madame Bovary and Katarine Lvovna Izmaylov).

"The Left-Handed Craftsman" concerns a god-fearing man capable of creating something that impresses the English and the Tsar.

"The Sentry" is more of an anecdote retold as a thriller. A sentry is told to stay at his place. If he leaves it, he will be savagely disciplined. But what happens when this certain sentry hears the cry of a drowning man?

"The White Eagle" would be the ghost story in the bunch but less haunting and more sombre in tone.

"The Enchanted Wanderer" is my favourite of the five. Again, it feels more like a novella and concerns the story of a monk and his path of suffering. He is meant for the church at an early age and ignores the signs. For this he undergoes a baptism of fire, enduring slavery and other woes.

Leskov deserves more readers and more reviewers. To truly appreciate Russian literature you can't always rally to Tolstoy and Dostoevsky. There are so many excellent books out there that go under the radar and go out of print because of lack of demand. Leskov isn't better than his contemporaries but he certainly deserves to stand beside them and have his time in the sun.