Now added to the quartet of books by Nina Berberova that New
Directions has presented for the delight of American readers is
this delectable baker's dozen -- The Billancourt Tales. These are
thirteen stories (Berberova called them "Fiestas") chosen from
those she wrote in Paris between 1928 and 1940 for the emigre
newspaper The Latest News.
In her preface Berberova mentions how she found what to write
about through her discovery of Billancourt, a highly industrialized
suburb of Paris. Here thousands of exiled Russians -- White Guards
and civilians -- were finding work and establishing homes away from
home with their Russian churches, schools, and small business
ventures. Berberova thought the significance of the tales was in
their historical and sociological aspects rather than in their
artistry but the reader will demur, for these are fine stories, the
kind that have led to comparisons to Chekhov. They portray a wide
range of human beings and the twists and turns of their various
lives. There is Ivan Pavlovich making a success of his rabbit farm
but procrastinating too long about a proposal of marriage;
Kondurin, happy to play the piano in restaurants rather than
working as a bookkeeper -- his only problem is the restaurants keep
going out of business; and Gavrilovich who loses a job as an actor
in the movies because the scene requires him to steal a lady's
purse and even though it is make believe he just can't do it. All
in all a group of very Russian tales very well told.
General
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