Search results for ""author teffi""

'Amazingly modern, as easy to devour as a box of chocolates' Observer'Teffi's brilliance at capturing the dark comedy of her milieu should no longer prevent her from being recognised as an important European writer' TLSTeffi's literary genius made her a star in pre-revolutionary Russia, beloved by Tsar Nicholas II and Vladimir Lenin alike. An extremely funny writer with a scathing critical eye, she was also capable of Chekhovian subtlety and depth of character.Ranging from humorous sketches of a vanished Russia to ironic, melancholy evocations of post-revolutionary exile, And Time Was No More showcases the full range of Teffi's gifts. A new selection by the celebrated Robert Chandler, it includes previously untranslated stories alongside more famous work, demonstrating the enduring freshness of one of the great wits of Russian literature.Part of the Pushkin Press Classics series: timeless storytelling by icons of lite

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These stories conjure a vanished Russia, where Orthodox Christianity coexists with the shapeshifters and house spirits of ancient folk belief. Celebrated for her sublime wit and graceful style, Teffi here plumbs the darker aspects of psychology, infusing tales of domestic conflict with the occult spirituality that thrived in the country of her youth. A young girl, haunted by the sinister sound of a church bell, resolves to become first a brigand, then a saint. A reluctant participant in a pilgrimage to the Solovetsky Islands has a shatteringly profound experience. A recently married couple's relationship becomes strained as they each silently nurse the fear that their maid is a witch. By turns playful and profound, solemn and drily sceptical, these tales of other worlds precisely illuminate human desires, fears and failings.

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BBC Radio 4 Book of the Week'Wonderfully idiosyncratic, coolly heartfelt and memorable' William Boyd'One of the great writers of early 20th Century Russia' Simon Sebag Montefiore'A remarkable memoir . . . both potent and endearing' Erica Wagner, New Statesman The writer and satirist Teffi was a literary sensation in Russia until war and revolution forced her to leave her country for ever. Memories is a blackly funny and heartbreaking account of her final, frantic journey into exile across Russia - travelling by cart, freight train and rickety steamer - and the 'ordinary and unheroic' people she encounters. Fusing exuberant wit and bitter horror, this is an extraordinary portrayal of what it means to say goodbye, and confirms Teffi as one of the most humane, perceptive observers of her times, and an essential writer for ours.

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