By A. N. Afanasyev
Culture
It’s readily apparent, especially during the reading of these short stories, that human beings of different cultures experience reality in utterly distinct ways. This is likely where the term “Culture Shock” comes from. There is some degree of research on this concept under the umbrella of Linguistic Determinism.
The short stories presented in this book can be both jarring and casual in their presentation of life and death. While the settings and scenery are fantastical, there is a salient grey undertone that cuts through the fiction that represents the harshness and bitterness of a Russian’s life during that time.
When I first imagined what the tales in the book would be like, I thought of “Baba Yaga”, the witch who rides her cauldron through the sky and lives in a hut that can walk on chickens feet. These things are certainly present, but there is much more to it than that. These tales are somewhere between a mysterious Eastern pagan fantasy, and a stanch Christian Orthodoxy. You can tell that in some form, the Orthodoxy is a newcomer in these fictional world. The stories themselves are likely much older than the introduction of Christian theology. Even odder still, the themes and characters seldom seem changed much by Christianity. They simply incorporated Christian themes in characters in an already present spiritual pagan world.