Description

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.

Publisher Review

The stories in Other Worlds conjure a vanished Russia... Other Worlds is a magnificent edition of the works of a writer who deserves her seat at the top table of Russian authors -- Sara Wheeler * Wall Street Journal * Teffi reimagines old Russian wonder tales with an inimitable blend of ingenuousness, slyness, and mischief... This is a hugely enjoyable and surprising collection, and Teffi's lively and confiding voice can be heard rising from the page with irresistible immediacy -- Marina Warner, author of 'From the Beast to the Blonde' Teffi is one of the great writers of early 20th century Russia, from Nicholas II's reign to the Revolution afterwards. Her writing, whether stories or reportage or memoir is witty, elegant, fantastical, yet sharp and acute and playful. Pushkin Press has done literature a service by rediscovering and publishing Teffi's brilliant works -- Simon Sebag Montefiore, author of 'The Romanovs' The translucent surface of her writing gives sight of the depths of the human spirit: its raging and yearning, its dark nights and joyous awakenings, its wild cries, its anarchic craziness * New York Review of Books * Heartbreaking as well as very funny. I wish she were still alive, and I could have met her... I can't recommend her strongly enough -- Nicholas Lezard * Guardian * Conceived as a gathering of Teffi's stories featuring witches, shapeshifters, mermaids, vampires... the book stands as a masterwork of high non-reductive psychological realism worthy of Henry James * LA Review of Books * Pushkin Press deserves our thanks for bringing Teffi to a much wider audience * Spectator * [Teffi's work is] amazingly modern, as easy to devour as, well, a box of chocolates * Observer * One of the great twentieth-century writers. At their best her short stories are to my mind the equal of Chekhov's -- John Gray Teffi's brilliance at capturing the dark comedy of her milieu should no longer prevent her from being recognised as an important European writer * TLS * Teffi's ostro-umye, her sharp intelligence, gives every story an undertone of wisdom... Her subtlety is handled with great sensitivity and grace by Robert Chandler and all the translators who crafted this English version. The language sounds like a seamless extension of the original Russian; everything is conveyed so faithfully to the spirit of the writings that we are not just easily immersed into that world, we end up feeling at home in it * European Literature Network *