Best Russian Short Stories

Ordinary people and their hardships give this selection of Russian fiction its focus. Compiled and edited by Thomas Seltzer, the volume brings together English translations of stories by Pushkin, Gogol, Turgenev, Tolstoy, Chekhov and other writers. Its contents range from The Queen of Spades and The Cloak to Vanka and Lazarus. Seltzer's introduction considers the movement from romantic storytelling toward realism, arguing that sympathy for the poor and attention to social conditions help define the literature represented here.

Garshin's The Signal follows Semyon Ivanov, a railway track worker whose health has suffered during military service. After losing family members and struggling to find work, he encounters a station master who recognises him from his regiment. That account gives a concrete example of the collection's concern with hardship and human dignity. Readers can approach the book as a varied introduction to Russian short fiction, with Seltzer's critical essay providing a guide to its literary concerns.