The Review of Contemporary Fiction

The Loss: A Novella and Two Short Stories by Vladimir Makanin
Michael Pinker

Vladimir Makanin. The Loss: A Novella and Two Short Stories. Trans. Byron Lindsey. Northwestern Univ. Press, 1998. 154 pp. Paper: $14.95.

These stories by Vladimir Makanin suggest the appeal of a leading contemporary Russian writer deserving greater exposure in English. This small collection offers a range of stories connected by their different readings of loss. A considerable portion of the title story is devoted to a meditation on the possibilities of how this theme may be viewed in life.
In “The Loss” Makanin shows one Pekalov bossing a dwindling crew of drunks into building a tunnel under the Ural River. Why would anyone want to do this? But Pekalov does it, becoming legendary for doing it, even worthy of reverence. Yet this means losing his identity, becoming Pekalov subject and also object of speculation, Pekalov the icon, whose actual loss becomes fluid as it gains significance.
“Klucharyev” rises at Alimushkin’s fall. As fate would have it, Alimushkin’s loss must always mean Klucharyev’s gain. For a while Klucharyev feels guilty, fretting over this peculiar fortune; he even visits Alimushkin in his decline, perhaps to offer what small comfort he may. But should Klucharyev feel responsible, if neither can avoid this cruel destiny?
“The Prisoner from the Caucausus” is rendered in a spare style, like Hemingway’s war stories. Deep in the mountains, at a lull during the war in Chechnya, Sergeant Rubakhin is attracted to a prisoner whom he and rifleman Vovka are sent to exchange with some rebels. Survival requires subduing strong feelings and Rubakhin find a way to survive his crisis. After a while he, too, doesn’t feel any more responsible than Klucharyev. Rubakhin is last heard marveling at the beauty of the landscape.
Makanin plays on gain and loss in three registers in these stories, each in a distinctive voice and a universal language. [Michael Pinker]