The Enchanted Wanderer

Starred review from March 25, 2013
A forgotten 19th-century Russian master, Leskov was celebrated in his own time by luminaries no less than Tolstoy and Chekhov; this collection, presented in an appropriately folksy translation by Pevear and Volokhonsky, makes it easy to see why. A relic of an older mode of narrative where tight narration and characterization give way to the sheer joy of storytelling, Leskov is fond of mysticism, framing narratives, and parabolic character sketches made all the more charming by their digressions and meanderings. In the title story, a reluctant monk relates his picaresque adventures across Russia as a Tartar hostage, a nursemaid, an actor, and an expert judge of horses before eventually surrendering to his destined role as a holy fool. In "The Sealed Angel", a group of itinerant bridge-builders pull off a daring church heist; an overly scrupulous and devout police constable wreaks havoc on a small town by refusing to be bribed in "Singlemind"; and in "Lefty" a simple gunsmith is made to behold the wonders of the England. Seasoned with equal parts humor and social commentary, Leskov's stories prove gentle but infectious portraits of the sorrow and joys of Russian peasantry.