32-5537 94-60909
Orig
Latynin, Leonid. Sleeper at harvest time, tr. by Andrew Bromfield.
Zephyr, MA, 1995 (c 1994). 184 p ISBN
0-939010-36-4, $21.00; ISBN 0-939010-37-2 pbk,
$11.00
Based
on pagan rituals, folklore, and mythology, this book is not so much a novel as
it is a chronicle of one thousand years of Russian history extending into the
21st century. Its principal hero is Emelya,
the “sleeper” who observes and surrealistically dreams his way through the
cataclysmic “harvest” of Russian history. Fire and particularly blood are the
salient themes, marking the human sacrifice that has been the cruel destiny of
the Russian people. For example: “The larger the [Russian] empire grew, the
more blood was
spilled… Under Ivan the Terrible or Peter the Great the blood had no time to
dry… but of course, most heart’s blood was spilled on
this red stone by the axe of the holy tsar Josef [Stalin] the Bloody. His
record is beyond count, and no one has ever approached it.” Perhaps the most
symbolic metaphor is “There is a dog that roams across history clutching a bone
in its teeth, and this dog is the word, and this bone is the remains of people,
cities and nations.” Numerous lists of nationalities, regions, colors, animals,
towers, streets, and churches permeate the book. The author evinces a rich lore
of Russian religious history. Since the book is the first part of a trilogy,
readers must await the author’s ultimate vision of the Russian idea. – V.D. Barooshian,
1600 CHOICE
June 1995