Apricot Jam and Other Stories

Synopsis

This is a brilliant new collection of stories from the Nobel Prize-winning author, available for the first time in English. Written in the years between Solzhenitsyn's return from exile to Russia in 1994, and his death in 2008, they confirm the author's position as not only a visionary political commentator but also as a true literary giant. APRICOT JAM AND OTHER STORIES presents a series of astonishing portraits of a Soviet and Russian life across the twentieth century. In 'The New Generation', a professor promotes a student purely out of good will. Years later, the same professor finds himself arrested and, in a striking twist of fate, his student becomes his interrogator. In 'Nastenka', two young women with the same name lead routine, ordered lives - until the Revolution exacts radical change on them both. Through their unforgettable cast of military commanders, imprisoned activists and displaced families, these stories play out the moral dilemmas and ideological conflicts that defined the century. The most eloquent and acclaimed opponent of government oppression, Solzhenitsyn was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1970, and his work continues to receive international acclaim.