One of the coolest authors you've never heard of is dead

[DFW]

I first heard of Vasili Aksyonov in one of my Russian classes in college in 1972. His short story
"Halfway to the Moon" was my first glimpse into dissident Soviet-era literature. Aksyonov grew so
uncomfortable to the Soviet regime that they kicked him out of the country altogether, and he ended
up in the Washington DC area for quite a while, teaching at George Mason U to earn a living. He gave
a human face to "Socialist realism" in Russia, and the "socialist" powers that were didn't like his
reality one bit.

His stories were full of sly little asides that just made you chuckle. In "Halfway to the Moon," he
was describing the world of a simple worker who took a vacation and became enraptured with an Aeroflot
stewardess who didn't even know he was alive. He described what the announcements sounded like to a
Russian who understood no English: "Zhurly shurly. Lops Drops" In Russian the announcement said to
fasten seat belts and not to smoke. He wondered if the announcement in English said something different?
Maybe "unfasten your seat belts. Smoke."

Story here: http://www.newsday.com/news/nationworld/world/ny-aksyonov12954190jul08,0,2707877.story

на полпути к луне---счастливого пути василий Аксёнов! (Halfway to the Moon--bon voyage Vasili Aksyonov!)

Send us a card.

[CaliforniaPeggy]

1. Safe passage to him...

Thank you, my dear DFW...

My condolences to all who loved him...

[DFW]

2. Humor was never the Soviets' strongest suit

Even today, photos of Putin smiling are not the norm. But Aksyonov had the sly humor of
those who have been punished for speaking their minds, but whose spirits were not broken.
In America, he felt like a fish out of water, and was conspicuous in DC in his signature
leather jacket, I'm told. I never had the pleasure of meeting him. But I did get to read
him, and that was already a privilege. Maybe you can find some of his stuff in translation
in a library or online somewhere. If the humorless Soviet bureaucrats found his observations
uncomfortable to exile him, you know he's worth a try. Where Solzhenistyn tended to be more
somber, Aksyonov never lost his dry wit. He was a fun look into a world we can only imagine.

[Liberal_in_LA]

3. never heard of him. I'll keep my eye out for his stories

[DFW]

4. You'll be well rewarded!

It isn't difficult to figure out why the stodgy, privileged Central Committee members found him uncomfortable.

[DFW]

5. PS--I checked some of the US online sellers

His stuff is not easy to find in translation, but it is out there if you have the time to look.