FW: Mitrofanov

[Robert Chandler]

Sara Dickinson sent me this interesting letter in response to my question
about Mitrofanov.

For some reason, she had technical difficulties in posting it to the list,
so I am sending it on her behalf, in case it is of interest to anyone else.

All the best,

Robert

------ Forwarded Message
From: Sara Dickinson <sara_dickinson at virgilio.it>

Dear Robert,

I'm writing directly to you because I'm having trouble posting to the
list for some reason --- which is too bad since I think Mitrofanov is or
should be of general interest.

I've actually taught Mitrofanov (1948-1994) a couple of times in
collaboration with a colleague here at the University of Genoa (Mario
Alessandro Curletto) who has translated two of his three novels into
Italian. Mitrofanov is a rather enigmatic figure: he apparently became a
writer at around age 40, when he gradated from the Gorky Institute,
wrote 3 brief novels/povesti in the early 90s and was then hit by a car
and killed. The two novels that I've read ‹ I think the Russian titles
are Svidetel' and Tsyganskoe schast'e ‹ are both first-person accounts
by colorful uneducated persons, a Russian barber and a Rom girl,
respectively. They both take place in the ethnically and geographically
complex and fascinating area where Mitrofanov himself grew up in and
near Kiliya/Chilia in Bessarabia and therefore on the Danube delta,
almost in Rumania, but in Ukraine.

Svidetel', which I like quite a bit, deals primarily with the
(ultimately not so) temporary Soviet incursion in the area in 1940-41
and issues of the imposition of Soviet power in this multiethnic
backwater and the terrible famine that ensues. From a translator's
perspective it is a bit of a nightmare: the words used come from
multiple languages and it's pretty hard both to track them down and to
render them in a single code. But it's a good read.

Tsyganskoe schast'e, which I believe was written earlier, appealed to me
less because I found it too didactic as the narrator, Sabina,
continually explains how her untutored naivetè is superior to the
so-called civilization that surrounds her. But it would probably appeal
to students and get some interesting discussions going in the classroom.
Themes here include corruption within the Soviet state (we see various
institutions and their corrupt employees and managers), social
marginalization (Rom, nonconformists), and violence against women. This
book takes place in the 1950s, I think. Much of the drama revolves
around Sabina's boyfriend, who is a talented painter, but has trouble
adapting to the requirements of Socialist Realist. The language here may
be simpler than in Svidetel', I'm not sure.

The third novel, entitled perhaps "Vodolej nad Odessoj", would seem to
deal with the same region and I would be glad to read it if I could find
it. In short, yes, I think Mitrofanov is worth translating ‹ and would
probably even be fun to translate, but it's not going to be a walk in
the park.

Best,
Sara

------ End of Forwarded Message

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