On the Golden Porch - Hardcover

Text: English (translation)
Original Language: Russian

Some writers can make mud sing - Tatyana Tolstaya is one of these. On the Golden Porch takes moments in life that age us and through words gives their very sadness, pain, or release something beautiful. Here are stories of young children, single women, old men; each piece has a distinct voice, richly and fully explored. At times these stories become surreal - a man undergoes an operation to remove Life so he can be brash and successful. At other times they are painfully real and depressing - as in the story of the man set apart from society by his soft belly and restrictive upbringing. But the sheer beauty of the writing sustains readers until we learn the lesson or experience the moment of revelation waiting at the end. Tatyana Tolstaya takes this mud that is life and shows us that is it more than dirt and water; it can be soft and warm and used to build things like dreams: "Old Peters pushed the window frame - the blue glass rang, a thousand yellow birds flew up, and the naked golden spring cried, laughing: catch me, catch me!...And wanting nothing, regretting nothing, Peters smiled gratefully at life - running past, indifferent, ungrateful, treacherous, mocking, meaningless, alien - marvelous, marvelous, marvelous." -- For great reviews of books for girls, check out Let's Hear It for the Girls: 375 Great Books for Readers 2-14. -- From 500 Great Books by Women; review by Erica Bauermeister