Lead Review (The Bridge Over The Neroch)
- Book: The Bridge Over The Neroch And Other Works
- Location: Russia
- Author: Jon McGregor, Leonid Tsypkin
3.5*
SOVIET UNION
The Bridge over the Neroch by Leonid Tsypkin
TR: Jon McGregor
Leonid Tsypkin wrote a great deal in the later 20th Century, but he was unable to get published in the Soviet Union. We reviewed Summer in Baden-Baden (which I actually read in the town!), highlighting that he was gaslighted by the authorities and that his application to travel beyond Soviet Borders was denied. He therefore had to rely on his imagination a great deal which in that novel occasionally led to odd observations.
In this set of short stories, he feels much more at home, writing with descriptive authority in his native country, picking out elements that catch his attention, describing the smells, the sights and the oddities, and the general feel of what he observes.
There is a Foreward by Jon McGregor, which wrong-footed me because he writes over 4 pages in one single sentence (which was a bit tedious) but of course he was emulating the style of the author, who writes in lengthy prose without really taking breath for punctuation.
Ideal reading for anyone who wants to gain understanding of life in the Soviet Union through an author’s words
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