In Vassily Aksyonov’s 1980 novel The Island of Crimea, an upset woman named Tanya walks into a diner and orders shish kebab. A tremendously fat woman taunts Tanya and eats pie. A KGB agent enters. Things get clamorous. The chef, who is not wearing any pants, accosts a waif at the counter. The pie-eating woman snatches a man by the shirt, force-feeds him, and threatens him sexually. The KGB agent slips out the door and disappears into the night; the cashier doesn’t even blink. Tanya knocks her plate to the floor and dashes outside. A group of German tourists locks arms, sways back and forth, and sings Nazi songs. A trio of elephants, ridden by “bottomless sex maniacs,” charges through. Finally, someone yells “Cut!” Tanya had walked onto a movie set; the director liked her chance appearance and kept rolling.

In Aksyonov’s latest novel, The New...

 

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