Little Zinnobers
Elena Chizhova, trans. Carol Ermakova (Glagoslav)
In Little Zinnobers, Elena Chizhova has written a touching, acutely funny study of a Khruschev-era schoolroom, and a delicate psychological portrait of a gifted teacher haunted by her own anachronistic relationship with her country and her students. A woman seemingly out of place teaching children, F. nevertheless inspires devotion from her pupils. The translation makes an admirable effort at appropriating what is clearly a distinctive voice. There are passages however where the translator could have taken further liberties, clipping sentences where the format of the original has rendered them repetitive. Instead, distinctively British idioms creep their way jarringly in to an otherwise explicitly Russian narrative. Interestingly, the book also comes with a lengthy and informative afterword providing a background on Chizhova herself, the Soviet Union, Shakespeare in Russia and the ETA Hoffman story from which the title is derived. JM
Price: £17.99. Info: www.glagoslav.com
Words: Jason Machlab
