The Burn - Late Sixties-Early Seventies Author:Vassily Aksyonov Already hailed in Europe and in the American press as an outstanding literary achievement (Time called it "a masterwork of modern Russian literature"), The Burn is one of the most eagerly awaited publishing events in many years. Its author, Vassily Aksyonov, who was one of the Soviet Union's most popular writers before the European publication o... more »f this book forced him into exile, is the central figure in the new generation of writers who are exiles from Soviet political and cultural repression.
The Burn tells the story of the children of the Revolution, raised not only on Soviet idealogy but on Soviet experience - the experience of Stalinism, of hope for a new freedom during the Thaw, and of the return of disillusionment with the invasion of Czechoslovakia in 1968. Its protagonists are five gifted, sophisticated, cynical yet hopeful young denizens of Moscow: a famous jazz saxophonist who is the idol of the city's rebellious, Western-oriented youth; a melancholy, romantic writers; a scientist disturbed by the militaristic use to which his discoveries are being put; a doctor, searcher for the mysterious substance that is the source of life; and a sculptor of scandalously unofficial works. Apart from their frustrated hopes for a freer, better life - and the sex and alcohol they make copious use of to forget their troubles - they all share the same middle name, and a common relationship to another character, Tolya von Steinbock. Each of them represents an aspect of Toya; his childhood, spent in the work camps of Siberia where his mother was a political prisoner, and evoked here with great poignancy and humor, is their common heritage.« less