Dispatches from the District Committee

Synopsis

Grotesque, deconstructive, and darkly comic, Dispatches from the District Committee is a collection of Vladimir Sorokin’s short stories portrayingSoviet life beyond official propaganda and state-sponsored realism. Through absurd situations, provocative imagery, and unsettling transformations of everyday life, Sorokin exposes the contradictions and rituals of Soviet society.

The collection brings together stories from Sorokin’s incendiary 1992 collection The First Subotnik (also known as My First Working Saturday) and other sources. His characters move through workplaces, bureaucratic institutions, social gatherings, and ordinary domestic situations that gradually descend into the surreal. Translated by Max Lawton, the collection offers an irreverent and frequently disturbing portrait of authority, conformity, and the absurdityof ideological systems.

About the Author

Vladimir Sorokin is a Russian novelist, playwright, and artist whose work isknown for its experimental style, grotesque imagery, and satirical treatmentof literary and political conventions. Born near Moscow in 1955, he trainedas an engineer before becoming involved with the Moscow underground art and literary scene of the 1980s. His works include The Queue, Blue Lard, Day of the Oprichnik, and Telluria. His writing has been translated into numerous languages and has received major Russian literary awards.

Publisher
Dalkey Archive Press

Publication Date
January 21, 2025

Format
Paperback

Pages
180

Subjects
Literary Fiction · Short Stories · Russian Literature · Satire · Experimental Fiction

ISBN
9781628975178