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Rating: 
Summary: Does my review count if I couldn't finish the book?
Review: Having read (and loved) "Thirst" let me say that I do think Kalfus is a fine writer, a brave guy (for going to godforsaken Russia) and an all-around Smart Guy if not a card-carrying Nabokov/D.F.Wallace Brainiac. Having said that, I hated this book and couldn't wait to put it down. Where the stories in "Thirst" were like little bright pieces of glass that unexpectedly turn out to be diamonds, these stories seem stolid and uptight and very, very proper. Anyway, I'd skimmed the title story in "Harper's" when it appeared and it seemed like a "Harper's" short story--inaccessible, bleak, sad. When I read it here, I got the unfortunate joy of being proven right. It's a Harper's story. Look, I'll read and check out anything Kalfus writes, but this book feels very English-teachery to me and not something I'd recommend. Meaning: It's scolding, bitter, sad, depressing. Like someone standing over your shoulder telling you how WRONG you are about everything. Ugh. Read "Thirst" instead.
Rating: 
Summary: Beautiful...
Review: I ran across this book entirely by accident. While scanning the shelf for yet another author, the title caught my eye, and being a Russian language undergraduate and traveler; I decided to take the book home to find out more these "russian fantasies". When at home, I randomly opened the book and landed straight on the story Birobidzhan and decided that was were I would start and within a few lines, I was totally in love. Mr. Kalfus has a writing style that instantly transports his readers into the same realm of his characters. Not only could I envision Israel and Larissa dancing, but I could also hear that insistent jazz unwinding from its record. It's been a long time since I've been memorized by an author, albeit a male author and I must say that the story Birobidzhan is enough for me to say this book is wonderful.
Rating: 
Summary: A decent collection of stories
Review: Pu-239 consists of a collection of six short stories followed by a novella. The short stories cover a broad range of topics and cross the vast geographic expanse (Moscow, Chechnya, an area like Chernobyl, and the former Soviet/Jewish Republic of Birobidzhan) that is the former USSR. Some of the stories work and read well. Pu-239 and Birobidzhan work particularly well. Others, Orbit and Anzhelika, 13 are acceptable. Salt and Budyonnovsk, are not particularly good. The Novella, Peredelkino, concludes the collection and is Kalfus' best piece of writing. Ironically, it also explains the pitfall that keeps this work from a higher rating. Much has been made in prior reviews and in the dust jacket of Kalfus' 4-year stay in the USSR/CIS. Some have argued that the stories reflect the broad but ultimately superficial range of Kalfus' knowledge of Russia. This is a valid criticism. However, the importance of that criticism depends upon whether you believe that a short story requires the same kind of depth one would look for in a novel. Further, it depends upon whether you view in-depth knowledge to be a pre-requisite for a good story. Peredelkino centers on a Soviet writer and member of the Writer's Union during the Brezhnev regime. The protagonist receives fierce criticism for a novel that focuses on life on a Soviet merchant vessel. The criticism centers on his lack of precise in-depth information about life on the ship. It shows, his critics argue, a lack of concern for Soviet realism. The writer complains that the facts were not essential. He writes fiction and the ship was merely a fiction delivery device. Kalfus, to a certain extent, faces the same criticism. Despite his 4-year stay, his stories do not seem to cut below the outer levels of reality of Soviet life. On the other hand, if we accept the settings merely as a fiction delivery device rather than an in-depth excursion into the soul of Mother Russia, the value of the stories as stories are heightened. Ultimately, this is a book worth reading despite its uneven quality.
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