I finished reading Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk and Other Stories by Nikolai Leskov (translated by David McDuff), a collection of novellas and short stories originally published between 1863 and 1894. Of all the literature I’ve read from this time and place, these are some of the most unique and unusual I’ve come across.

Stories in this collection include:

Musk-Ox
Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk
The Sealed Angel
Pamphalon the Entertainer
A Winter’s Day

Leskov is a gifted storyteller, and the tales in this collection have an immense range of tone, theme, setting, and character. Sometimes intense and shocking, sometimes soft and playful, his stories seem to expand like the delta of a river, with everything stemming from a basic acceptance of human nature.

“But you know, Father, man is a sly creature and in every situation he seeks fig leaves with which to conceal his nakedness.”