A Week Like Any Other

By Natalya Baranskaya

Book Overview

One of Russia's finest short story writers makes her U.S. debut in this enthralling collection of fiction. Women's lives are the central preoccupation of Natalya Baranskaya: A scientist frantically juggles her professional life with her duties as wife and mother; a woman writer who regrets never marrying is finally glad of it; a delinquent girl is brought before the people's court for her "anti-social" behavior. With candor and satirical wit, Baranskaya captures perfectly everyday realities of family and society.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0860681157
• ISBN13: 9780860681151
• Release Date: January 1989
• Publisher: Virago
• Length: 224 Pages
• Weight: 0.40 lbs.

Customer Reviews

Just Another Week

Natalya Baranskayas' Just Another Week is an excellent introduction into Russian Literature and Culture. This small novel details a week's events for a typical Russian woman living and working in Soviet Russia. Just Another Week is perfect for students of Russian Langauge and Literature. It's short length and straight forward story line makes it easy to understand, and the glossary located in the back of the book provides easy reference for unknown vocabulary. I recommend this book to anyone just learning about Russian Language and Literature.

Excellent depiction of Russian womens' lives

Baranskaya swears this is not a feminist work, but it's hard for American women to read it and not think about feminism. The thing is, there is no thesis here, no statement of injustice or plea ofr reparation: Baranskaya's novella has a "suck it up - this is how it is" tone. This tone makes the work uniquely Russian and it maddens most Western readers. Must read for anyone interested in Russian daily life, comparative cultural studies and women's studies.