Aksyonov | shortsonline

Victory

shortsonline — Wed, 19 Feb 2025 21:00:26 +0000

Short Story by Vasily Aksyonov. A casual chess game between a Russian grandmaster and a chance acquaintance comes to represent a class struggle between the intelligentsia and common people. Additionally, for the grandmaster, the movement of pieces triggers grim visions of his past and emerging fears.

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Little Whale, Varnisher of Reality

shortsonline — Mon, 03 Feb 2020 09:57:20 +0000

Short Story by Vasily Aksyonov. Returning home after a difficult day, a weak-willed Russian man would rather spend time in the fantasy world of his three-year-old son, whose imagination makes everything right, than make an important phone call. He dreads the outcome of the call, and keeps putting it off.

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Papa, What Does that Spell?

shortsonline — Tue, 05 May 2015 04:55:41 +0000

Short Story by Vasily Aksyonov. A Russian factory worker reviews his life and relationships as he spends a day with his six-year-old daughter while his wife is at a “meeting”. He faces a growing gap with his wife, who is completing a doctoral degree and may be having an affair.

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Halfway to the Moon

shortsonline — Thu, 12 Aug 2010 01:15:10 +0000

Novelette by Vasily Aksyonov. A hard-drinking, Russian logging-truck driver becomes infatuated with a stylish stewardess he meets on a flight to Moscow. He becomes so obsessed with finding her again that he spends his entire winter vacation traveling to and fro on the same flight.

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