Constant Reader discussion

Our next story is "The Line" by Amor Towles. You can find it online in Granta at this link: https://granta.com/the-line/ Towles has a great webpage which includes his bio here: https://www.amortowles.com/amor-towle... In a section with links to his writing online, he says the following about this story:
At one point in A Gentleman in Moscow, the character Mishka ruminates that the line was one of Lenin’s greatest innovations: “He established it by decree in 1917 and personally took the first slot as his comrades jostled to line up behind him. Then one by one, every Russian took his place, and the line grew longer and longer until it shared all of the attributes of life.” After writing this passage, I was taken by the notion of a Russian citizen who, given his personality and upbringing, was destined to be the perfect man to wait in lines…

Because I just finished reading Hope Against Hope which vividly brought home to me the soul deadening experience of living in Stalin's Russia, I initially had a hard time adapting to the tone of this story. I did relax into it after a few paragraphs and had the sense of it being almost a fable of sorts. I had this same feeling when I read A Gentleman in Moscow. Terrible things are happening but the participants are getting on with the day to day stuff of life even as it may eventually crush them.

I'm trying to decide if this is misleading. Does it trivialize what happened under Stalin? Or do we all need humor even to survive evil?

I loved the tone of the story and find nothing trivializing about it, which I'll credit to how wonderfully individual an experience reading always must be. Not having read Hope Against Hope, my first association (almost immediate!) was to this old videocassette that I must have seen 3 or 4000 times (I'm exaggerating!) after Margeaux discovered it: the 1954 animation of George Orwell's Animal Farm ( https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XXkic... ) In other words, I was primed for a fable from the start.

I also did not read A Gentleman in Moscow when I should have -- a pity since, based on this story, I think I may love Towles; I certainly loved his writing here. There are 2 things I was left pondering; first, how old are Pushkin and Irina; and second, should he have done more to show us that while Pushkin is a man of simple needs he is not a simple-minded man. That said, I had a perfect understanding of both of them (I picture them mid-30s), and completely enjoyed the time we spent together.

I was primed for a fable, but look what else Towles did at the very beginning--
"...had Pushkin uncovered an old bronze lantern while tilling the fields and unleashed from it an ancient genie with three wishes to grant, he wouldn’t have known what to wish for.

And we all know exactly where that sort of happiness leads."
--he prepared me for catastrophe! In Animal Farm of course that is poor Boxer (the horse that is sent to the glue factory once his usefulness wanes.) I really steeled myself for it near the end too, as Pushkin waits, his luggage is stolen, he gets so lost, and winds up in the park hungry and freezing.

So it ended perfectly, really, giving me a big grin with the finish. And what better way to end a fable than with a big grin?

On his web page Towles says
"At one point in A Gentleman in Moscow, the character Mishka ruminates that the line was one of Lenin’s greatest innovations: “He established it by decree in 1917 and personally took the first slot as his comrades jostled to line up behind him. Then one by one, every Russian took his place, and the line grew longer and longer until it shared all of the attributes of life.” After writing this passage, I was taken by the notion of a Russian citizen who, given his personality and upbringing, was destined to be the perfect man to wait in lines…"
https://www.amortowles.com/new-story/

Does each and every line "share all of the attributes of life"? and what might those be?

Puskin's life back on the farm was cyclical because of seasonality, and yet also linear - rows of seeds, lines of till. It was regular, predicatable, as was the bread queue and the husband was right at home there because of that. But perhaps also because he lived more in the now than his wife who looked more to the future, to change?

One of the first things that struck me with this story was Towles use of language.
For example, in part 1 when talking about tilling the land, sowing the seed "moving back and forth across the land like a shittle through a loom"; in part 2 "capital had sweetened its own tea", "the young man's words go by just as one would the flags n an Easter Sunday flotilla", "she was quiet the way a heated skillet is quiet - in the moments before you drop in the fat" , "so tight was her grip on the young man's arguments that, should he ever want tham back, he would have to gnaw through his own phrases that way a wolf in a trap gnaws through its ankle" - all beautiful

Tonya wrote "should he have done more to show us that while Pushkin is a man of simple needs he is not a simple-minded man. That said, I had a perfect understanding of both of them (I picture them mid-30s), and completely enjoyed the time we spent together. "
Great question. I too felt I had a good understanding of each character, found them well-drawn, I was sympathetic to both, and found humour in the telling of the tale. I think the only point where I might have though the husband was simple minded was when he kept getting fired from different roles because he couldn't do them, and that made me see the wife's perspective in contrast to her get up and go do attitude. But he was a square peg ina round whole in the city until he found his perfect place, talking to people and being helpful as one does in the countryside.

But will this stand him in good stead in America? What do we think about the ending? Is it hopeful? Will it "no longer be the end of anything at all"? Did the storyline fizzle out by putting him back into a line again?

Is the world divided into those who always wait in line and those who make their own path forward?

Sheila, Irina won't experience much less frustration trying to perfect communism at nabisco in America than she did in the Soviet Union, and all indications are that her grasp of capitalism will lurch along, justification by justification. I adored her repeated justifications, that really tickled me! Pushkin, whose happiness seems to originate from inside his bones, will find plenty of lines where he will make many friends. Terrible shame he couldn't return to his land!

I didn't find the ending hopeful or non-hopeful, I just thought it was apt for the story.

All those phrases you pointed out are why I must read more Towles, I think it could be love! This was the feeling I got when I first read Pat Conroy, every word he chose was the perfect word. He made me know his characters. That was maybe 30 years ago, but it's a memorable experience.

I very much enjoyed this story. I agree with Sheila and Tonya, Towles certainly knows how to turn a phrase. The setting, construction and flow of the story and characterization of Pushkin and his wife (can't remember if she was even named?) reminded me so much of some of isaac Bashevis Singer's stories I read years ago, although Towles is almost genteel compared to Singer's earthy cynicism. The neat and tidy twist at the end, where husband and wife travel a great distance to a new land and new social structure, only to very quickly find themselves playing the same roles as they had in the Motherland, gave the story an old-fashioned air. Pushkin will no doubt soon learn to game the breadline just as he gamed the shop lines back home, and his wife will quickly rise at the factory - perhaps to be coopted into management and neutralized . . .

It's been a few years since I participated in a CR discussion. I think my comments may be a bit slapdash and disorganized, but I am giving it a go!

Theresa

Hi Theresa, not slapdash at all, and welcome back to the board. (Do take a look at the other stories we'll be reading, Barb as put a great list together and the collection has been a great find in my opinion) As you say Pushkin and Irina will play the same roles in US as in Russia - the world is small, works in the same ways everywhere, and routes to happiness vary between individuals.

Tonya, I don't know Pat Conroy's writing. I looked him up, perhaps one of those US writers who never made it the crossing of the metaphorical Pond. But your comment is quite a recommendation for his writing. I do urgre you to read more Towles - I've only read A Gentleman in Moscow but I did nudge Larry to read this short story as he is a Towles fan as well.

Overnight I thought about the story's characters again, remembering it really as having two main ones, Pushkin and Irina and a string of minor ones in the lines.

Those minor ones show a range of first and second social strata problems for Krakovitz its business meetings v electric light bulbs,, for Marya Borevna its meat for dinner v figs for her hsubands birthday, , for Nadezhda it is cabbage for the family soup v medicine for her sick child. I liked the way Towles used these to give context and insight into the social issues at play

But actually there is one in the middle and that is Petya, the street kid who became Puskin's proxy, or the proxy's proxy. Smart kid! A real entrepreneur, recruiter and rising oligrach I think.

I agree with what Sheila said about Towle's language; it is why I've come to love reading him. For me, it started with utter love for A Gentleman in Moscow and continued with The Lincoln Highway..., and The Line also has his wonderful meditative flow of language.

Underlying all of Towle's characters, and especially in The Line, is a reminder that though it could be easy to discredit someone as useless in a given situation, we all have value in our unique ways, which may not be readily apparent.

I am really enjoying this discussion. Great observations from everyone. You opened the story up a bit more for me.

Theresa, I hope the motto here at Constant Reader is more like "jump in," really. Let your passion flow! Who needs outlining, going thru drafts, all that jazz. I mean: use sentences, sure. But don't bother so much with publish-worthy composition.

Sheila, when The Prince of Tides came out, it seemed like everybody read it. (The movie worked, too.) I went on to read others, most memorable of the others was The Great Santini. But I moved along, and have no idea what he's writing now.

Also, like you, I found Petya memorable, and it was nice to think Pushkin's considerate nature ended up helping a dozen orphans to a well fed, more comfortable, useful existence.

Did you all notice the passage of time?
It begins in 1916;
Irina announces move to Moscow in 1918;
Pushkin offers to hold a place in line in 1921;
Petya watches Pushkin's exchange in 1923;
There are 10 proxies in 1925;
They board a steamship in 1929.

Thanks, Tony. I was a frequent participant in Constant Reader for many years, since its inception on Prodigy bacK in 1992. But, I haven’t been active in a few years and was surprised how much trouble I had organizing my thoughts so that I could write something coherent, when the words used to roll off my fingers LOL. I’m enjoying this discussion for sure.

Theresa

Tonya, I did notice the passsage of time when reading but having the years noted really helped bring it back into focus for me. What then struck me was how momentous a time that period of history was for Russia and Russians, so much change. And here we have it echoedby Towles in the everyday lives of two people.
- The Revolution and their move from countryside to city
- The Civil War and the 21 Famine and their lack of food, diseases in families, poverty
- Lenin's New Economic Policy with its free market and for profit social enterprises with the 'new' approach of Pushkin and then Petya in their own proxy profiting social enterprise
- The Great Break of 1928/29 which dispensed with the previous economics in favor of collectivization and we have Irina and Pushkin's break with their homeland and their own personal breakup.

Ah I was responding to Tonya. I’m using the app, which is kind of crappy, and it cut off your name, I thought you were someone named Tony that I didn’t know. LOL.

Theresa

I read this a few months ago when someone (I'm guessing Sheila) posted a note about it in a discussion somewhere, and as I have a soft spot for short stories (and Towles), I read it.

I didn't notice the timing, Tonya. That's really interesting. The Revolution, the Great War, and on to 1929 when Wall Street crashed - not to mention the Influenza epidemic that wiped out so many people around the world.

I don't remember enough details from the story now to comment on anything specific, but I did write a review.
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

I finally remembered to read this story. I loved it! I am a huge fan of AT. I particularly admire his talent in writing about Russian characters. It is as if he is Russian, which he isn’t, but when he writes these stories he most certainly taps into a Russian soul. Even before reading this story I was struck by AT’s decision to name his main character Pushkin, after all Pushkin is a well-loved Russian poet who lived about 100 years before this story takes place. And I felt certain AT would not make that choice haphazardly. So I was delighted to see him link the character to the poet at the outset of the story by describing him as definitely not a poet but having the soul of a poet in his appreciation for the wonders of nature as he lived his life on the farm. And then he gives him the gift of writing entrancing descriptions - like poetry - when he fills out the visa application. So….while I was reading the story, I was thinking that AT’s style in this one reminded me a lot of Gogol’s short stories. So…before I sat down to write this comment, I decided to skim quickly through Wikipedia’s entry on Pushkin. His life was perhaps more like Irina’s - he was a radical with a noble heritage, he was associated with the Decembrist revolt, he was exiled (Siberia if I recall correctly) by the tsar for his political beliefs and actions, he was repatriated but kept under close watch and was not allowed to travel outside of Russia. At one point he met Gogol, loved his short stories, and supported him. I doubt these reverberations and echoes are mere coincidences - AT is much too deliberate in his research and planning of a book/story for accidental connections. It’s one of the reasons I love his works, in addition to his masterful use of language, of course.

I finally read this story and enjoyed it so much. Mary, thanks for posting the information above. That makes the story more meaningful.

Sheila wrote: "Overnight I thought about the story's characters again, remembering it really as having two main ones, Pushkin and Irina and a string of minor ones in the lines.

Those minor ones show a range of ..."

I've heard a lot about Towles's A Gentleman in Moscow, but have not yet read it. I picked up his novel, Rules of Civility, at a book fair. Has anyone read that? If so, how does that compare to the more popularly read AGIM?

Maya, welcome to the short story conference. I liked Rules of Civility and it gets good reviews from people I respect here. I liked A Gentleman in Moscow more but that is definitely not a dig at the former book.

Tonya, that time line that you posted really put it all in a long term perspective for me. I noticed that time passage as I was reading but, actually, it made more of an impression looking back at it.

Sheila, Maya, Gina, Mary, Patty, Theresa, Tonya, Lyn, I am so glad to see you all here talking about this story. It has really increased my understanding and enjoyment. Short stories are not to everyone's taste so sometimes there are only a very few of us here discussing. I hope you all continue to come back.

Barb, I hope to come back for discussion of the stories available online. Short stories are a good way to dip my toe back in to CR!

Theresa

I'm very glad, Theresa! I learned to love short stories when my life was the busiest. You get that little golden kernel in such a short period of time. Then, I could think about it while doing other things. Now, I just love them, period.

And, that is exactly why we have kept the stories online option. We don't want participants limited those who buy the anthology (though I do really like this anthology).

Echoing Barb's encouragement re short stories, and I'm really liking this collection as well.

I just read The Line, and loved it. I have Towles on my ever-growing reading list, but this is the first I have read of his work and I am looking forward to sampling more. I think he did such a great job of weaving in details about characters, and their way of life to show their resilience and a sense of community in spite of their difficulties. Very inspiring.
I also loved the narrator's voice shedding light on historical setting and life gems like: "The wisdom of the peasant is founded on one essential axiom: while wars may come and go, statesmen rise and fall, and popular attitudes wax and wane, when all is said and done a furrow remains a furrow{, and "The human race is notoriously adaptive, but there is nothing that a human will adapt to more quickly than an improved standard of living.."
Thanks so much for sharing this link. I look forward to more conversation and suggestions on short stories.

I have been a longtime lurker in this group and love reading all of the insightful comments, such as the great ones in this thread. I love the writing of Amor Towles and when a Goodreads friend posted her review of this short story, I immediately found it online and read it. I love the idea of short stories, but I find some of them leave me wanting more or with a feeling that I haven't really connected to the characters. However, this one was a delight and I loved the character of Pushkin.

Thank you all for sharing your perspectives.

Maya wrote: "Sheila wrote: "Overnight I thought about the story's characters again, remembering it really as having two main ones, Pushkin and Irina and a string of minor ones in the lines.

Those minor ones s..."
I highly recommend Rules of Civility! It was the first Towles novel I read and it made its way to my "Favorites" shelf here on Goodreads.

Gina wrote: "I finally read this story and enjoyed it so much. Mary, thanks for posting the information above. That makes the story more meaningful."

It was your review that brought this short story to my attention. Thank you!

A recent Facebook post by a friend reminded me that the real life Pushkin was not only a descendant of Russian nobility, but a Black man - a great-grandson of Abram Petrovich Gannibal, who was kidnapped from what is now modern-day Cameroon as a child, enslaved in Turkey and then the Russian court, and later freed and raised and educated in the Emperor's household, becoming a prominent general and administrator - what a life!!

I've been trying to figure out what, if any, significance this might have with respect to the fictional character Pushkin in this story, and I'm drawing a blank. I think the real life Pushkin's status as the poetic soul of Russia definitely has bearing on the character created by Towles, but his ancestry maybe not. Still, it's definitely an interesting factual tidbit. And, in any case, I think a biography of Gannibal would be fascinating reading.

Theresa

Theresa wrote: "A recent Facebook post by a friend reminded me that the real life Pushkin was not only a descendant of Russian nobility, but a Black man - a great-grandson of Abram Petrovich Gannibal, who was kidn..."

Wow - that adds a whole new level of complexity, Theresa!

Theresa wrote: "A recent Facebook post by a friend reminded me that the real life Pushkin was not only a descendant of Russian nobility, but a Black man - a great-grandson of Abram Petrovich Gannibal, who was kidn..."
Theresa, The British Library page on him may be of interest https://www.bl.uk/onlinegallery/featu...
as may an article I have not fully read from Calvert22
https://www.calvertjournal.com/featur...