A Slav Soul, and Other Stories

What It's About

This collection brings together fifteen of Aleksandr Kuprin's short stories, selected and translated by Stephen Graham (with his wife Rosa) from across Kuprin's body of work rather than published as a single unit by the author himself. It ranges widely in tone and subject, from the title story's meditation on the Russian character to the well-loved animal tale "The White Poodle," taking in village life, army routine, moral dilemmas, and the small tragedies and comedies of ordinary people.

Key Concepts

Kuprin's recurring concerns run through the collection: a deep sympathy for the poor, the outcast, and the animal kingdom; sharp observation of Russian provincial and military life; and a mix of humour, sentiment, and pathos often compared to Chekhov and Gorky, though with a broader, more exuberant style of his own.

About the Author

Aleksandr Kuprin (1870–1938) was a Russian novelist and short story writer, one of the leading figures of Russian realism in the years before the Revolution. Trained as a military officer before turning to writing, he drew heavily on his own varied experience — army life, provincial towns, and time spent among ordinary working people — for his fiction. He left Russia after the Revolution, spending nearly two decades in exile in Paris, and returned to his homeland only in the last year of his life.

About This Edition

This is a 1916 translation by Stephen Graham.