
A Present Past
- Author Sergei Lebedev
- Narrator Bert Seymour
- Publisher Bloomsbury Publishing
- Run Time 8 hours and 5 minutes
- Format Audio
- Genre History, Political geography.
Click to open directly in the xigxag app.
Titles Purchased
- 1-5
- 6-10
- 11-15
- 16-20
- Over 20
Price p/Title
- £7.99
- £6.99
- £5.99
- £4.99
- £3.99
Listen to a sample
What to expect
“Ghosts are not born by themselves. They are born of a silent conscience. They are as real as the ignored knowledge of crimes and the refusal to accept real responsibility. They are the distorted voice of the dead turned into mystical images. The voice of unwanted witnesses.”
A Present Past is a collection of short stories that brings to vivid life a post-Soviet world haunted by the secrets and crimes of its past. It features a judge overcome by the weight of his ruling, the stories of those that lie within the Pokrovsky Cemetery, discovered objects that transport us to another time and the documents of the KGB. Seamlessly blending history with fiction, politics with individualism, reality with magic, the eleven tales explore the unacknowledged crimes of the Soviet Union and Russian State, and shows how the devastating sins of the past pervade the present.
Critics Review
A tour de force – exquisite and gripping, finely translated, fiction that pulls you into the beautiful and brutal service of imagining and understanding the human realities of modern Russia, a series of tales meticulously crafted and deeply imagined.
One of Russia’s most prominent contemporary writers, Lebedev, 41, has been hailed for a series of novels that hold a mirror up to Russia’s blighted past. A former geologist, he chips away at the deep strata of his country’s 20th-century history, the seams of trauma concealed by a state-sanctioned campaign of oblivion.
A luminous and magical writer, Sergei Lebedev excavates the Soviet past and gives voice to its restless ghosts. By exploring Russia’s dark history he sheds light on its terrible present. Lebedev’s stories are urgent and compelling at a time when a Kremlin leader is waging a myth-inspired war in Ukraine.
Memories of the Soviet era emerge through relics, landmarks, and fantastical occurrences in this satisfying collection . . . Lebedev adds vibrant lyrical descriptions to the strange interplay of past and present . . . There’s a real payoff to these rich and ambiguous stories.
We know from William Faulkner that ‘the past is never dead, [and that] it is not even past’. Yet some pasts are more consequential than others, and Sergei Lebedev’s prose captures vividly the crippling presence of Russia’s Stalinist past in the life of contemporary Russian society. A very important read.
Lebedev’s vibrant, steely fiction has always shown how the weight of Russia’s past shapes its present, and this story collection also exhibits a fantastical edge … the discerning will find much brilliance here
In these brilliant, terrifying stories, Lebedev makes the unseen visible, invoking the spirits of things and places, to say nothing of the anguished souls of the dead themselves. Only a poet – or a shaman – could make us all see what is here. The tales are wonderfully told, completely real and harrowing.
In this striking new collection of eleven stories by the leading exponent of Russian memory fiction, perpetrators conceal their guilt, descendants replay past traumas, and even the most gruesome ‘evidence of evil’ produces little punishment. As state controls over Russian history and memory grow ever tighter, these terrifying tales of the unburied and uncanny warn of the dire consequences of forgetting, and urgently appeal for remembrance and repentance.
More from the same
Narrator
About xigxag
Enjoy the best audiobooks on xigxag, an innovative, user-friendly audiobook platform that makes it easy to find, purchase, and enjoy your favorite books in audio format. xigxag’s flexible pricing model offers bestselling audiobooks for less – affordable prices and the best audiobook deals with no subscription required. Give the perfect gift with our audiobook gift cards and in-app audiobook gifting options.
xigxag’s commitment to sustainability and ethical practices ensures a guilt-free listening experience from an exceptional digital book platform – an exciting alternative to big tech. Enjoy audiobooks from the only B Corp certified UK audiobook service and a leader in audiobook innovation.
Search effortlessly, read honest audiobook reviews evaluating both the book and the narration, and discover hidden gems. Download or stream top audiobook titles anytime, anywhere and get the best possible listening experience on the UK’s best independent audiobook app. Experience the future of audiobooks today.
Subscribe to our newsletter
Sign up to get tailored content recommendations, product updates and info on new releases. Your data is your own: we commit to protect your data and respect your privacy.