Online - February 18, 2005

From Russia with Love

"Give Me" Short Stories

Love stories usually fall prey to one of two cliches: the tortuous, melodramatic saga with a farfetched happy ending, or the tortuous, melodramatic saga with a farfetched tragic ending.

Rarely do they tap into the “Can’t get him out of my mind … Hmmm, did I remember to buy milk?” reality of actual got-you-in-a-tizzy love.

Here’s one: Give Me: (Songs for Lovers), a short-story collection by 23- year-old Irina Denezhkina. Originally published online, Give Me delivers modern love in the age of chat rooms and Eminem in an honest, somber tone that would make Tolstoy proud. (Only a Russian could pull off a line like “Happiness is banal. It’s the same for everyone.”)

Though readers may have a hard time keeping track of the characters (Russians use a lot of nicknames), Denezhkina’s tales of the often excruciating, sometimes rewarding search for love in a sea of “posers and clowns” translate perfectly.

Minus the unrealistic melodrama.

Box of tissues not included.

Available online at amazon.com or at your local bookstore.