Arrest: Stories

A riveting and grimly comic collection, Arrest is the account of a Moldavian-Jewish dissident's interrogation by the KGB, his subsequent imprisonment in a labor camp, and a difficult emigration with his family from the former Soviet Union. The author's life is the source for this fiction, narrated by a character named Lazarus Trubman—a survivor scarred by his experience, who finds a new home in the USA. Here are samples from a stunning novella in stories:

From “A Casual Chat About Nothing”
“The millstones of history never stop,” he had said. “That’s why it is very important not to get between them. In your case though, it’s a bit too late, my friend. Your hands were already caught when I got you.” And I understood: that’s all they needed, a hand, even a finger, then it was only a matter of time to squeeze my body and mind between the rusty millstones and grind me into a flat, blind, obedient human being. Just one fucking finger!

From “An Unexpected Sunday Tourist”
I was dismayed by the thought: I could have stabbed him in the back with my military knife. I knew I hadn’t done it. But why didn’t I? I hadn’t dreamed it either; I merely woke with the thought: a stab in the back as he bent down for his rucksack would have killed him instantly.