The Woman Who Waited
From AwardAnnals
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| Author(s) | Andreï Makine |
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| Publisher | Arcade Publishing |
| Honors | |
| In the remote Russian village of Mirnoje a woman waits, as she has waited for almost three decades, for the man she loves to return. Near the end of World War II, 19-year-old Boris Koptek leaves the village to join the Russian army, swearing to the 16-year-old love of his life, Vera, that as soon as he returns they will marry. Young Boris, who with his engineering battalion fights his way almost to Berlin, is reported killed in action crossing the Spree River. But Vera refuses to believe he is dead, and each day, all these years later, faithfully awaits his return.
Then one day the narrator arrives in the village, a 26-year-old native of Leningrad who is fascinated by both the still-beautiful woman and her exemplary story, and little by little falls madly in love with her. But how can he compete with a ghost that will not die? Beautifully, delicately, but always powerfully told, Andre Makine delineates in masterly prose the movements and madness that constitute the dance of pure love. | |
In the spring of 1945, as World War II is winding down, nineteen-year-old Boris Koptek leaves the remote village of Mirnoe to join the Russian army as it closes in on the beleaguered German capital. He leaves behind the sixteen-year-old love of his life, Vera, vowing to her that as soon as he returns, they will marry. Young Boris and his engineering battalion fight their way to the very outskirts of Berlin, where literally days before war’s end, he is reported killed in action crossing the Spree River. Vera steadfastly refuses to believe he is dead, and month after month, year after years, faithfully awaits his return. At first the village applauds her exemplary love, but as time goes on, they question her misplaced fidelity, and even her sanity.
Now, thirty years later, a twenty-six-year-old researcher arrives in Mirnoe from Leningrad to document the customs and legends of the village. But more and more of his notebook fills with observations, reflections, and theories about Vera, with whom, despite the difference in their ages, he soon falls hopelessly in love. The simple problem, however, is: How can he compete with a ghost that refuses to die?
