This is the
story of Kolja, who was in love with Claire but he lost her. After the Russian
Revolution Kolja fled to Paris, hoping to meet Claire there again and he did.
Claire is
married, but her husband is away most evenings and then Kolja is with her. Only
when he is with her in the evening, his memories of Russia, his youth and
experiences during the Russian civil war when he fought on the side of the
White army, come back to him.
An evening with Claire is not a long story, my Dutch
translation had 176 pages. The writing style is beautiful, just like in Alexander Wolf, although less precise.
This is logical, An evening with Claire
was written almost twenty years earlier.
Very
prominent in this is the longing for Russia and the world that has gone. You
cannot escape the idea that Gazdanov
described his own feelings here. After all, his situation and Kolja’s are very
similar. They both fought for the White army, both fled to Paris after the war.
Kolja’s
childhood and his parents are described in a very beautiful way. You can see
his father who loved science and hunting so much and his intelligent and
reserved mother before you when you read about them. Kolja is an observer and
often cannot make sense of what he experienced or saw until later. He is not
very interested in politics, but the Bolsheviks have no appeal for him. When
the Civil war broke out, he choose the side of the White Army, also because he
thought they would lose so they needed his help more. Thankfully there is the
conversation Kolja has with his uncle Vasili, a retired army officer, who has a
talk with Kolja just before he is off to the army, filled with wise
life-lessons.
A beautiful
story.
Original
Russian title: Vetsjer oe Kler
Published in 1929
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