Yuri Kazakov "Autumn in the Oak Woods"

I have chosen the short story Autumn in the Oak Woods as my self I have been born next to sea- Baltic Sea and I constantly feel that some of it is missing while I am here in Switzerland dough we have a beautiful lake just right near. Also another criteria for the selection of this particular text was because I feel closer to Russian culture and I thought it would be more interesting to read about the environment that is similar to my native one. The third reason for selection of this story is that I have been to Russia only once and I was keen to learn more about the life and relationship there.

"Kazakov is worthy of note not because of any 'disaffection' or 'dissidence', [sic] but because what he says about his haunting characters set against an impressively captured nature is penetrating, true and beautiful." -George Gibian.

Yuri Kazakov was a Moscovite that traveled a lot along the Oka River and The White Sea in the north, where he spent a lot of time with the local fisherman and took part in their daily routine. As from his literary works we can sense this vibe of love to nature. Interesting that Yuri was a jazz musician before enrolling to Maxim Gorky Literature Institute- when reading the short story Autumn in the Oak Woods he writes about jazz as a special type of music that brings up strange emotions of joy and sadness to the main character. When reading the story I had a question on my mind- if only the main character, a man who waits the woman arriving isn’t by any chance Yuri him self.

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