SOURCE: “Works,” in Boris Pilniak: Scythian at a Typewriter, Ardis, 1985, pp. 95–114, 127–131.

In the following excerpt, Browning provides a thematic and stylistic analysis of several short stories by Pilnyak.

In general, Pilniak wrote rapidly and prolifically. His mind and pen raced from work to work; many were typeset prematurely, while their author hurried on to new projects.¹ Consequently, Pilniak's performance is uneven. When writing with great vigor, concentration, and integrity, he produced excellent art, occasionally with surprising speed but usually only after the discipline and refinement characteristic of longer periods. In what follows I examine what are, in my opinion, [a few of] the author's … best works. … The selection is, certainly, subjective. The criteria used were essentially whether the work is of consistently high artistic merit and whether its message is significant. Many good but not superior works are omitted, as is all of Pilniak's weaker writing. Where appropriate...