``Abram Tertz,'' the alter ego of Russian literary scholar Andrei Sinyavsky (b. 1925), writes fantastic fiction that embodies all the weird irreality of the Soviet experience. Tertz's autobiographical novel Goodnight! ( LJ 10/15/89) stuck relatively close to the facts in its depiction of Sinyavsky's life. Little Jinx (originally written in 1980) has for its narrator another ``Sinyavsky,'' the physical and spiritual runt of the family who struggles with guilt over his chance involvement in the deaths of five older half-brothers, all solid Soviet citizens. This philosophical gem of a novella addresses basic questions of longing, belonging, alienation, and the nature of guilt in a freewheeling idiom that subverts the semieducated propriety of ``Sovspeech.'' The translators rise gallantly to the challenge. Highly recommended for literary collections.-- Mary F. Zirin, Altadena, Cal. Copyright 1992 Cahners Business Information.
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