MAY 19 • 2022 | 105

in a laboratory. She is prepar-
ing her first article for publi-
cation in a scholarly journal. 
Her quiet life seems in order, 
until an intriguing stranger, 
an American engineer, takes a 
romantic interest in her.
 
CONNECTION TO HISTORY
The troubled political histo-
ry of Eastern Europe figures 
in several of these stories, 
most sharply in the story that 
begins: “This morning, once 
again, control of the city again 
changed hands. One set of 
occupiers retreated, another 
took over, but it didn’t make 
much of an impression. People 
were used to such changes. In 
a few days, the steel helmets 
would surely return.” 
Vilna indeed had changed 
hands several times in 
Blankshteyn’s lifetime. It 
belonged to the Russian 
empire in her youth and to 
Germany during the Great 
War. Right after the War, the 
Soviet Union made it the 
capital of the Lithuanian-
Byelorussian Soviet Socialist 
Republic until Poland claimed 
it. In 1922, Lithuania claimed 
it again. Poland took it back 
in 1922, although Lithuania 
protested. Vilna experienced 
uncertainty, fear and down-
ward mobility, along with ris-
ing antisemitism, even before 
the coming catastrophe. 
In one of these stories, a 
soldier remains in Vilna as 
his army retreats. He rents 
a room. He tries to call as 
little attention to himself as 
possible, a blond non-Jew dis-
appearing among the Jews of 
Vilna if he can. An officer in 
the next invading army looks 
for him, though. Escaping 
from his room, the deserter 
can find places to hide, but 
no food or drink. When he 
comes out of hiding, the Jews 
give him food and drink, but 
the army returns to kill him. 
One young woman tries to 
stand with him, but her father 
restrains her, saving her life. 
In another story, new 
antisemitic decrees affect the 
director of the largest local 

sugar factory. He has achieved 
a comfortable life, with a large 
house, a wife and even a mis-
tress, and, most important to 
him, a respected career. Then 
the Germans come to enforce 
Aryan control of businesses. 
German soldiers round up 
the Jewish employees and 
arbitrarily shoot and kill two 
of them. The director con-
templates his future in these 
new circumstances, for the 
Germans will not let him 
continue in his post. Jews 
have courage, he thinks, but 
he wonders how much he 
remains a Jew.
In the title story, “Fear,” a 
businessman traveling by train 
uses a 15-minute stopover 
efficiently to get a quick bite. 
When he mistakenly returns 
to a different train — a sealed 
train carrying prisoners — a 
soldier nearly shoots him 
to death. The businessman 
realizes that a moment’s inat-
tention can end his seemingly 
secure life, and he suddenly 
understands the awesome 
power of merely staying alive. 
Blankshteyn presents sturdy 
stories, built around strong 
male and female characters 
who seem real, who deal with 
significant challenges as best 
they can. Her stories (as they 
appear in Norich’s translation) 
seem plain and direct, art-
fully concealing their literary 
sophistication. The author 
adds just a few touches of 
embellishment, describing, 
for example, how the colors 
of nature reflect the emotions 
of her characters. One embel-
lishment concludes the story 
“Colleague Sheyndele.” 
Sheydele and her American 
friend go for a walk when 
he unexpectedly kisses her. 
She is frightened but also 
attracted. We do not learn 
how their relationship ends, 
but the story ends gracefully: 
“Behind them, the light snow 
covers their steps. In front of 
them, the lights of the town 
swim in yellow fog. From 
above, the young crescent 
moon bends down to the 
ground, curious.” 

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