Vadim Sergeevich Shefner (1915–2002) was a Soviet-era Russian writer known mostly for his poetry (from 1940 on) and mainstream fiction. He did, however, publish a small number of quite clever and effective speculative fiction tales, most of which display an adroit eye for detail and for the subtleties of human interaction. Shefner’s full-length novel, Latchuga dolzhnika (1981; A Debtor’s Hovel), is a mature literary work, combining elements of science fiction with those of philosophical prose. He received the Russian Aelita Award in 2000.
In addition, two short novels, Čelovek s pjatio “Ne” (1967; translated as The Unman) and Devushka u obryva ili zapiski Kovrigina (1964; translated as Kovrigin’s Chronicles), were published together as The Unman; Kovrigin’s Chronicles (1980). Both are poetical and ironic or sardonic almost-fantasies, almost urban fairy tales. Other work of note includes the collections Imia dlia ptitsy (1976; The Name for the Bird), Kruglaia taina (1977; The Round Mystery), and Skazki dlia unmykh (1985; Fairy Tales for Smart Ones).
“A Modest Genius,” or “Skromny genni,” is a classic—deceptive due to its surface charm and seeming lightness. A near-perfect tale of invention and love, it was reprinted more than once in year’s-best volumes and other reprint anthologies after initial publication in View from Another Shore (1973), an anthology of international fiction compiled by the influential editor and agent Franz Rottensteiner.