That Spark of Life
| "That Spark of Life" | |
|---|---|
| Author | Pavel Bazhov |
| Original title | "Живинка в деле" |
| Translator | Eve Manning |
| Country | Soviet Union |
| Language | Russian |
| Series | The Malachite Casket collection (list of stories) |
| Genre(s) | skaz |
| Published in | Krasny Borets |
| Publication type | Periodical |
| Media type | Print (newspaper, hardback and paperback) |
| Publication date | 17 October 1943 |
"That Spark of Life" (Russian: Живинка в деле, tr. Zhivinka v dele) is a short story (skaz) written by Pavel Bazhov. It was first published in Krasny Borets in October, 1943. It was later included in the The Malachite Casket collection. In the 1950s it was translated from Russian into English by Eve Manning
This is one of the most popular stories of the collection. It generated a Russian catchphrase "spark of life" meaning "creativity", "initiative", or "great interest in something".
A docufiction feature film Tales of the Ural Mountains (Russian: Сказы уральских гор, tr. Skazy uralskikh gor), released by Sverdlovsk Film Studio in 1968, included a live-action adaptation of "That Spark of Life".
It was first published in Krasny Borets on 17 October and in Uralsky Rabochy on 27 October 1943.
"That Spark of Life" was published in mainstream media with an assistance of the Soviet poet Demyan Bedny. In his letter as of 2 November 1943 to the Ural historian Andrian Pyankov, who had sent him the story, Bedny wrote:
You made me very happy by sending Bazhov's tale "That Spark of Life". It is indeed a small masterpiece, a charming little thing! Yesterday I draw the attention of Pravda's editorial staff to it. If Pravda doesn't publish it, it's only because they are desperately crammed. But it will probably be published in Trud. It's more suitable for Trud. I've been itching to write a foreword to it, but—I'm "crammed" as well. But I will try. The story is way too good in form and thought.
The story was eventually published in both Pravda and Trud on 21 November 1943. It was later released as a part of the The Malachite Box collection in 1944.
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