Works by Russian emigre authors are enjoying steady popularity here, both because they were so long off-limits in the USSR, and because the writing, uncensored in the West, has a bold, refreshing directness.


Among the current bestsellers are:


?Three volumes of collected verse and prose by Georgy Ivanov, the leading Russian poet of the first wave of emigration, Soglasiye publishers, almost 2,000 pages, 25,000 rubles;


?A collection of short stories by Nina Berberova, published by Sabashnikov, 300 pages, 3,300 rubles;


?Vasily Aksyonov's "Moscow Saga" in three volumes, Text publishers, 1,000 pages, 6,000 rubles;


?The works of Don Aminado -- the pen name of Amidav Shpolyansky, 1888-1957, a leading satirist among Russian emigres in Paris, Terra publishers, 770 pages, 3,000 rubles.


The following are some bon mots from Shpolyansky's writings, which are published by Terra in a nearly complete collection:


?The ultimate misfortunes: to survive the October revolution and to die from sunstroke.


?Treat your own wife as if she belongs to somebody else.


?Socrates found the easiest way out: Not wishing to give an interview, he poisoned himself.


?Love mankind as much as you wish, but do not expect reciprocity.


?Counterfeiters also fight for freedom of the press.


?Don't try to know yourself -- it might make you feel nasty.