Poor Lenin, Misunderstood

Google Alerts can sometimes lead you to unexpected sources. Like the website of a writing coach (why should he have a name) who, in his own words, helps young writers "become attuned to their creative powers of storytelling." And so Coach summarizes "Buying Lenin" briefly, but misreads the story in such dramatic fashion I had to paste his summary below:

A third short story from the 2008 collection, entitled "Buying Lenin" written by Miroslav Penkov from The Southern Review, is a love story between grandson and grandpa. The grandpa returns to his native Leningrad, after the demise of Communism in 1991. Sinko, the grandson, is a young college student in Arkansas. He writes to his grandpa about the capitalist way of life in America and his new-found freedom of expression. Life in America is good for Sinko, who is introduced to BMWs, girls, alcohol and sexual exploration. Grandpa's last wish before his death is to have a miniature statue of Lenin, which Sinko buys for $1.99 on eBay. For Sinko, buying Lenin was merely a purchase, but for Grandpa the statue means much more. During the 1991 war between Bulgaria and the Soviet Union, Grandpa discovers the remains of fifteen Bulgarian refugees in a dugout in the forest, their makeshift sanctuary and now a grave for three years. The refugees did not have the courage to walk out and starved to death. Sinko receives a letter from his grandpa written in his own hand before his death. In the letter, his grandpa gives sage advice to his grandson: "Fight only the fights that are worthy; let all others pass you. Sinko, I love you".

So if you are a student and "Buying Lenin" appears on the syllabus, and if you don't much feel like reading the actual story, this summary will do you a world of good on the quiz...