Word: guterman
(lookup in dictionary)
(lookup stats)
Dates: during 1970-1979
Sort By: most recent first
(reverse)
Collected by ALEXANDER AFANASEV Translated by NORBERT GUTERMAN 662 pages. Pantheon...
Peasant Formula. Russian tales in the oral tradition have a distinctive diction, which is here brilliantly rendered by the translator, Norbert Guterman. This involves such conventions as repetition and introductory and concluding flourishes. The traditional "and they lived happily ever after" may be replaced by the more homely peasant formula, "They celebrated their wedding, and are still alive to this very day and chewing bread." Many stories end with a hint by the storyteller that he is hungry and thirsty after his labors. "There's a tale for you and a crock of butter...
...Guterman's main attempt so far has been to create a circus atmosphere. At lunch in Horn & Hardart's branch at Eighth Avenue and 58th Street in Manhattan, customers stand three deep to eat at a new "Burger in the Park" counter, complete with plastic-flower-lined paths, AstroTurf and cut-out clouds. At other outlets, rock concerts draw young late-night customers despite fear of muggings. A double-decker Horn & Hardart bus tours Manhattan free, stopping at such favorite tourist spots as the U.N. and the Empire State Building-as well as at 17 Horn & Hardarts. Meanwhile...
Eagle Eye. The show-biz tricks are buying time for a more fundamental reorganization. Guterman has cut costs by keeping an eagle eye on such things as how many ounces of peas or slices of beef a cafeteria counterman doles out, though he has continued the company's policy of having its executives sample the food regularly to maintain quality...
More important, he is using the company's real estate holdings-appraised at $15 million-for diversification. Horn & Hardart recently sold a block-sized commissary for $4,000,000 and used the money to help buy Hanover House Industries, a $17 million-a-year mail-order business. Guterman also is talking joint hotel-restaurant ventures with a big motel builder. The vaudeville aura seems to have carried him away, however; he has approached Soviet authorities with the idea of opening an Automat in Moscow. "Can you imagine the excitement that would provoke?" he beams...