This spring’s Russia-related offerings from western publishers has been incomparably rich, particularly in fiction. So much so that it was impossible to limit this section of the magazine to just a few titles. This, of course, means shorter reviews.
The Selected Poems of Osip Mandelstam Translated by Christian Wiman (Ecco, $15.99)
Wiman has captured Mandelstam’s voice and music brilliantly in his marvelously evocative translations of the works of one of the most challenging and important Russian poets. The collection spans the entirety of Mandelstam’s career and includes many works not elsewhere translated.
Ilya Ilf & Evgeny Petrov Translated by Anne O. Fisher (Northwestern, $22.95)
No translator knows Ilf and Petrov like Anne Fisher. And it is a joy to announce that her translation of the first Ostap Bender tale is now in print, completing the set (Russian Life Books published her prize-winning translation of The Golden Calf in 2009).
The “smooth operator” is here in full measure, this time with his sidekick Ippolit Vorobyaninov, as the pair haplessly search the Russian provinces for a set of chairs, inside one of which is believed to be a priceless treasure in jewels. The Twelve Chairs is a ruthless skewering of Soviet and Russian culture and society that is as relevant (and funny) today as when it was published in 1928. And of course Fisher’s translation is brilliant and fresh, brimming with invaluable footnotes to provide context and meaning to the text.
Sergey and Marina Dyachenko Translated by Elinor Huntington (TOR, $24.99)
Modern fantasy novels tend to the epic, to swordfights and sorcery, to sweeping narratives and multi-volumed series. But The Scar is having none of that. This is a far more intimate fantasy, a fairy tale even – about a curse, about redemption, love and forgiveness. Told in exquisitely detailed prose, it is an intricate study of three intertwined characters in that realm where Russian literature excels: explorations of the human spirit.
Elena Chizhova Translated by Simon Patterson with Nina Chordas (Glagoslav, $22.50)
The history of Russia and the Soviet Union in the twentieth century was more brutal, more costly, more inspirational and more redemptive than that of any other country. Yet rarely has this history been seen through the eyes of women – those who bore the children who died in the Blockade or the War, those who were left behind (sometimes) when husbands and sons were sent to camps, those who worked alongside men all day, then went home to work another shift before the stove and sink. In this Booker winning novel, Chizhova offers a slice of that history through the revealing private narratives of a few representative women whose lives are focused on the girl who will take the women’s stories into a future they will not see. A powerful tale.
Translated by Valentina Brougher and Frank Miller, with Mark Lipovetsky (Academic Studies Press, $29)
While the target market for this weighty tome may have been university survey courses in Russian literature, non-collegians also benefit. This is a thoroughly impressive collection of short works by Russian authors spanning the entire twentieth century – from Andreyev to Petrushevskaya, and touching on all genres. An excellent bedside or couch-side companion to dip into as the mood strikes. The fact that most of the stories have never before been translated into English makes this collection all the more valuable. Highly recommended.
Orlando Figes (Henry Holt, $27)
Life, as they say, is always stranger than fiction.
After internment in a Nazi prisoner of war camp, Lev is sent to a Gulag in the Far North (accused, as were many, of treason for having allowed themselves to be caught by the Germans). Suddenly, after five years of imprisonment, Lev receives a letter out of the blue from his love, Sveta, whom he never hoped to hear from again. Over the next eight years, they exchange over 1500 letters – and even a few visits. Figes weaves their recently discovered correspondence between descriptions of events in the wider world to present what is surely the most revealing, intimate and detailed account of its type. A truly inspiring story of two individuals’ victory over the forces of helplessness and evil.
Allan C. Lynch (Potomac Books, $24.95)
Daniel Triesman (Simon & Schuster, $18)
Both these books pivot about the person of Vladmir Putin, the most important and influential Russian politician of the past decade (and, by virtue of his recent re-re-election, of the coming decade as well). Lynch’s slim tome is a more standard biographical treatment, and is rich in detail about Putin’s pre-political life, though it does hew more to the more positive “domestic” interpretation of Putin (he brought stability, economic recovery and international respect), versus the less appreciative “international” view (Putin is but the latest manifestation of a centuries-long tradition of anti-democratic centralization at home and feudalistic manipulation of the “near-abroad”).
Triesman’s history aims for a bit more historical context, explicating the post-Soviet experience from 1989 to the present day. Yet, this is still mainly a book about Putin and his rise. The first 80 or so pages focus on the Gorbachev-Yeltsin era, while the next 300 cover the last dozen years under Putin and Medvedev. Deeply informed by the author’s extensive time in country and his broadly cast net of interviews and research (there are 100 pages of footnotes), this is a balanced and detailed historical and Kremlinological account that is sympathetic to (and reasonably optimistic about) rapidly modernizing Russia’s many growing pains. At the same time it is deeply unsympathetic to jingoistic and simplistic views of Russia, which it answers with a welcome, evenhanded assessment of both past and present. Plus it’s just a good read.
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