December 01, 2019

Russophile's Bookshelf


Russophile's Bookshelf

We receive dozens of books from publishers each year, yet can only review a few in each issue of Russian Life. Here are a few books we recently received that are in publication and should be brought to Russophiles' attention.

 

Midnight in St. Petersburg, by Vanora Bennett (Thomas Dunne, $25.99)

Faberge jewels, Rasputin, and a priceless Stradivarious violin all play a part in a young woman's flight for survival, and for love, in revolutionary Russia.

 

Russian Tattoo, by Elena Gorokhova (Simon and Schuster, $15.99)

We reviewed this fine memoir by the author of Mountain of Crumbs in our November/December 2014 issue. The book is now out in paperback.

 

Alla Osipenko, by Joel Lobenthal (Oxford University Press, $34.95)

An autobiography of the legendary dancer and rebel who paid the price for speaking truth to Soviet power. The book draws on 40 interviews with the prima ballerina, tracing her life from classical darling to avant-garde rebel.

 

Soviet Leaders and Intelligence, by Raymond L. Garthoff (Georgetown University Press, $26.95)

A leading Soviet expert offers an informed and highly readable assessment of how Soviet leaders understood (and misunderstood) the intentions and objectives of their "main adversary." Garthoff shows how Soviet leaders were often not receptive to intelligence analyses that conflicted with their existing beliefs, and that intelligence officers were often not willing to challenge ideological orthodoxy.

 

Hit Parade: The Orbita Group, edited by Kevin M.F. Platt (Ugly Duckling Presse, $18)

A bilingual Russian-English colleciton of poems by the four leading authors of the Orbita creative collective, based in Riga, Latvia. Orbita is a trans-ethnic, trans-linguistic phenomenon that draws on both the traditions and contemporary scenes of Russia, Latvia and Europe.

 

Russia: Putin's Playground, by Anastasia Edel (Lightning Guides, $8.99)

Mini travel book sized, this is a brief guide to recent trends in culture, politics and society, with a dash of history thrown in. Lightning Guides "are short, beautiful books that connect curious readers to big ideas." Brevity is the watchword here, but it could be a good starting point for someone just dipping their toe in Russophilia.

 

The St. Petersburg Connection, by Alexis S. Troubetzkoy (Dundurn, $29.99)

A short, well-written history of Russian-American relations from 1776 to 1917, exploring the seemingly unlikely connections between the two countries – one a champion of liberty and progress, the other an absolute monarchy and defender of tradition. 

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Some of Our Books

Dostoyevsky Bilingual

Dostoyevsky Bilingual

Bilingual series of short, lesser known, but highly significant works that show the traditional view of Dostoyevsky as a dour, intense, philosophical writer to be unnecessarily one-sided. 
Maria's War: A Soldier's Autobiography

Maria's War: A Soldier's Autobiography

This astonishingly gripping autobiography by the founder of the Russian Women’s Death Battallion in World War I is an eye-opening documentary of life before, during and after the Bolshevik Revolution.
Turgenev Bilingual

Turgenev Bilingual

A sampling of Ivan Turgenev's masterful short stories, plays, novellas and novels. Bilingual, with English and accented Russian texts running side by side on adjoining pages.
Jews in Service to the Tsar

Jews in Service to the Tsar

Benjamin Disraeli advised, “Read no history: nothing but biography, for that is life without theory.” With Jews in Service to the Tsar, Lev Berdnikov offers us 28 biographies spanning five centuries of Russian Jewish history, and each portrait opens a new window onto the history of Eastern Europe’s Jews, illuminating dark corners and challenging widely-held conceptions about the role of Jews in Russian history.
The Moscow Eccentric

The Moscow Eccentric

Advance reviewers are calling this new translation "a coup" and "a remarkable achievement." This rediscovered gem of a novel by one of Russia's finest writers explores some of the thorniest issues of the early twentieth century.
Faith & Humor: Notes from Muscovy

Faith & Humor: Notes from Muscovy

A book that dares to explore the humanity of priests and pilgrims, saints and sinners, Faith & Humor has been both a runaway bestseller in Russia and the focus of heated controversy – as often happens when a thoughtful writer takes on sacred cows. The stories, aphorisms, anecdotes, dialogues and adventures in this volume comprise an encyclopedia of modern Russian Orthodoxy, and thereby of Russian life.
Fish: A History of One Migration

Fish: A History of One Migration

This mesmerizing novel from one of Russia’s most important modern authors traces the life journey of a selfless Russian everywoman. In the wake of the Soviet breakup, inexorable forces drag Vera across the breadth of the Russian empire. Facing a relentless onslaught of human and social trials, she swims against the current of life, countering adversity and pain with compassion and hope, in many ways personifying Mother Russia’s torment and resilience amid the Soviet disintegration.
Chekhov Bilingual

Chekhov Bilingual

Some of Chekhov's most beloved stories, with English and accented Russian on facing pages throughout. 
Davai! The Russians and Their Vodka

Davai! The Russians and Their Vodka

In this comprehensive, quixotic and addictive book, Edwin Trommelen explores all facets of the Russian obsession with vodka. Peering chiefly through the lenses of history and literature, Trommelen offers up an appropriately complex, rich and bittersweet portrait, based on great respect for Russian culture.
Murder and the Muse

Murder and the Muse

KGB Chief Andropov has tapped Matyushkin to solve a brazen jewel heist from Picasso’s wife at the posh Metropole Hotel. But when the case bleeds over into murder, machinations, and international intrigue, not everyone is eager to see where the clues might lead.

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