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juliwi's review
4.0
I absolutely love reading translated works. Although preferably I'd like to read everything in its original language, that is simply not an option so the work of translators is invaluable. As I've been trying to expand my literary horizon I have become aware of a very large, Russia-shaped hole in said horizon. However, in recent years Glagoslav Publications has been working on translating previously untranslated Russian, Ukranian and Belarussian authors. My first dip into their works is Gromova's "novel from the archives". Thanks to Glagoslav for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
The Russian literary scene is one of giants. Authors such as Tolstoy, Pushkin and Bulgakov have left their traces on literature throughout Europe, and even the world. In combination with its authors' brilliance, Russia also experienced a number of cultural changes in the 20th century which only to some extent found an echo elsewhere in the world. The Russian revolution and the following Communist Era had a profound influence upon Russian authors and poets, both male and female, and Moscow in the 1930s introduces the reader to a whole range of these authors and poets. Natalia Gromova, in many ways, stands at the centre of this novel, uniting in her own life experience all the people she describes. History is fascinating, especially in how it influences the lives of people, changes their course irrevocably or unites them again after years and years. As such, Moscow int he 1930s' charm, then, lies in how intimately it opens up the lives of some of Russia's most remarkable people. As someone who is still quite a novice when it comes to Russian literature, this novel feels like a great introduction to the works that sprang from this short yet tumultuous part of Russian history.
Part of this novel's appeal lies in its archival nature. I myself am very interested in archives, what people collect and why, how they keep records of their lives and who finds them. Connecting the various threads of other peoples' lives, finding out something about the past and being able to track its course through history is enormous fun. There is a voyeuristic pleasure in reading someone's love letters, especially if they're written by such lyricists as Gromova reveals. What I greatly appreciated about Moscow in the 1930s was Gromova's express interest in those we haven't heard of, the names that weren't noted down by history, the women who played a role but never got the credit. As Gromova herself says:
'It always seemed to me that background figures, people who are much more difficult to glimpse or learn anything about, offer the possibility of imagining the world of the past in a much fuller way.'
Her novel subsequently, paints a fuller picture of the 1930s in Russia, and mainly of its literary elite, than I have ever read before. What also makes Gromova's archival research interesting is her awareness of how much of Russian (and Eastern German as well, for example) history was spent with people reporting on each other, telling stories, keeping receipts etc. It adds an extra layer to her writing which strikes a chord.
I greatly enjoyed Moscow in the 1930s, although I didn't read it all in one go. It's a great novel to read sections of at a time, to dip into as if dipping into history, for an hour here or there. There is always a difficulty when it comes to foreign books because something is always lost in translation, but Moscow in the 1930s is a complete and engaging read for those interested. I'd recommend it to those interested in Russian literature as well as archival work, because it makes the latter sound incredible exciting and fun.
For full review: https://universeinwords.blogspot.co.uk/2016/08/review-moscow-in-1930s-novel-from.html?showComment=1473083104056#c3622353485324134654
The Russian literary scene is one of giants. Authors such as Tolstoy, Pushkin and Bulgakov have left their traces on literature throughout Europe, and even the world. In combination with its authors' brilliance, Russia also experienced a number of cultural changes in the 20th century which only to some extent found an echo elsewhere in the world. The Russian revolution and the following Communist Era had a profound influence upon Russian authors and poets, both male and female, and Moscow in the 1930s introduces the reader to a whole range of these authors and poets. Natalia Gromova, in many ways, stands at the centre of this novel, uniting in her own life experience all the people she describes. History is fascinating, especially in how it influences the lives of people, changes their course irrevocably or unites them again after years and years. As such, Moscow int he 1930s' charm, then, lies in how intimately it opens up the lives of some of Russia's most remarkable people. As someone who is still quite a novice when it comes to Russian literature, this novel feels like a great introduction to the works that sprang from this short yet tumultuous part of Russian history.
Part of this novel's appeal lies in its archival nature. I myself am very interested in archives, what people collect and why, how they keep records of their lives and who finds them. Connecting the various threads of other peoples' lives, finding out something about the past and being able to track its course through history is enormous fun. There is a voyeuristic pleasure in reading someone's love letters, especially if they're written by such lyricists as Gromova reveals. What I greatly appreciated about Moscow in the 1930s was Gromova's express interest in those we haven't heard of, the names that weren't noted down by history, the women who played a role but never got the credit. As Gromova herself says:
'It always seemed to me that background figures, people who are much more difficult to glimpse or learn anything about, offer the possibility of imagining the world of the past in a much fuller way.'
Her novel subsequently, paints a fuller picture of the 1930s in Russia, and mainly of its literary elite, than I have ever read before. What also makes Gromova's archival research interesting is her awareness of how much of Russian (and Eastern German as well, for example) history was spent with people reporting on each other, telling stories, keeping receipts etc. It adds an extra layer to her writing which strikes a chord.
I greatly enjoyed Moscow in the 1930s, although I didn't read it all in one go. It's a great novel to read sections of at a time, to dip into as if dipping into history, for an hour here or there. There is always a difficulty when it comes to foreign books because something is always lost in translation, but Moscow in the 1930s is a complete and engaging read for those interested. I'd recommend it to those interested in Russian literature as well as archival work, because it makes the latter sound incredible exciting and fun.
For full review: https://universeinwords.blogspot.co.uk/2016/08/review-moscow-in-1930s-novel-from.html?showComment=1473083104056#c3622353485324134654
abookolive's review against another edition
I've DNF-ed two out of the two books I've picked up so far this year. DOING GREAT.
josh_caporale's review against another edition
2.0
2.5 stars
I received a review copy of this book from Glagoslav Publications in exchange for an honest review.
I am quite thankful to have had the opportunity to be approached by a publishing company that translates Slavic literature into English, for I am always curious to explore literature from across the globe. I feel that diverse reading is critical in being able to understand the world around us, past and present, and also provide us with the ability to understand their point of view. The key intent of Moscow in the 1930s is to give us an insight of the literary scene during what could arguably be the greatest peak of Soviet leader Josef Stalin's fury. I expected great intensity and it felt like when it was good, this was a book of great intensity. Unfortunately, this novel was also very scattered and it became a challenge to follow, so I felt I needed to take points off of the final rating.
Natalia Gromova engages in research, with heavy concentration on the lives of literary figures during Stalin's reign, or roughly that between the 1920s and 1950s. I was not familiar with many of these figures, with the exception of Mikhail Bulgakov, Anna Akhmatova, and Osip Mandelstam, whose wife, Nadezhda, is mentioned. I was aware that Osip Mandelstam was sent to the Gulags during the 1930s (which is not heavily explored), but Gromova tells us of others that wrote and were affected during this period of time, on many occasions referring straight to what they said in their diaries or in interviews with those associated. The writer whose story I felt stuck out the most was that of Daniil Andreyev, who wrote the now lost "Wanderers of Night" and his main work, "The Rose of the World." His writing exposed the practices that took place in Soviet Russia and, in the case of the latter, life after Stalin.
Reading this book gave me an idea of how literature was affected during this particular period of time, but it is still a foggy idea that will require me to engage in some more research. Having some background information on the figures in this book would prove to be a great help in understanding the text at hand. If not, the text at hand is certainly going to be mind boggling. This work did, however, spark my curiosity in doing more research on some of these writers and explore the works they have written. I feel that this book is an okay source for discovering figures in Soviet literature.
I received a review copy of this book from Glagoslav Publications in exchange for an honest review.
I am quite thankful to have had the opportunity to be approached by a publishing company that translates Slavic literature into English, for I am always curious to explore literature from across the globe. I feel that diverse reading is critical in being able to understand the world around us, past and present, and also provide us with the ability to understand their point of view. The key intent of Moscow in the 1930s is to give us an insight of the literary scene during what could arguably be the greatest peak of Soviet leader Josef Stalin's fury. I expected great intensity and it felt like when it was good, this was a book of great intensity. Unfortunately, this novel was also very scattered and it became a challenge to follow, so I felt I needed to take points off of the final rating.
Natalia Gromova engages in research, with heavy concentration on the lives of literary figures during Stalin's reign, or roughly that between the 1920s and 1950s. I was not familiar with many of these figures, with the exception of Mikhail Bulgakov, Anna Akhmatova, and Osip Mandelstam, whose wife, Nadezhda, is mentioned. I was aware that Osip Mandelstam was sent to the Gulags during the 1930s (which is not heavily explored), but Gromova tells us of others that wrote and were affected during this period of time, on many occasions referring straight to what they said in their diaries or in interviews with those associated. The writer whose story I felt stuck out the most was that of Daniil Andreyev, who wrote the now lost "Wanderers of Night" and his main work, "The Rose of the World." His writing exposed the practices that took place in Soviet Russia and, in the case of the latter, life after Stalin.
Reading this book gave me an idea of how literature was affected during this particular period of time, but it is still a foggy idea that will require me to engage in some more research. Having some background information on the figures in this book would prove to be a great help in understanding the text at hand. If not, the text at hand is certainly going to be mind boggling. This work did, however, spark my curiosity in doing more research on some of these writers and explore the works they have written. I feel that this book is an okay source for discovering figures in Soviet literature.