The Road (Vasily Grossman, various dates 1930s - 1950s)

I really like this guy's writing.  I also like stuff set in Russia, including this dark era with Stalin, WWII, Nazi invasion, 1937 liquidations, kulaks, etc. - compelling settings. Grossman in trouble with the authorities from time to time while also having success with Russian army as writer for "Red Star". As mentioned elsewhere - his masterpiece was denied publication by the Soviets and had to be smuggled out.

This is a collection of Grossman's short stories plus a few essays and letters.

"The Old Teacher" - the ending where the young girl in a maternal way consoles the teacher who was waiting for words of love. Compare to Life and Fate scene with the (female, unmarried) doctor going into the gas chamber taking care of someone else's child. I liked this.

"The Hell of Treblinka" - read only a few pages plus skim. A topic on which I feel pretty well informed so not wanting to slog through the grim detail again.  This is notable because it’s one of the first accounts. 

"The Road" - two mules working with German army, then the younger mule with mare with Russian army. I see that this was about the Italian army invading Ethiopia; but it felt in many ways like a metaphor for folks slaving away in the labor camps. 

"Mama" - a key figure in the 1936-38 liquidations adopts an orphan, who then becomes an orphan again when this person (Yeshov) is himself arrested and taken away (also his wife).

Interesting throughout; recommended.

A House of Gentlefolk (Ivan Turgenev, 1859)

I hadn't heard of this work but there it was in the "free" section on Kindle. Having a lot of time around the house what with radiation treatments etc., I gave it a run - and much enjoyed. Turgenev of course a great writer and I'm happy I ran across this.

Google Gemini's 200-word summary - 

"Published in 1859, Ivan Turgenev’s A House of Gentlefolk (also known as Home of the Gentry) is a bittersweet exploration of duty, lost opportunities, and the clash between Russian tradition and Western influence.

The Story

The novel follows Fyodor Lavretsky, a nobleman who returns to his Russian estate after discovering his wife Varvara’s infidelity in Paris. Seeking a quiet, meaningful life close to the soil, Lavretsky visits his cousin, Marya Kalitina, and becomes captivated by her daughter, Liza.

Liza is a deeply religious, morally steadfast young woman who represents a "pure" Russian spirit. Despite their age difference and Lavretsky’s marital status, they fall in love. When Lavretsky reads a report in a foreign journal claiming Varvara has died, he confesses his love to Liza, and they envision a future together.

The Turning Point

Their hope is shattered when Varvara suddenly arrives in Russia, very much alive and seeking money. Bound by religious and social duty, Liza refuses to build happiness on the ruin of a marriage. She enters a convent to seek redemption through suffering. Lavretsky, resigned to his fate, returns to his estate to age in solitude."

Animal Farm (George Orwell, 1946)

It's such a good book. Orwell "gets" it. Worth an occasional re-read.

I feel pretty much the same about the book as when I wrote this summary on this blog back in 2011:

"The story is familiar.

The inevitable end-point of centralized political/ideological control:  "All animals are equal.  But some are more equal than others."  Boxer's death - compelling. 

I haven't read this since high school.  I'm sure it was quite interesting in high school - but (as often when I think of books read back then) - I wonder what I then thought of it.  I pretty much read it in an information vacuum.  Now - nigh 40 years later - have had the benefit of much more reading about Russia, Communism, the Spanish Civil War, political environment when this was written in the 1940s.  Maybe I get half of Orwell's allusions now?  What percentage did I get in high school (when I wouldn't have even known about Leon Trotsky)?  What percentage if I read this again in 20 years?

Another thing I hadn't realized was the extent of Orwell's commitment to socialism - given the nature of the book, I would have assumed he opposed.  But the foreword to this edition indicates that he was then a true believer - had fought in the Spanish Civil War on the side of the Soviet-supported government against the Nazi (fascist)-supported rebels - but left after seeing the murderous nature of the Russian "support."  Animal Farm was supposed to debunk the myth of the Russian version of socialism, to help prospects in other socialist systems. 

Good.  Short.  Effective."

A Swim in a Pond in the Rain - In Which Four Russians Give a Master Class on Writing, Reading, and Life (George Saunders, 2021)

(408 pages)

In The Cart

The Singers

The Darling

Master and Man

The Nose

Gooseberries

Alyosha the Pot

Re-read for me, I picked it for book club.  Things I talked about -

A book celebrating these peerless Russian authors and learning to write - or more pertinently to me, to READ.  Seven short stories plus discussion around each.

That made this book well worth some contradictions.  I don’t really love the short story format; you just get used to a few characters and then - it’s over. I was kind of disappointed in some of the stories Saunders selected. I got tired of his preaching.  

The contrast to Lonesome Dove. Big canvas; led me to War & Peace.

Two good rules: Be entertaining.  Advance the story in a non-trivial way.

The Cart - was Marya changed by remembering childhood happily?

The Singers - I really liked this, especially his efforts to describe music (the indescribable, I’ve tried). Keyed to the reactions of the audience, especially the wife (sharp-nosed and quick-eyed tradeswoman). (Kind of rich – in The Singers, he is criticizing Turgenev for running on and on, apparently not understanding that he is doing a far worse job of it himself. Plus, I like Turgenev’s running on!)

Too much analysis = yuck. 

This collection is worth it for Master and Man alone. 

Grappling with spirituality - the moment when the master decides to devote himself. Difficult to write about that something “larger than ourselves” - but it works, quite a moment.

In the first few pages after Master and Man, Saunders talks about opinion and fact, that Tolstoy here is pure fact. Compare War and Peace - all sorts of opinions about Napoleon, war, etc. Here:  “It’s mostly just descriptions of people doing things.”  Perfect. Saunders is helping me read better.

The “facts” of being out in that snow for anyone who’s lived there.  Billy Devine’s corncrib. 

        Page 219. Reminds me of my reaction to the snow drift sections.

        How Tolstoy goes into the master’s mind as he tries to sleep. Everyone familiar with this from night experiences of difficult situations - tell yourself not to think about it; select something happier to think about; keep trying; maybe drift off but there it is again! Saunders discusses section 6 of the story at page 232 (the part where master and man are in the cart overnight).

The Nose - can anyone find something of value either in the story, or in the author’s notes? I liked Dead Souls, but this?

At 331, Chekhov uses the same technique to describe beauty as Turgenev does to describe music in the singers. Here: “The moment when Pelageya stops Ivan and Burkin in their tracks with her good looks.” 

At 336-7 is a key for my readings of Chekhov.  Saunders best work appears here (or is it just because I agree with it?!) The idea of Checkov having clear views, weakly held. Start at “interested in everything but not wedded to any fixed system of belief” and read the highlights.

Refer to page 381 re Russian history. Saunders cites the 70-year explosion (mostly literature but some music)! How does it fit in with Russian Revolution, Stalin, etc. I’ve wondered about this.

War and Peace (Leo Tolstoy, 1869) (re-read)

After finishing Lonesome Dove - I much enjoyed the "big canvas" type of very-long-book - so seemed like a good time to re-read War and Peace.  Last time was in 2012, summarized here.  It continues to delight.  Partly because it's interesting how much of the details, even some key plot items, get forgotten over the years (at least by me).

I won't repeat the 2012 thoughts. A couple additional items - 

There is a super-charming minor scene - the hunt - Natasha and Petya accompany Nicholas.  “Uncle’s” low-rent borzoi catches the hare. Later they gather at Uncle’s home for food and music. Natasha dancing to the peasant music.  Everyone happy.

The hunt scene is followed pretty shortly by another charming evening - Nicholas, Natasha, Petya, Sonya accompany some of the serfs etc as “mummers” on sleigh ride across the snow to a neighbor’s house.  Nicholas charmed (re-charmed?) by Sonya just when getting pressured to marry a wealthy heiress (Julie Karagin).

Prince Andrew facing death after Borodino, encounters Natasha.  Looking to the next world rather than this one. These passages are really well done.

I had forgotten the parts about Natasha growing up a lot between packing up the Moscow house and caring for post-Borodino Prince Andrew. I had remembered her mostly for immaturity, which wasn't complete.

Re-reads are great pleasures. 

Hope Against Hope (Nadezhda Mandelstam, 1970)

(401 pages; dense but worthwhile and I took my time)

As with Kolyma Tales, Solzhenitsyn, etc. - I find so interesting the stories of folks struggling against, or at least to survive, the Soviet regime.  This one had all sorts of compelling elements.

The author is the surviving spouse of a Russian poet (Josip Mandelstam) who quickly fell out of favor with the regime, was arrested in 1934, then again in 1937; he died in a transit camp in Siberia (Vladivostok area, perhaps enroute to Kolyma).  

A favorite part of the book was her descriptions of the poet's creative process - helps imagine how this might work (since it never happens for/to me!) Josip didn't write down poetry and work on drafts - she would notice when he was concentrating in a certain way, often with lips moving, then eventually he would start writing - not a finished product but very far along - not good to try to interrupt him in this situation.

Some items - 

1.  Like the linked Kolyma stories - the author uses a spare, unsensational approach to a situation that could support a lot of drama - it's effective.

2. The author and her husband were around through the 1920s so there's a lot of perspective on a decade where I normally haven't seen much. Idealism in the early days. True believers and fellow travelers even then.

3. The idea that the revolution had launched a new era, scientific, inevitable - many liked this idea, or at least big chunks of it.  Also Stalin as strong man following difficult-chaotic times (similar appeal for Mussolini, Hitler, perhaps even FDR in a way) - this has a certain popularity. 

4. But the totalitarian, terror aspects go from unpleasant "necessity" to dominance. The 1930s - when a car pulling up to a residence, the sound of an elevator coming up - instant fear. Lubianka, black cars, interrogations.

5. Some of it echoes recent US approach (even if ours is comparatively lame). Dismissing ideas as "bourgeois" sounds like recent era of dismissing ideas as "whiteness" (or pick any of the 2010-2024 cancel-words).  These words inspire fear, for a while.

6. The poet and the author both work in the world of words, and see how language control is an essential tool of overall control. The progressive left pushes for language control now, areas such as trans, CRT.  Endless examples, just saw a Mt Holyoke tweet - faculty are expected to report misgendering.  As with Soviets, two elements - take over the language, require reporting.

7.  They were closely connected to Anna Akhmatova, another holdout but she survived.

8. Interactions with other famous 20th century Russians - Pasternak, Bulgakov, 

9. Author's efforts to save copies of her husband's work.  Sometimes using memory for items too dangerous to write down. Handwritten extra copies stored in separate locations, dangerous.

10. Poet got off lucky in 1934, merely banished to live at least 100 kilometers from Moscow.  Plenty were in similar straits, making housing difficult to find; they were called "105ers").  Couldn't be published, couldn't get jobs - living in poverty.

11. Author (though not the poet) was around for the famous "thaw" - when Khrushchev denounced Stalin in 1953 - some improvement though short-lived. Still required to speak of the crazy days as historically necessary. Poet was somewhat rehabilitated in this phase.

12. The day-to-day fear - this part hard to imagine - most everyone one encountered was quite probably an informer - especially when younger poetry enthusiasts would show up and exhibit intense interest - they never trusted these folks.

A lot to think about from these awful times.

The Spy and the Traitor (Ben Macintyre, 2019)

 (335 pages)

Book club selection by POC.

Story of Oleg Gordiansky, KGB agent who rose through the ranks but started working with British intelligence - this continues for years, including during London postings. Gordiansky disaffected by building of Berlin Wall, crushing of Prague Spring (1968); seems to have acted out of ideological conviction, not for money, perhaps other motivations as this is hard to sort out.  

Lots of important information revealed, some quite helpful as Thatcher and Reagan governments deal with a declining Soviet Union and then Gorbachev.

The author can make all of this quite interesting; for example, the story of the escape from Moscow is quite good (playing Finlandia for a fellow in the trunk!)  Several close calls; Aldrich Ames appears. Sneaky rendezvous tactics.

Downside - to me, this was just another spy tale; very little to be learned and I think could have been told effectively with far less detail.  Does help illuminate the stresses under which these folks operate.  

A Gentleman in Moscow (Amor Towles, 2016)

(462 pages)

Book club selection (via Chris; session held (via Zoom) July 18, 2021).

Count is so slick, so perfect, so all-knowing.  So a bit hard to relate to, at least through first half of the book.

(Though he does get educated occasionally - including by young version of Nina.)

Kind of reminds me of the lead character in "The Martian".  Incredible equanimity in the face of whatever.  No real suspense even in seemingly suspenseful situations - you know he's going to make it.

And while internal exile was awful - in so many ways I agree that he was lucky to have been exiled to the hotel.  Access to finest food & booze when ordinary citizens lived in poverty.  Free from military service (even at his age it likely would have been an issue).  Leading actress immediately (and then constantly) undressing for him.  It could have been Siberia or a firing squad.  Etc.

Picking on Montaigne huh?  Kind of unacceptable esp as author offers Montaigne-ish touches fairly regularly, musing on how one might live.  Note to Count:  don't read Montaigne straight through!  2010 halfway point.  By coincidence, had just finished the remainder. 

List of writers, poets seemed so odd given what happened to them . . . but later he does tell us how they went silent.  Bulgakov, Mandelstam, Akhmatova.  Kind of a greatest hits recitation, so many favorites.  Chekhov.  Chopin's E flat Nocturne!  That's the one!

Nina to Siberia - long history of spouses following exiles east - going back to tsarist times.  Incredible stories and yes many disappeared.

Long lines to view Stalin's body in '53.  Stalin's refusal to leave Moscow did seem to matter during '41 German offensive. But is Stalin's legacy really so complicated?  Constantly excusing butchery on the basis that Russia was a special case and Bolshevik's extreme measures were not optional - not buying it.

Perhaps just failing to align with my own views on the subject . . . I would have preferred for the author to be clearer about criticizing socialism in Russia (if that was his belief).  He describes the NYT's slavish-inexcusable fawning over Soviet system (so little has changed!); but veers toward repeating it. 

Though the Count's final moves are all about disenchantment with Soviet system - while remaining rooted in Russia.

A very good read.

Selected Stories of Anton Chekhov (Pevear and Volokhonsky, 2000)

(454 pages)

Chekhov as a master story writer - consistently wonderful here.

Some overlap with this recently-read collection, but not too much.  

The translators made a big splash originally, but seem to have fallen out of favor.  I have no way to judge.  Their translations are very readable, if that's worth anything.  Don't know how true to the tone of the original.

Wide variety of characters from so many walks of Russian life and from many geographic areas.

His ability set a scene; little descriptions of nature packed with so much; etc.

I'll be paging through this from time to time - a lot to absorb. 

The White Guard (Mikhail Bulgakov, 1925 but not allowed to be published until 1966)

The story looks at life in Kiev in the unsettled times following Russia's withdrawal from WWI. Primarily told from perspective of a family with connections to czarist Russia - part of the Whites.

Author wrote this wonderful, far more famous, work.

Bolsheviks ("Reds"), czarists ("Whites"), Ukrainian nationalists are fighting in various areas outside Kiev.  German forces have been hanging around in the wake of Russia's surrender - and generally maintaining order in Kiev - but now are withdrawing (Germany having its own problems in late 1918.)

Deeply interesting look at such a messed-up time.  White resources are limited and leadership feckless; Petlyura leads the Ukrainian forces into Kiev but the Reds are gaining strength.  White efforts to resist Petlyura are less than feeble - mostly a few officers and cadets, with limited resources.

The family through whose eyes the story mostly is told:  Alexei (doctor); Elena (their sister with the husband who leaves); Nikolka (younger brother - inexperienced cadet).  They were friends with a few officers; a family member unexpectedly joins them.  Neighbor downstairs is robbed.

Descriptions of Kiev in winter. 

This being Bulgakov - several passages involving characters having dreams.

Per Wikipedia - Bulgakov is tracking the history of these times pretty closely (including the Petlyura character (who actually never appears in the story despite constant references)).  I know very little about the details here, so much of this was new.

Turns out Bulgakov made this into a very successful stage play - supposedly seen often by Stalin - but he wasn't allowed to publish the book.

I liked it.

The Brothers Ashkenazi (I.J. Singer, written 1933-35)

(427 pages)

story takes place mid-19th century into mid 1920s

set primarily in Lodz; the town springs up from something of a village; much heavier Jewish concentration than most places; commercial and manufacturing center for textiles

Poland then part of Russia; Lodz merchants doing business throughout Russia; growth and change

twin Ashkenazi brothers - more detailed focus on Max - feverishly working to be #1 in the local industry (textiles); Jacob less talented, less intelligent, less diligent - but natural personality and physical gifts and unnaturally good luck

two other primary characters - Nissan and Tevye "The World Is Not Lawless" - work in local factories and seek to organize them; socialist speeches, Marxist dogma that would have sounded right at home in '20 presidential campaigns (complete with deeply religious strands)

all four leading characters working hard for entirely different things but in parallel ways and with similar results

all four leading characters from deeply Jewish backgrounds; changing but some retention

lots of character development including families of the four; earlier generation deeply traditional from the countryside/shtetl (typically relatively new to Lodz, it being a new town); Hasidic; rabbis with vast authority; this changes over time

some - certainly the Ashkenazi brothers - seek assimilation; not accepted but keep trying; as shocks such as economic downturn, war, inflation hit - guess who gets blamed

boom years in Lodz; then 1905 war with Japan; WWI; German occupation (shut down businesses, strip assets and ship west); Poles reassert themselves after Versailles treaty; part of the plot moves to Russia (during the 1917 revolution and thereafter - business couldn't be conducted during German occupation)

throughout - Jews tolerated to a point especially when useful, otherwise look out;

strand about considering Palestine

Buddenbrooks comparison, which makes sense

no way to assess accuracy - but much liked that Singer painted this detailed picture of what that world must have been like - the level of detail indicates he knew all about it

recommended - there's a lot going on here

The Complete Works of Isaac Babel (compilation 2002; mostly written early 1920s)

(1,051 pages) (though I skipped the screenplays)

I keep seeing favorable references to Babel, but never read him before this.  His biography is compelling - war correspondent (reminded me of Vasily Grossman) so lots of access - then he becomes disillusioned and out of favor.  Rare, at least for me, reporting on the Red v. White (and other splinter groups) immediately following WWI.  Early 1920s Russia hadn't yet implemented systematic censorship so his war reporting was more open, I think, than what Grossman could have done (Grossman had to do it via his smuggled-out book).

Babel eventually executed by Soviet regime.

I'll just mention a few of the categories in this quite-wonderful collection.

***

1920 Diary - perhaps my favorite war writing (and I've read lots of this)?  Can't-miss content, and not even prep'd for publication (though this was basis for much of the Red Cavalry tales)

dense.  highly effective . . . at least at the level of battles, skirmishes, movement between towns (cart transports. horses).  towns taken and lost.  confusion, exhaustion, merely finding food or forage.  billets.

constant movement, constant commandeering of horses, provisions, shelter - locals get expert at hiding things

airplanes new - being used by the Poles - terrifying though not all that effective

just being tired, and depressed

interspersed with descriptions of age-old interactions - Poles and Jews, Cossacks, the borderlands, Galicia, shtetls, centuries of getting along and then sudden butchery.  like forever.

Babel as "more like me" - bookish, not cut out for soldiering - but somehow finds himself right smack in the middle of everything - reminds of Vasily Grossman (Red Star writer)

little context is provided (as to what was going on in the larger political/military sphere, who was backing Poles - etc) - I think this heightens the immediacy of the war reporting, limits the distractions

running throughout - author as Jew - don't know if he tried to hide it, but he couldn't in any event.  he feels connectedness to Jewish communities that he encounters.   most in dire circumstances

the excitement around communism fading for Babel . . . he eventually characterizes as "fairy tales" the grand stories he tells locals as part of his job.  as in all these settings, others are true believers and/or opportunists; discussing the International, worldwide uprisings, free everything (modern US politics might buy it, however)

***

Odessa stories - mostly about Jewish gangsters

***

Red Cavalry stories - genuinely excellent - but not quite as compelling to me as the raw notes in the 1920 Diary (though I read Red Cavalry first).  One aspect here:  Babel made the mistake of being too honest, naming commanders who were ineffective - several became leading figures in Soviet army, and they didn't forget.

**

Stories from Leningrad 1918 - just a few, great, raw

**

Stories from [Georgia?] - propaganda feel, I didn't like these very much.

Darkness at Noon (Arthur Koestler, 1940)

(288 pages)

Book club selection (via Chris; session held 22 October 2019).

I very much like this book; had read it several years ago, my summary is at this link.

Here are book club notes from the current reading -

so what to make of this?

photos disappear

today's progressives are similar to this?  taking down statues, removing books, banning speakers, speech codes, cancel culture, prescribed behaviors - ?  French Revolution - the left so often seems to end up so aggressive.  maybe because the right tends to start from a position of authority so seems less so (because can filter aggression through police/authorities)?

ends justify the means.  lying in service of getting elected, holding and keeping power.  Trump a caricature.  E Warren - opioids, health care caused bankruptcies, tax not being progressive, etc - obviously materially false - this is ok?  let alone native american fantasy, getting fired for being pregnant - ?  endless other examples from each party, these two just in current news cycle

politics as ultimately a power exercise - so true - here in US we are so sheltered - borders redrawn in Europe definitely through 1945, and in many places to this day.  Stalin's foreign policy reached as far as his army.

so all the blather about political theory - is it irrelevant?

how to connect these 1930s episodes to today?

why do some humans want to dictate how other humans behave?  why do so many humans look for a savior/parental figure?

Israelites in the desert imagery - there is no promised land - and this is ok

the excitement around the early days of socialism/communism is quite understandable.  that anyone can continue it is inexplicable

Russia's so-rapid industrialization; Gletkin with some plausible observations

Stalingrad (Vasily Grossman, 1952 (English translation 2019)

(961 pages)

Companion work with Grossman's Life and Fate (wonderful in its own right).

This book was written much more circumspectly than Life and Fate - it was sufficiently congenial to Soviet censors such that it was published in 1952.  This one gets a little tiresome from time to time - collective farm enthusiasts, anxious to fight, etc. - yet it doesn't ignore the issue of occasionally corrupt leaders.

The bit about the political instructors in the army - perhaps the most blatant propagandizing - was a bit surprising, my take (based on limited knowledge) was that these folks were annoying, interfered with military decisions.  No mention of shooting deserters.

As I was occasionally finding myself annoyed with the propagandizing . . . it occurred to me that great literature so often has this aspect, more or less, and can be great nonetheless - Old Testament stories, Aeneid, Koran, any history written by a victor or someone wanting to make a point.  In some ways I suppose it helps illustrate the world in which the writer was functioning.

Main point:  in the end the book is full of well-written stories of all walks of Russian life experiencing WWII and, in particular, the Stalingrad battle and its context - by an author who clearly had been there - deeply knowledgeable.

Per the "introduction," the character Krymov is Grossman's voice; he articulates pro-Communist positions; sometimes sounding like Rubin in The First Circle.

War and Peace analogies were intentional - key character visits the Tolstoy homestead.

Many great characters, including a peasant in first part of the book - Vavilov - he learns soldiering as an older draftee.  Early stages of the war reminiscent of that summer of 1914 (through Novikov's eyes).  Krymov tells other stories of 1941 - caught in Kiev encirclement, escapes with 200; returning to the front in 1942.  Description of the first saturation bombing run over Stalingrad was excellent.

I also much liked the stories of folks holding out in the tractor factory.

Stalingrad situation was entirely epic.

Kolyma Stories (Varlam Shalamov, written between 1954 and 1973)

(734 pages)

I really, really liked this book (actually it's three books - Kolyma Stories; The Left Bank; and The Spade Artist; I decided to read all three in one shot rather than breaking into separate sessions).

Another favorite, highly recommended.  I very much took my time reading it.

Initially I was worried about redundancy with prior reading on the camps in Russia, especially Solzhenitsyn  and/or Primo Levi's wonderful book, or books on the Nazi camps.

But it wasn't redundant.  Shalamov has an entirely unique voice.  I see the Chekhov comparison but wouldn't be able to explain it.  Spare, unsentimental - yet lyrical (perhaps because of this)?  Short story format is not at all my favorite - Shalamov makes it work so beautifully, including in many stories that run just a few pages.  Heartbreaking, often - but not hopeless.

There is never any doubt that Shalamov lived through (more accurately: suffered, survived) that about which he wrote.  A sad life in so many ways, but look what he left us. 15 years in the camps.

Thoughts -

1.  I sometimes wonder "what can I really learn" from stories of humans functioning in such extreme conditions - how can this be instructive, even relevant, to me?  Don't know the answer, maybe I just found the stories here well-written and compelling?  But it feels like more.  Then I think that so much literature is set in more or less extreme settings - whether war or natural disaster or crime or whatever - not sure how to think about this.

2.  I'm not finding much new these days in the stories set in Nazi world.  Perhaps because the canvas there, while fascinating in so many ways, is relatively limited - only a few years in power, then rapid movement in a war setting; smaller geography (fewer remote places); and bad guys that almost feel a bit cartoonish.

3.  In comparison the Soviet canvas goes on for decades, and includes incredibly remote places - where war and political change back in Europe didn't disturb much; where all of those years resulted in interrogators, prison guards, informers, exiles, NKVD types, who in some sense could be considered "regular people" in that continuing society. (Even a longer history if we include the similar behaviors from tsarist times.)

4.  And the setting for Shalamov's stories is even starker because of Kolyma's specific climate - extreme cold so much of the year - and extreme geographic isolation.  And the policy of sustained near-starvation and overwork - specific calorie counts - unfavored prisoners slated for "heavy physical work" only (meaning a quick death sentence).

5.  Shalamov's focus isn't so much on the cruelties of the system (though those are not overlooked), but on the way prisoners - including literary folks like this author - functioned, and tried to survive, at least until giving up.  Entirely unromantic.  Dealing with gangsters - apparently they are organized in every prison.  Political prisoners.  In particular political prisoners with the dreaded "T" (Trotskyist) marked in their file.  Nonpoliticals (such as "ordinary" thieves, rapists, murderers) favored in this world, relatively speaking.

6.  Shalamov excellent with descriptions of the local geography - taiga, dwarf pines, plants/animals - even rivers and streams - struggling against the cold.  Kolyma!  Just look up the city of Magadan (the local metropolis, lying well south of the camps) on a map.

7.  By far the longest story - doesn't even have a plot - recounts the author getting into paramedic training classes - describes individually all the students and teachers - fascinating look, folks from around the huge USSR with unbelievably disparate backgrounds who were selected for a wide variety of more or less understandable reasons.  Initially each is desperate to stay in the program mostly for the incrementally better food.  They weren't in the First Circle, but at least were no longer near the bottom circles.  Getting the paramedic position saved Shalamov's life.

8.  Spouses hoping for the best, but destined for the worst.  Some imagined they could repeat the experience of the famous Decembrist wives, but it was not to be.  Camp bosses knew how to take advantage; visits to the spouse invariably denied.

9.  Of the three books - the first is pretty grim - mostly about life in the camps.  The second was my favorite - broader look - includes transit prisons, interrogation prisons, paramedic world, lots of hospital action.  The third overlapped thematically with the first two to a considerable extent, but then moved on to discuss Shalamov's last days in Kolyma - the releases after Stalin finally died - his lengthy return trip to Moscow - those tales are amazing in their own way.

In the First Circle (Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn, written between 1955-1958; this translation 2009)

(741 pages)

Solzhenitsyn is amazing - a favorite.

First read this book almost 13 years ago in a version that Solzhenitsyn had self-censored in hopes of getting it published in the USSR - which didn't happen.  This - the full version - became available in English translation a few years ago.  Delightful re-read; the full version is an improvement (though I was thoroughly satisfied with the first version that I had read).

Not difficult to see why many compare his works to those of Dostoevsky - prolonged discussions of ethical or philosophical matters; stand-alone chapters; many characters interacting.

Solzhenitsyn so effective at weaving into the story the effects of the socialist system on persons from all walks of Russian life - not just the prisoners - returning veterans, stranded spouses (typically wives), the stress on the jailers and officials, Stalin's loneliness, etc.  Pretty much everything corrupted.

Innokenty's decision.  Lubyanka.

Zeks in the sharaska live so well compared to the camps (after all, it's only the First Circle! (yes it's a Dante allusion)) - but facing ethical decisions - typically the scientific projects involved devices used to imprison folks! - is it ethical to assist with this project - when succeeding at it might be the zek's only hope of ever being released from the gulag (with profound positive implications not just for the zek - but also for the stranded spouse and other family members)?  Returning to the camps if fail or refuse to cooperate?

Main character is Gleb Nerzhin (imprisoned mostly for having spent time as a POW in a German camp) - he faces this ethical issue.  As do Sologdin and Gerasimovich.  Gleb discussing ideas with various folks as he tries to find his way.  As the story progresses, Gleb interacts more and more with Spiridon - a peasant whose story line illustrates the ways that those folks lived through those times, for better or worse.  Some folk wisdom.

Excellent throughout but - as I felt in the first reading - the chapter where Gleb is visited by his spouse (Nadya) - is just a knockout, heartbreaking.  Solzhenitsyn knew about this, had experienced it.  (Following chapter - where Gerasimovich is visited by his spouse - also very fine.)

One of my favorite bloggers recently read this book for his first time, loved it, did a virtual book club on it - so I listened to a couple podcasts - I hadn't realized that Solzhenitsyn's personal background incorporated so many elements of this story.  What a life he led.

The letters from Dyrsin's wife.

Rubin - dedicated communist yet well-liked.

The "relationship" decisions faced by the prisoner and the spouse over so many years - continued marriage to a prisoner almost certainly preventing meaningful education or employment - and opportunities with others - ach.

Etc.  Wonderful - a gift to run across works like this.

The Tales of Chekhov (short story collection, late 19th century)

(620 pages)

Chekhov's reputation is so high that I've been looking around for collections of his short stories; bought this one on Amazon, it's a rather odd collection but nevertheless a fine introduction.

All I've previously read of Chekhov's work - this compilation of his longer stories.  I learn that he is mostly remembered for his short fiction (including items from this collection) and plays.

He must have been an entirely amazing fellow - medical practice, Sakhalin Island days, little things like that in addition to epic writing ability.

Recently saw a quote that seems apt - to the effect that the problem with short stories is that they are so difficult to remember.  That's certainly the case with this collection.  I genuinely looked forward to picking up the book every time I turned to it - that's typically the case, but ran at a deeper level with Chekhov's short stories, not sure why.  I'll stick with the usual explanation - "he sees us" - gently illuminating our foibles, and our wonderful-ness.

I much recall his ability to portray scenes in nature, or landscapes perhaps - the sun, especially when setting or rising; wind, specific birds offering sounds, clouds, bullfrogs, the scene changing as the sun moves, a hot day - this  is not important as his descriptions of his characters - but it helps make the stories entirely immersive.

The House of the Dead - Siberian Exile under the Tsars (Daniel Beer, 2017)

(378 pages)

While this overlapped with several other books (for example this one on the Decembrists - early exiles; Dosteovsky's exile here; Polish rebels in exile here; Solzenhitsyn here; Chekhov on Sakhalin Island), it was well worth reading - much additional information and perspective.

I hadn't realized the scope of exile in tsarist days.  In the early days - c. 1700 - it was a convenient way to get rid of political opposition - a few folks were sent far, far away.  Then the regime figured out that sending forced labor to Siberia might be a good way to exploit natural resources there (along with rehabilitating the exiles).  Then the regime started expanding the variety of offenses that gave rise to exile - a great way to get rid of undesirables.  But the system had very limited resources, and the numbers sent into exile simply overwhelmed it.  The goals were not achieved and, if anything, Siberian development was retarded.

For a long period, those exiled walked prodigious distances to their final destination -Tobolsk to the Nerchinsk silver mines was 3570 km (like walking from Madrid to St. Petersburg, or from Washington DC to Salt Lake City).  Lots of folks don't make it - limited accountability as exiles are handed off along the route.  (Compare Brits transporting folks to Australia - a single captain with a single medical officer on a single ship - survival rates improved dramatically once rules were put into place.)

Early arrivals sometimes found Siberia refreshing - people less beaten down than the serfs - but the flood of exiles and the constant exposure to doubtful types changed this over time.  Many political exiles who weren't particularly violent or dangerous - but many, many criminals who were.  A bad mix.

Often often no right of return - settle in Siberia after sentence, if survive - difficult.

As the 19th century proceeds and the numbers continue to increase - the Siberian experience produces flashpoints for resistance to absolutism.  This escalates into the early 20th century - many key figures in 1905 and 1917 were here.

Epilogue introduces how 1917 revolutionaries - ardent opponents of the exile system - adapted it for their own purposes after taking power.  With horrific efficiency.

The Noise of Time (Julian Barnes, 2016)

(201 pages)

Author is imagining what Shostakovich felt during decades of compromising with the Soviet power structure.  Shostakovich goes from promising early career, to a failed opera that garners criticism ("formalism!") seemingly from Stalin himself, to interrogation that seemingly could lead only to the camps, to varying levels of rehabilitation, to I guess what one could call becoming a useful idiot; he even joins the Party (surrendering his final hold-out).

Intersection of art and socialist politics (former must serve the latter).

The book received lots of favorable buzz but didn't do much for me.  This book gave a more interesting overview of Shostakovich's situation.  And Solzhenitsyn did a better job of conveying how the system created fear, in books such as this, or this, or this.  Also Grossman. 

Though I suppose this book differs a bit by its focus on the effect of the socialist system on a composer (artist).

Short read, but not particularly recommended.

Everything Flows (Vasily Grossman; unfinished; last worked on in 1964)

(208 pp)

Book club selection (via PJ; session held 25 June, 2017).

Another book that held up really well on second reading; see discussion from first reading here.  Also a good book club selection, interesting conversation as these topics remain relevant.