- Paperback: 1072 pages
- Publisher: WW Norton; New edition edition (Nov 1 2005)
- Language: English
- ISBN-10: 0393328244
- ISBN-13: 978-0393328240
- Product Dimensions: 23.2 x 16.6 x 3.8 cm
- Shipping Weight: 1.1 Kg
- Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
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Amazon Bestsellers Rank:
#73,188 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #34 in Books > Literature & Fiction > Classics > Russian
- #44 in Books > Nonfiction > Education > Reference > Encyclopedias > Antiques & Collectibles
- #45 in Books > Reference > Encyclopedias > Antiques & Collectibles
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Product Details |
Product Description
From Amazon
Arguably the best book of short stories published in 2001, The Complete Works of Isaac Babel, expertly translated by Peter Constantine, should affirm Babel's place among the top Russian short story writers. Like Chekhov, Isaac Babel primarily wrote odd, tightly wrung little stories in which he displays a variety of convincing styles and tones, with each piece having an immediacy and weight that exceeds its brevity.
Babel's writing life lasted approximately 20 years. (He was executed by Stalin after a few military subjects unflatteringly portrayed in his "Red Cavalry" stories gained positions of influence.) His most notable stories depict the Russian civil war and Jewish soldiers, his childhood, and Jewish thugs in his native Odessa. Often journalistic in style, his stories provided gripping war accounts to Russians eager for news from the front, as in this passage from "The Church in Novograd":
We drank rum, waiting for the military commissar, but he still hadn't come back from the headquarters. Romuald had collapsed in a corner and fallen asleep. He slept and quivered, while beyond the window an alley seeped into the garden beneath the black passion of the sky. Thirsting roses swayed in the darkness. Green lightning bolts blazed over the cupolas. A naked corpse lay on the embankment. And the rays of the moon streamed through the dead legs that are pointing upward. So this is Poland...This collection is a delight for its organization: the stories are grouped by periods, feature introductions, and include helpful maps. The preface and afterward by his daughter and editor, Nathalie Babel, are insightful. Also included are two plays, several screenplays, a chronology, and an introduction by Cynthia Ozick. The Complete Works of Isaac Babel should be a welcome addition to readers of literature everywhere. --Michael Ferch --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.
From Library Journal
One of the great Russian writers of the 20th century, Babel (1894-1941) was arrested in 1939 and later executed by Stalin's regime. In 1954, his work was largely republished, but much of his correspondence, drafts, and manuscripts was confiscated when he was arrested and has never resurfaced. Now, for the first time, all of Babel's surviving work has been assembled into one volume. Readers new to Babel will discover his "Red Cavalry" stories, plays, diaries, screenplays, and short stories. In addition to an introduction by Cynthia Ozick, the book is graced with an excellent preface and afterword by Babel's daughter, who also edited the volume. She provides recently uncovered information about her father's arrest and execution as well as personal remembrances. With the publication of this volume of Babel's work, it is hoped that a full-scale biography will follow. Essential for literature collections.
- Ron Ratliff, Kansas State Univ., Manhattan
Copyright 2001 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.
- Ron Ratliff, Kansas State Univ., Manhattan
Copyright 2001 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.
Inside This Book
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First Sentence
When the twenty-one-year-old Isaac Babel arrived in St. Petersburg in 1916, he found the city in wild but stimulating upheaval. Read the first page
Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Back Cover
When the twenty-one-year-old Isaac Babel arrived in St. Petersburg in 1916, he found the city in wild but stimulating upheaval. Read the first page
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Concordance
Browse Sample PagesConcordance
Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Back Cover
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Most helpful customer reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars
Babel one of the best Russian writers,
By
This review is from: The Complete Works of Isaac Babel (Hardcover)
Unfortunately I can't appreciate the Mr. Peter Constantine's english translationI read Isaac Babel in russian He is the one of my favorite short story writer very good language, humor I'm glad that english-speaking readers have opportunity to meet Babel's wonderful stories
4.0 out of 5 stars
Like Finding A Secret Treasure,
By Ramfox (Portland, OR) - See all my reviews
This review is from: The Complete Works of Isaac Babel (Hardcover)
I bought this book after stumbling upon one of Babel's army stories from the "Red Cavalry" collection. Babel truly is a master of short fiction. I am surprised that I have gone this far in my life and have just now found him.The biographical information provided by his daughter enhances the reading pleasure as well as draws attention to the politics that contributed to self-censorship and eventual assassination from Stalin's henchmen. Babel is the Checkov and the Turgenev of his time: classic Russian Short Fiction at its most beautiful. The only drawback to this extensive collection is its extensiveness. Babel's longer works and plays lack some of the focus and integrity of his short stories. Luckily the short stories make up the bulk of the book. If you can afford it buy the hardcover. It comes in a protective box and I guarantee this is a collection you will want to preserve and cherish forever.
5.0 out of 5 stars
Read this Book,
By A Customer
This review is from: The Complete Works of Isaac Babel (Hardcover)
Hemingway was a wimp. Babel's stories about men and their ludicrous justifications for their appalling violence are rigorous and strangly fair. He does not judge; and the morality of the reader is revealed. The Polish front during an inept campaign, peopled by a fascinating war and horse culture is the subject of the Red Cavalry Stories. Any one who lives with or loves horses would be fascinated by them. The interaction of animal and man is, I think, rarely so well written.
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