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Showing posts from August, 2010

Everybody Loves Chekhov

Seems everyone is celebrating Chekhov these days.  Two new films, Ward No. 6 and The Duel came out this past year, and many earlier films were being screened at festivals such as this one sponsored by the NW Film Center of the Portland Art Museum, this past May, which included Soviet classics such as The Seagull (1970), directed by Yuli Karasik. Of course, The Seagull is one of those favorites that has been done several times, including this earlier version by Sidney Lumet .  I guess the main draw of Chekhov is that he still appears so modern more than 100 years after his untimely death.

My Life

I continue to work my way through Chekhov's short novels, although not in chronological order.  I finished My Life (1896) the other night.  It is told through the point of a young man with the ostentatious name of Misail, who has opted for a workingman's life, much to the indignation of his father, the town architect.  Chekhov uses this character to voice his own misgivings about growing up in a provincial city of 60,000 inhabitants.  He offers a number of interesting character studies, including an amusing view of local theater. Initially, Misail finds himself having as difficult finding a place among the workers as he did among bureaucrats, but in times settles on housepainting as his vocation, representing the flip side to his father.  Misail lives among the poor as he struggles to shed his noble bearing.  His father can't stand it and repeatedly tries to get his son to change his ways, but to no avail.  When Misail attracts the attention of some of the younger arist

Tolstoy by Henri Troyat

Here is an abridged copy of Troyat's magisterial biography of Tolstoy .  Unfortunately, there are only a few pages from the Last Days of Tolstoy's life with all the arguments over Tolstoy's diaries which Chertkov had in his possession and Sofiya (or Sonya as Troyat calls her) very much wanted returned.  Tolstoy kept promising they would be returned but apparently Chertkov retained them.  Anyway, she felt great animosity toward Chertkov which was reflected in the movie. You can buy a second hand copy of Troyat's biography from Abebooks and other sources at very low prices.

Tolstoy Is Dead; Long Fight Over

Here is a copy of the obituary from the New York Times, dated November 20,1910.  It is noted, ASTAPOVA, Sunday, Nov. 20.--Count Tolstoy died at 6:05 this morning. The Countess Tolstoy was admitted to the sickroom at 5:50. Tolstoy did not recognize her. When one of the heart attacks seized him Tolstoy was alone with his eldest daughter, Tatina. He suddenly clutched her hand and drew her to him. He seemed to be choking, but was able to whisper:  "Now the end has come; that is all." 

The Free Age Press

Interesting to find out that Chertkov helped create The Free Age Press when exiled in London in 1897.  This is where he met up with the Maudes who would eventually translate much of Tolstoy into English, and Aylmer Maude would write the biography The Life of Tolstoy Later Years .  But, it would seem that Chertkov and the Maudes had a falling out, judging by this undated letter from Tolstoy.  Interesting that he praises their translations.  I don't know how well Tolstoy understood English, but the Maude translations have been raked over the coals in the years that followed, most notably by Nabokov.

The Last Station

I finally had a chance to watch The Last Station and have to say enjoyed it, largely because of  Helen Mirren's marvelous performance as Sofiya.  She really held this movie together, as it threatened to devolve into a rather tedious melodrama at times.  Christopher Plummer gave Count Tolstoy the weight he deserves on screen, and the rapport between he and his wife was very good, particularly the wonderful bedroom scene. I was a bit bemused by the portrayal of Vladimir Chertkov .  He comes across as such a cad.  From what I've read, Chertkov was completely devoted to Tolstoy's legacy, and wasn't trying to steal the estate out from under Sofiya, as was implied in this movie.  He organized a new publishing house, Intermediary , in 1885 at Tolstoy's initiative, which published Chekhov, Leskov, Ertel, as well as Tolstoy.  Here is Chertkov with Tolstoy, and a book Chertkov published of his Last Days with Tolstoy.  Chertkov came from a wealthy background himself an

The Life of Insects

I wouldn't call it light reading, but The Life of Insects is a book you can consume at one sitting.  You will probably find yourself wanting to reread parts of it, particularly the interesting dialog between fellow moth-men, Mitya and Dima, which as their names imply appear as two halves of the same coin. Viktor Pelevin's short novel from the early 90s is not so easy to categorize.  Some have viewed as allegory, others as science fiction and fantasy.  It would seem Pelevin took his cue from a few lines of Brodsky, I sit in my garden and the lamp is burning. Not a single lover, friend or servant. Not a single lord or beggar present Nothing but the harmony of insects' droning. not Kafka as many persons would like to think.  Pelevin purposely keeps the reader off balance with all the shape-shifting that takes place as his insect humans move freely back and forth from one form to another. The book essentially follows three stories with three other short pieces fit

Russia Against Napoleon

Lieven's account in Russia Against Napoleon could not be more different [than War and Peace]. He concentrates on the men who led the Russian Army to victory -- the young Czar Alexander and his close advisers -- and shows that they won because they got more things right than Napoleon did. They understood him better than he did them, and while Napoleon may have been a battlefield genius, Alexander showed greater diplomatic skill in bringing together the coalition that eventually defeated him. That was no easy matter, given the fear of the French that prevailed in the German lands, and the fear of Russian predominance as well.

Heart of a Dog

One of my favorite film adaptations is Sobachye serdtse (1988), serialized here on Youtube, replete with English subtitles.   Vladimir Bortko captured the spirit and textural feeling of Bulgagov's classic short novel.  You have to do a double take as the film looks like it was made in the 30's, but was produced during the Perestroika years.  A lot of credit goes to Yevgeniy Yevstigneyev , who is excellent as Professor Preobrazhensky.  

Moscow Stations

 A book that comes up often in discussion is Moscow-Petushki , or Moscow to the End of the Line , by Venedikt Erofeev.  It is essentially a drinking book, as Venya, who has lost his job, discusses the sad state of Soviet affairs over multiple bottles of vodka as he makes his way by train from Moscow to Petushki.  For obvious reasons, this book was published abroad in Israel and France before finally finding its way into Russian print in 1989.  I'm not sure if this is the perestroika Gorbacev had in mind, but it seemed to sum up a lot of persons' feelings at the time.

Come and See

A fellow Mubi fan directed me to this Belarussian film, Come and See (1985), which offers a unique view on World War II and its aftermath.  It was one of the most-watched Soviet movies of all time with many haunting images.  It appears to be getting a second look, judging by this recent review by Roger Ebert  Unfortunately, the full length version is no longer available on YouTube, but here is an extended trailer .