“Whatever I say is a half-truth”: Arkady #Babchenko and the Hybrid Truth of War Writing #BabchenkoAlive

As I posted yesterday, I’ve been caught up in the crazy, crazy, crazy story surrounding Russian writer Arkady Babchenko’s alleged murder and subsequent “resurrection,” , with the dramatic revelation at a press conference that the whole thing had been a sting operation and that Babchenko was still very much alive. Although I had not guessed in […]

Arkady Babchenko, One Soldier’s War, and Holy Fools

Arkady Babchenko As crazy fate would have it, today was the day that the article I co-wrote with WFU student Logan Stinson, “One Soldier’s War and the New Literary War Hero,” about the memoir by war correspondent and journalist Arkady Babchenko, was scheduled to come out. Crazy fate because yesterday afternoon a notification popped up […]

“The Five Daughters of the Moon” by Leena Likitalo

The Five Daughters of the Moon Leena Likitalo It’s exciting to me to see how many authors are out there writing Russian-themed fantasy. “The Five Daughters of the Moon” is a recent addition to this sub-genre. The setting is clearly an allusion to the Russian Empire just prior to the 1917 Revolution, but the setting […]

“The Life and Works of Mikhail Vasilyevich Lomonosov” by B.B. Kudryavtsev

Mikhail Vasilyevich Lomonosov B.B. Kudryavtsev Without MV Lomonosov, there would probably no Russian literature as we currently know it. And in general, the intellectual landscape of Russian culture would probably be quite different. A fascinating figure, Lomonosov worked tirelessly throughout his life to usher in new ideas in subjects as varied as poetry and phlogiston. […]

“Russia’s Lomonosov” by Boris Menshutkin

Russia’s Lomonosov: Chemist, Courtier, Physicist, Poet Boris N. Menshutkin Russian literature didn’t come into its own until partway through the 19th century. But already in the 18th century it was laying the ground for its later flourishing through the actions of people of genius, whose writing was groundbreaking for its time and whose lives were […]

“Asan” by Vladimir Makanin

Asan Vladimir Makanin “Asan wants money. Asan wants blood.” Within the emerging genre of “Chechen,” as in referring to the recent Chechen wars, prose, Vladimir Makanin’s “Asan” has engendered controversy. To a field zealously guarded by its veterans, the non-veteran Makanin has contributed two works: the novella “Caucasian Captive” (Кавказский пленный) and now the novel […]

“The Golden Lynx” by C.P. Lesley

The Golden Lynx C.P. Lesley Historical romance isn’t my favorite genre, but when a friend and sister Russianist recommended “The Golden Lynx” as being a romance that was also a historically accurate depiction of 16th-century Russia, I knew I had to check it out. And indeed, the descriptions of life amongst the Tatars and boyars […]

Free Books, and the Paperback of The Breathing Sea I!

Hi All! First a reminder that today is the LAST day to get a bunch of free fantasy books, stories, and previews (including mine) in the Fantasy Books for Fantasy Lovers Giveaway (link here): And, after weeks of agonizing labor, I astonished myself by producing the (beautiful, if I do say so myself) paperback version […]

“Captive of the Caucasus” by Vladimir Makanin and “Captive” by Aleksey Uchitel

Kavkazskii plennyi Vladimir Makanin I have to be upfront here and say that I’ve only read Kavkazskii plennyi, not the rest of the stories in this collection, so I can only judge that. But anyone interested in the development of contemporary Russian literature and its relationship with its illustrious past will definitely want to read […]

“A Double Life” by Karolina Pavlova

A Double Life Karolina Pavlova Although of course Russian literature is the best literature, or something like that, it does have a significant flaw, which is the dearth of female authors, especially from the Golden Age when Pushkin and his Pleiad were writing. Some have claimed that the brilliance of Karolina Pavlova makes up for […]