Mikhail Sholokhov (1905–1984)

This tome was written in 1928 in the Soviet Union, and, together with its sequel ‘The Don Flows Home to the Sea’ (1939), earned Mikhail Sholokhov the Nobel Prize. Sholokhov grew up in the Don region of Southern Russia, and in this book illustrated the culture of the Cossacks there before WWI, during it, and afterwards, during the revolution and civil war. It’s historical fiction on a grand scale, and well worth reading.

Beware, however, that Sholokhov is explicit in describing the show more horrors of war, and despite my initial suspicion that he may have been doing so to explain why Revolution was justified under pressure from Soviet editors, he shows violence and injustice perpetrated by all sides – the Germans, White Russians, Bolsheviks, and Cossack separatists. In the fight for control of Russia, each side’s view is expressed, and no faction emerges ‘pure’. The book reminded me of Michael Bulgakov’s ‘White Guard’, just set in the Don region of Southern Russia, instead of Kiev.

In this case, what’s at stake is the Cossack way of life. As they waver in their support for any particular side, it’s clear that mostly what they want is for the 3-4 year war to end so that they can return home, and for things to remain as they were. As the Whites may continue the war, or ask them to do things like protect St. Petersburg when their hearts weren’t in it, and as the Reds may take their land in the end and distribute it to the workers or peasants, it’s also clear that independence was what they really needed, and deserved. The book ends with brutal executions of Red officers and soldiers, with a foreboding warning that this would not be the end of it, and indeed, aside from what Sholokhov may say in the sequel which I haven’t gotten to yet, history teaches us of Stalin’s ‘decossackization’ and genocide.

I think the book is best in the first two sections, ‘Peace, and ‘War’; the ones that follow (‘Revolution’ and ‘Civil War’) are good, but as the fighting was a bit pell-mell with shifting sides and allegiances, while he describes historical reality, he defocuses a bit from the initial main characters. He is great at describing the inevitable attraction of men and women, and while he couldn’t be explicit in the sex and shameless adultery that followed, he was explicit in the horrible violence women endured. A brutal and hair-raising example of this was the gang rape of a young kitchen-maid by soldiers that ends ‘Peace’.

In showing Aksinia cheating on Stepan, then later cheating on Gregor, compelled to follow her human nature despite the destructive consequences and beatings she’ll endure, Sholokhov seems to be drawing a parallel to human nature to (as if by gravity!) fight for power and to wage war. He never lectures, letting actions speak for themselves, but seems to say, or perhaps illustrate, that we simply can’t help ourselves. show less

Egy csokor novella a Csendes Don vidékéről: kozák faluközösségek, nyomor, éhezés, és persze a polgárháború. Ami Solohov keze alatt nem annyira osztályharcnak, mint inkább generációk közti küzdelemnek tűnik, apák és fiúk válnak halásos ellenségekké (miközben az anyák könnyáztatta arccal figyelik őket*), és olyan bűnöket követnek el egymás ellen, amelyekre nem ad feloldozást egyetlen földi igazság sem. A családi kapcsolatokat szétfeszítő új rend show more megjelenése emeli ezeket a novellákat eposzi magasságokba, így lesz egy Ignat vagy Misa vagy Aljosa olyan irodalmi ikonok leszármazottja, mint Antigoné és Kreón, vagy épp Luke Skywalker és Darth Vader**.

Van egy ellentmondás számomra a szöveg üzenete és minősége között, ami miatt nem tudom objektíven csillagozni ezt könyvet. Egyrészt ugye vitathatatlan, hogy Solohov első osztályú író – tömör és brutális, szenvedélyt és szenvedést egyaránt elemi erővel ábrázol, ám nincs híján a humorérzéknek sem. És ami külön csoda: tulajdonképpen tájleírások nélkül képes úgy megfesteni az orosz pusztát, hogy az ember már-már érzi a talpa alatt. Ám sajnos ezeket a képességeket arra használja, hogy legitimálja a szovjethatalom tetteit. Ebben a világban a legtöbb dolog fekete és fehér, a vörösök jók, a fehérek rosszak (tehát a vörösök fehérek, a fehérek meg feketék… öhm… vagy hogy is van ez…), és mindez olyan lángolóan van papírra vetve, hogy kedvem támadna rögvest felpattanni egy páncélvonatra az olvasztár haverjaimmal, és halomra lőni az összes raccsoló bojárt. Mert sajnos Solohov ennyire jól csinálja, amit. És hát ha már egy író korrumpálódik, legalább legyen rossz író. Akkor áll helyre a világ rendje.

* Úgy fest, a tradicionális orosz faluközösségben is ez volt a nők egyetlen funkciója – a könnyáztatta arccal figyelés. Gyorsan megjegyzem, Solohov egyik novellája (komikumba ágyazva) bemutatja azt a küzdelmet is, amit a nőtársadalom az ebből a sztereotípiából való kikeveredésért vív.
** Mondjuk az ő leszármazottjuk mégsem lehet, kronológiai okokból. Akkor legyen inkább az ükapjuk. show less

There are so many versions of this book on Goodreads because this book has been reprinted so many times. It's one of those classics, like War and Peace, that endures. It is a multi-volume epic, and aside from its intimidating size, how is an American reader supposed to choose an edition? Many of the editions I've come across claim to be abridged, and the unabridged novel series goes under varying titles. It's all rather confusing. Giving up after a while of browsing, I finally read the show more Signet Classics edition, at just over 500 pages. I'm not worried about how "abridged" it is, because the content of those 500 pages was brimming, bursting at the seams with human endeavor, war set-pieces, nature meditations, tragic and poetic elegance, intense action and a narrative which flowed like a river.

The author was in love with the Don river, one would assume from its presence in all of his titles, but people take center stage in his epic. In fact, the author was concerned with portraying the mountains, fields, farms, and battlegrounds with equal facility - but these reflections are nothing without their inhabitants. The Cossacks who people this landscape are as well-rounded, flawed and "human" as many of the characters from Tolstoy. If I had to pinpoint another author who could compare to Sholokhov, it would have to be Tolstoy. Except there are some fundamental differences. Sholokhov had to stop his education in high school, and worked many years on his 4-volume novel of the Don, which he eventually serialized in a major publication after much hemming and hawing on the part of publishers. After the novel's merit was recognized universally, it became a bestseller, was condemned by the Soviet authorities, who wanted to cut it down to safer proportions, until it finally won the author a Nobel Prize.

Like Tolstoy's novels, you will find too many characters to count here. It takes place during the Bolshevik Revolution, mainly out in the fray, against the breathtaking backdrop of the goose-sprinkled countrysides, the cow-studded farms, the poor and downtrodden villages, and always, like a subdued meta-protagonist, the Don river flows through it all, connecting the people to the land and the history to the land. There are many memorable deaths, cinematic triumphs, and intimate familial spats. It possesses a balanced pace and a jam-packed cast of everyday men and women, lost in the harrying tempest of war, and swept up in the history unfolding before their eyes.

The only issue may be that the complexity of the political climate and many historical details may be lost on some contemporary readers. I won't pretend I remember every last tripartite Russian name and the intricate conflicts of their idiosyncratic domestic and professional bonds. But digging a little deeper will likely reward you, if you're astute. This is not War and Peace Lite. This is another beast of equal scope and length, equally challenging, fun, and a fundamentally important work of world literature. show less

What to say, epic sprawling saga of peace, war, revolution and civil war as it affects the Don Cossacks. Initially focuses on Gregor Melekhov and his family, in particular his relationship with Aksinia, the wife of a neighbour. But once war erupts the story fragments accordingly, characters are swept along and strands left untied. The most romantic is the account of machine-gunner Bunchek and his partner Anna. It is surprisingly even-handed in showing atrocities from all sides, heroes and show more villains are not spelt out. Through it all the Don flows, there is a constant yearning for place, and a recognition that even though nature continues, humanity is being tipped on its head. show less