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4.1 AVERAGE
4.1 AVERAGE
4/5 stars
I received this book as an ARC from NetGalley and the publisher
I had never heard of Vasily Eroshenko until I read the summary and I ended up finding his life so interesting that I just had to read this. In The Narrow Cage and Other Modern Fairy Tales we are presented with a selection of tales from the author translated into English. There's a diverse mix of tales and autobiographical stories, all of them clearly showing Eroshenko's political leanings and ideals.
I enjoyed most of what I read. I found the prose very lyrical and easy to read. The themes contained in his stories are still relevant in today's world and age. I will say this: I found him a great writer but I would probably not have wanted to have a chat with him.
I would also like to comment on the translation. While I have never read the tales in their original languages so I cannot say how good the translation is I got the sense that there was a lot of hard work behind this. I think Kuplowsky really managed to get the lyricism and tone of the writing.
I received this book as an ARC from NetGalley and the publisher
I had never heard of Vasily Eroshenko until I read the summary and I ended up finding his life so interesting that I just had to read this. In The Narrow Cage and Other Modern Fairy Tales we are presented with a selection of tales from the author translated into English. There's a diverse mix of tales and autobiographical stories, all of them clearly showing Eroshenko's political leanings and ideals.
I enjoyed most of what I read. I found the prose very lyrical and easy to read. The themes contained in his stories are still relevant in today's world and age. I will say this: I found him a great writer but I would probably not have wanted to have a chat with him.
I would also like to comment on the translation. While I have never read the tales in their original languages so I cannot say how good the translation is I got the sense that there was a lot of hard work behind this. I think Kuplowsky really managed to get the lyricism and tone of the writing.
This wonderful collection of tales by the worldly Vasily Eroshenko starts off with a forward by Jack Zipes that is frustratingly bad, boring, and useless. I was shocked to see that his work is rather well regarded - seems he mailed this one in, because I was embarrassed for him reading it. It felt like a hastily put together book summery by a high-schooler failing English. That being said, you'll notice that I gave this book 5 stars, and a big reason for it was the wonderful introduction by Adam Kuplowsky, without which I don't think I would have even continued on to the stories themselves. His short but impactful summary of the life of Vasily Eroshenko was informative, well written, and left me eager for a full-length biography of the enigmatic expat.
The stories are all wonderful - I didn't dislike a single one. Not since reading Kafka in my youth have I come across a writer who makes so much with so little, each word seemingly in the right place, nothing extraneous, nothing left out. These are stories that I'll read again regularly, and recommend with pleasure.
Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the digital review copy used for this review.
The stories are all wonderful - I didn't dislike a single one. Not since reading Kafka in my youth have I come across a writer who makes so much with so little, each word seemingly in the right place, nothing extraneous, nothing left out. These are stories that I'll read again regularly, and recommend with pleasure.
Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the digital review copy used for this review.
reflective
relaxing
medium-paced
Thank you to NetGalley and Columbia Publishing for this ARC.
I wasn't sure what to expect when I started this collection of stories by Vasily Eroshenko but the lengthy introduction and foreward were so interesting and I would read an entire story just about Eroshenko's life and philosophies. It provided a lot of context that I found helpful in understanding the stories themselves.
The stories were similar to traditional fables with lessons woven into short vignettes set in gardens and among animals. I really enjoyed thinking through a set of fairy tales that were new to me with new context and a more modern voice. They were truly beautifully written and very lyrically translated.
I wasn't sure what to expect when I started this collection of stories by Vasily Eroshenko but the lengthy introduction and foreward were so interesting and I would read an entire story just about Eroshenko's life and philosophies. It provided a lot of context that I found helpful in understanding the stories themselves.
The stories were similar to traditional fables with lessons woven into short vignettes set in gardens and among animals. I really enjoyed thinking through a set of fairy tales that were new to me with new context and a more modern voice. They were truly beautifully written and very lyrically translated.
dark
funny
Plot or Character Driven:
N/A
Strong character development:
N/A
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I was delighted to read Vasily Eroshenko's fairy tales, well translated by Adam Kuplowsky, having read a lot previously about anarchist movements globally during his lifetime -- figures I know well like Kropotkin and Goldman are mentioned briefly, and with the excellent introduction about Eroshenko's life I was able to place him and his work in context (and context is, certainly, very important to these stories).
As for the stories themselves, they are truly fairy tales -- many have talking animals. They are also certainly of their time: the themes are those of debates and discussions on what might be called the "left" during Eroshenko's lifetime: critiques of organized religion, humans' exploitation of non-human animals, and anarchist critiques of communism and capitalism alike. I really appreciate Kuplowsky's work bringing these tales to an English-speaking audience, and recommend this collection to anyone interested in fairy tales as well as anyone interested in socialist and anarchist history.
Thank you to Columbia University Press & to NetGalley for providing me with an ARC.
As for the stories themselves, they are truly fairy tales -- many have talking animals. They are also certainly of their time: the themes are those of debates and discussions on what might be called the "left" during Eroshenko's lifetime: critiques of organized religion, humans' exploitation of non-human animals, and anarchist critiques of communism and capitalism alike. I really appreciate Kuplowsky's work bringing these tales to an English-speaking audience, and recommend this collection to anyone interested in fairy tales as well as anyone interested in socialist and anarchist history.
Thank you to Columbia University Press & to NetGalley for providing me with an ARC.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Medical trauma
Moderate: Violence