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dennesseewilliams's review
5.0
After thinking more about it, I have to update my rating from 4 to 5 stars. This book is just outstanding.
ragnajohanna's review against another edition
dark
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.25
mancolepig's review
3.0
I'm still trying to rap my head around this little collection. The images of war are brutal and poignant, but it's hard to look at these as "stories" in a western sense. They are really more like moments, vignettes, and observations from one man's experiences of war. I think going into reading a book like this with a general knowledge of the Russian revolution would have helped my comprehension, because I would often get lost figuring out who was on who's side (There are reds and whites and Jews and Poles and Cossacks, I need to read up on my Russian history...). Despite my confusion, there are enough haunting moments and instances of beautiful writing to keep the reader engaged in Babel's account. Each story is so short, and the book overall is so short, that you feel compelled to finish even if there are no resolutions or easy answers in the red cavalry.
abookishtype's review against another edition
3.0
Last January, I read The Day of the Oprichnik by Vladimir Sorokin and was horrified by the rapid emotional cycling of the main character. The same man who, in the morning, could commit rapes and beatings and executions would be the same man who wept at the beauty of an opera. What I didn't know at the time was this kind of character is part of a Russian character. I saw several of his type in Isaac Babel's short story collection, Red Cavalry, soon to be reissued by Pushkin Press...
Read the rest of my review at A Bookish Type. I received a free copy of this book from NetGalley for review consideration.
Read the rest of my review at A Bookish Type. I received a free copy of this book from NetGalley for review consideration.
alismcg's review
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
Isaac Babel rode with the Cossacks—under the Bolsheviks in 1920— as a war correspondent in the Campaign against Poland. “Red Cavalry” — its stories and writer’s diary— contains what he carried back with him when he returned 6 months later.
He disappeared in 1939 after the Bolsheviks paid him a visit. They put a hole in the back of his head and tossed him into a communal grave. And they buried every sign of him. But his voice will not be quiet.
And how he ‘sees’ things ; the flash of images blind the reader with intensity and leave the after-image behind.
“The orange sun is rolling across the sky like a severed head.”
“Everything has been killed by the silence, and only the moon, clasping its round, shining, carefree head in its blue hands, loiters beneath my window.”
“The silence of the sunset turned the grass around the castle blue. The moon rose green as a lizard above the pond.”
“The evening wrapped me in the soothing dampness of her twilight sheets, the evening placed her motherly palms on my burning brow.”
Beautiful prose. I will be searching the stacks for more of him.
He disappeared in 1939 after the Bolsheviks paid him a visit. They put a hole in the back of his head and tossed him into a communal grave. And they buried every sign of him. But his voice will not be quiet.
And how he ‘sees’ things ; the flash of images blind the reader with intensity and leave the after-image behind.
“The orange sun is rolling across the sky like a severed head.”
“Everything has been killed by the silence, and only the moon, clasping its round, shining, carefree head in its blue hands, loiters beneath my window.”
“The silence of the sunset turned the grass around the castle blue. The moon rose green as a lizard above the pond.”
“The evening wrapped me in the soothing dampness of her twilight sheets, the evening placed her motherly palms on my burning brow.”
Beautiful prose. I will be searching the stacks for more of him.
apermal2's review
3.0
I wanted to be more into it than I was. Some of the stories really gripped me. Others not so much. I found the extreme brevity of many of them to actually deter my enjoyment. Sometimes, when I sit down to read, it takes a few pages for my concentration to settle (I've been a bit distracted lately). When the stories are only two or three pages, I can miss a lot. Anyway, that's just me. The stories that worked for me really worked.
I like that these stories are not focused on the action of war, as much as on the characters of war. There isn't a lot of fighting in the stories, it generally takes place before or after.
Anyway, certainly worth a read.
I like that these stories are not focused on the action of war, as much as on the characters of war. There isn't a lot of fighting in the stories, it generally takes place before or after.
Anyway, certainly worth a read.
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