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A review by jdintr
Orosz napló - Robert Capa 70 fotójával by John Steinbeck
5.0
Steinbeck's trip to the Soviet Union looks almost miraculous in retrospect, occurring as it did in a window between the end of World War 2 and the onset of full-blown Cold War.
If Steinbeck had tried this book two or three years later, he would have been putting his entire career in jeopardy with every word. Instead, he returned home from Russia and began working on East of Eden.
What is most notable about this book is Steinbeck's clear fascination with working Russians, Ukrainians and Georgians. He celebrates common life. I loved this anecdote from the Ukraine:
Note the rhythm of that last paragraph. It is vintage Steinbeck. I could insert it into any point of The Grapes of Wrath and no one would notice.
Because I read this book ahead of a two-week trip to Georgia, I was particularly interested in Steinbeck's own visit to that country. Reviewing it in the days after I got back, a few observations seem particularly striking.
Steinbeck's description of the tamada or host of the party rings true 70 years later (p 181). "At the end of our toast the wine fairly leaped from the decanters, and everyone at the table stood up, and everyone insisted on touching his glass to the glass of everyone else at the table," Steinbeck writes on p 182, going on to describe the unique songs and dances of his hosts.
He also describes the physical fatigue of party after party after party (supra after supra after supra). He and Capra were stuffed with food when they left--and with impressions:
As much fun as this book was to read ahead of my visit. Returning to the sections on Georgia after my return has been even more delightful. Steinbeck's observations hold up even today, and his lyrical writing is at his transcendent best.
This is the nonfiction writing of an author who still has his fastball--Steinbeck was at the peak of his prose powers here--and one that you should enjoy, too.
If Steinbeck had tried this book two or three years later, he would have been putting his entire career in jeopardy with every word. Instead, he returned home from Russia and began working on East of Eden.
What is most notable about this book is Steinbeck's clear fascination with working Russians, Ukrainians and Georgians. He celebrates common life. I loved this anecdote from the Ukraine:
There was one woman, with an engaging face and a great laugh, whom Capa picked out for a portrait. She was the village wit. She said, "I am not only a great worker, I am twice widowed, and many men are afraid of me now." And she shook a cucumber in the lens of Capa's camera.
And Capa said, "Perhaps you'd like to marry me now?"
She rolled back her head and howled with laughter. "Now look!" she said. "If God had consulted the cucumber before he made man, there would be less unhappy women in the world." The whole field roared with laughter at Capa.
They were lively, friendly people, and they made us taste the cucumbers and the tomatoes for quality. the cucumber is a very important vegetable. It is salted, and the resulting pickles are used all winter. And green tomatoes are salted too, and these are the salads for the people when the cold and the snow come. These, together with cabbages and turnips, are the winter vegetables. And although the women laughed and talked, and called to us, they did not stop working, for this is a good harvest, seventy per cent better than last year, the first really good harvest since 1941, and they have great hopes from it.
Note the rhythm of that last paragraph. It is vintage Steinbeck. I could insert it into any point of The Grapes of Wrath and no one would notice.
Because I read this book ahead of a two-week trip to Georgia, I was particularly interested in Steinbeck's own visit to that country. Reviewing it in the days after I got back, a few observations seem particularly striking.
Steinbeck's description of the tamada or host of the party rings true 70 years later (p 181). "At the end of our toast the wine fairly leaped from the decanters, and everyone at the table stood up, and everyone insisted on touching his glass to the glass of everyone else at the table," Steinbeck writes on p 182, going on to describe the unique songs and dances of his hosts.
He also describes the physical fatigue of party after party after party (supra after supra after supra). He and Capra were stuffed with food when they left--and with impressions:
Just as the body can become flooded, and inattentive to rich food and wines, so that the perception of spices and vintages disappears, so can a mind become drowned with impressions, overwhelmed with scenes, imperceptive of colors and movements. And we were suffering both from overeating, overdrinking, and overseeing" (183).
As much fun as this book was to read ahead of my visit. Returning to the sections on Georgia after my return has been even more delightful. Steinbeck's observations hold up even today, and his lyrical writing is at his transcendent best.
This is the nonfiction writing of an author who still has his fastball--Steinbeck was at the peak of his prose powers here--and one that you should enjoy, too.