A review by mancolepig
Red Cavalry by Isaac Babel, Nathalie Babel

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.