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

3.0

This volume was originally included in [b:The Complete Works of Isaac Babel|60409|The Complete Works of Isaac Babel|Isaac Babel|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1386921538l/60409._SY75_.jpg|836152] (translated by Peter Constantine); this edition includes excerpts of Babel's diary from which the idea for the Red Cavalry cycle was drawn, as well as parts of his preliminary manuscripts. The book was edited by Nathalie Babel, the author's daughter. During my research into the translation, I came across this exchange in an interview with Constantine regarding his translations of Anton Chekhov:
DG: A huge part of translation is the creative aspect of rewriting someone’s work into a new language, but a translator can also be an academic and biographer. How did you fill these three roles as you translated Chekhov’s earlier and lesser-known works?
PC: The only role I filled in my Chekhov translations was that of the translator.
That's what I like to see.

Isaac Babel's emotionally moving prose sticks brutally to one's throat and refuses to be dislodged. These are hardly bedtime stories: at times ruthless, at others merciless, Babel's writing borders on cruelty in its depiction of reality. Although the depiction of the vicious Cossacks, as Babel sketches it out, can be at times harsh, the overall result is a nuanced, heartbreaking picture of them and their unfortunate situation.