In 1998 I stumbled upon a Russian novel called “Life and Fate.” I was surprised because I had never heard of it or its author Vasily Grossman, yet by its size, Tolstoy-echoing title and subject matter (the book was about Stalingrad) it was obviously supposed to be important.
Fifteen years later and Grossman’s star is on the rise. “Life and Fate” has been serialized on BBC radio, and the British edition of his war journalism was edited by Anthony Beevor, the man responsible for the bestselling history book “Stalingrad.” Recent editions of his work even come with a glowing blurb from the nigh pensionable literary enfant terrible Martin Amis.
Grossman’s posthumous success has also encouraged publishers to take a chance on his “lesser” books. The most recent example is “An Armenian Sketchbook,” a work of non-fiction about Armenia, a country I’ve long been fascinated by but have never visited. Barely longer than 100 pages, it is Grossman’s account of two months he spent in the country in the early 1960s while translating an Armenian novel.
Now, the two most common pitfalls that await the travel writer are:
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Latest posts by Daniel Kalder (Posts [5])
- Book Review: Retroworld (plus, why I hate Star Trek) [6] - April 3, 2014
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- Apparently we are all getting very old [9] - October 3, 2013
- Vasily Grossman: from Stalingrad to toilet trouble [10] - August 28, 2013