Molotov's Magic Lantern: Travels in Russian History - Couverture souple

Polonsky, Rachel

Couverture souple

ISBN 10 : 0571237819 ISBN 13 : 9780571237814

Editeur : Faber & Faber, 2011

A propos du livre

Revue de presse :

'I'm not a Russianist, but one doesn't need to be a Russianist, or even to have any pre-existing strong interest in Russia, to recognise this book as a quite brilliant work - or to be compelled by it. Part of my great admiration for it comes from Rachel's style, which is continuously and unarchly elegant. I don't think I found a single sentence out of the tens of thousands I read that I wanted written any differently ... Its erudition would be alarming, were it not so gracefully and wittily worn ... A huge intellectual and stylistic achievement ... It's been a privilege to read the book.' --Robert MacFarlane

'Everywhere on this journey, Polonsky shows great curiosity about the web of personality and history, the connections between power and literature that form Russian history and society today, her erudition is always lightly worn ... I was gripped by this book.' --Simon Sebag Montefiore

'It's a gem as she has achieved the unimaginable: a serious non-fiction account of Russia, which is as wide-ranging as it is entertaining ... This is a wonderful account of a changing Russia ... If you have always wanted to read an accessible, profound and original history of modern Russia, this is the book for you.' --Sunday Express

Présentation de l'éditeur :

When Rachel Polonsky went to live in Moscow, she found an apartment block in Romanov Street, once a residence of the Soviet elite. One of those ghostly neighbours was Stalin’s henchman Vyacheslav Molotov. In his former apartment, Rachel Polonsky discovered his library and an old magic lantern. Molotov – ruthless apparatchik, participant in the collectivizations and the Great Purge – was also an ardent bibliophile. Molotov’s library and his magic lantern became the prisms through which Rachel Polonsky renewed her vision of Russia. She visited cities and landscapes associated with the books in the library – Chekhov, Dostoevsky, Pushkin, Akhmatova and many less well-known figures. Some were sent to the Gulag by the man who collected their books.

À propos de cette édition

• Éditeur: Faber & Faber
• Date d'édition: 2011
• ISBN 10: 0571237819
• ISBN 13: 9780571237814
• Reliure: Broché
• Nombre de pages: 416