Young Pushkin: A Novel by Yury Tynyanov , Anna Kurkina Rush , Christopher Rush (review)

Abstract

REVIEWS 715 role of the intelligentsia in Russia's politicallife,revolution and politicsin general.Kalb highlights the similarities and differences betweenthe six authorsshe dealswithand often comparesthemto DmitriiMerezhkovskii's trilogy Christ andAntichrist, whichsheseesas theblueprint fortheotherpieces ofliterature. She also highlights theinfluence thattheGermanphilosopher Friedrich Nietzsche had on them. Kalb's workis also remarkable forthesmoothtransitions shemakesfrom one chapter tothenext.Her argument isstrengthened bytheuse ofa variety of sources,such as diaryentries, letters and notesthatthe authorsunder discussion wroteabouttheir works. Another positive pointis thatKalb demonstrates an appreciation forthe literature she analyseswithout losingher academicneutrality. She mentions howcritics havereceived theliterary works and acceptsthattheyare notperfect. The volume'snumerousillustrations roundoff thispieceofresearch. One ofthemonograph's weaknesses, however, isthatitcontains manyvery longsentences, whichare occasionally difficult to follow.Furthermore, it is questionable whether itwasnecessary tosqueezea short analysis ofBulgakov's famousnovelintotheconclusion rather thandevoting an entire chapterto it or leavingit out completely. This detourseemsto have been done at the expenseofa moredetailedconclusion totheotherthemes thataredeveloped in the researchchapters.Given that her hypothesis concernsRussian nationalidentity, a morecomprehensive conclusion to thelinksbetweenthe Moscow-Third Rometheory, Russianliterature and identity wouldhavebeen appropriate. Apartfrom this,PeterDuncan's Russian Messianismi Third Rome, HolyRevolution, Communism andAfter (London,2000) is unfortunately missing fromKalb's listofvolumesthattacklesimilartopics.Nevertheless, Russia's Romeis worthwhile readingforanybodywho is interested in the various facetsand historical development of Russiannationalidentity, imperialism and messianism. University ofErfurht, Germany Katja Richters Tynyanov, Yury.Young Pushkin: A Novel. TranslatedbyAnna KurkinaRush and Christopher Rush.AngelBooks,London,2007.xxiii+ 515pp. List ofcharacters. Familytrees.Notes.Appendix.£19.95. Readers ofthisjournalwillnotneed to be toldthatIuriiTynianovwas a majornovelist, one whocould(as he reportedly saidtoMaiakovskii) speakas onegreat powertoanother. ButtomostWestern readers heisoneofthemost influential theorists ofFormalism, theauthorofProblems ofVerse Language and Archaists andInnovators. Manywouldperhapsbe surprised thata Formalist, of all people,shouldhave devotedso muchenergy to writing novelswhichare atthesametimeessays inthe(for theFormalists) disreputable genreofliterary biography. Ofhisnarratives, Lieutenant Kizhe isperhapsthebestknown, thanks to Prokofiev, butitis hisgreattrilogy on writers oftheGoldenAge,Kiukhlia 7l6 SEER, 88, 4, OCTOBER 2OIO (aboutKiichelbecker), Smert' Vazir-Mukhtara (about Griboedov)and Pushkin, thatestablish himas a majorliterary creator. The Pushkin volume,whichis heretranslated forthefirst timeand with theappropriate title ofYoung Pushkin, isonlythebeginning ofa grander scheme thatwas intendedto cover all of Pushkin'slife.Even thissurviving part, a lengthy narrative, was publishedonlyin serializedformin the author's lifetime, thefinalsectionappearingin 1943,unchecked bytheterminally ill Tynianov.Nevertheless, it makesa completestory ofchildhoodand youth, centred on theLycéeyearsand endingas theherobeginshissouthern exile. It incorporates a greatdeal ofnewbiographical research done forthecentenaryofthepoet 'sdeath,butitis a novelrather thana biography, filling the gaps ofthought, speechand actionwithbrilliant imaginative creation.The workis energized byTynianov'sstaccatostyle ofstory-telling, thecinematic cutting fromdetailto detailthatenables him to avoid the dead hand of run-of-the-mill biography. This manneroftelling relieson a deep knowledge ofthematerial, and demandsa similarcommandon thepartofreadersif theyareto seizethemanyallusions and notbe mystified bytherapidflowof peopleand action. The translation byAnna and Christopher Rush does amplejusticeto the rapid-fire mode ofstory-telling, theelusivedialogueand theextraordinarily vividevocationofcharacters, bodiesand places.The textcomesacrosswith a good deal of energyand humour,achievedby manyinventive turnsof phrase.Thereare times, perhaps,suchas thebeginning ofPartThree,with itselliptical presentation oftheyounghero'sinitiation intothenewlyformed Arzamas, whentheEnglish becomesevenmoreteasing thantheRussian.But to ease thereader'stask,thetranslators have givenan extremely helpful list of the major characters, together withfamily treeswhicheven the expert willfindusefulin disentangling thecomplexnetworks oftheHannibalsand thePushkins (thenovelaboundsin amazingdescriptions ofthepoet'sfamily background, so muchso thatAleksandr Sergeevich virtually disappears from viewforpagestogether - butbythesametokenhisstrange, violent, moody character becomesall themorecomprehensible). Another bonusis theselectionofversetranslations ofPushkin's earlylyrics givenas an appendix, forthe most part the workof AntonyWood, the dedicatedpublisherof Angel Books. This translation is greatly tobe welcomedbecauseitdoes a hardjob well, butalsobecauseitisthefirst complete English translation ofanyofTynianov's trilogy. Therewas,itis true,an incomplete versionofSmert ' Vazir-Mukhtara, done seventy yearsago by A. Brownunderthe titleDeathandDiplomacy in Persia, but Kiukhlia, arguablythe mostappealingof the three,and the mostsatisfying as a lifestory, has neverappearedin English(and thisat a timewhentranslations of the greatRussianclassicsmultiply unstoppably). Pushkin's greaterfameno doubtaccountsforthepriority givento his life story - who,intheEnglish-speaking world, hasso muchas heardofWilhelm Kiichelbecker, and even amongRussians,who knowshimwell?But in its moving, humorousdepictionof a dramatic, chaoticlifein imperialRussia REVIEWS 717 before,duringand afterthe Decembristuprising, Kvukhlia deservesto be translated withthevervedisplayed in Young Pushkin. SchoolofLiteratures, Languages and Cultures University ofEdinburgh Peter France Segel, Harold B. The ColumbiaLiterary Historyof EasternEuropeSince 1943. ColumbiaUniversity Press, Ithaca,NY, 2008.xv+ 405pp.Notes.Further Reading.Index.$75.00:£44.00. Similartitles immediately alertthereaderthatthisvolumestandsin a complementary relation to HaroldB. Segel'searlierreference work,TheColumbia Guideto theLiteratures ofEasternEuropeSinceigfä (New York, 2003). Surprisingly , thenatureofthatrelation is nowhere explicated inthepresent volume. WhereasSegel...