94 SEER, 82, I, 2004 Europe'. The accompanying logo has a very red blob more or less in the middle of a very blue map of Europe. School ofSlavonic andEastEuropean Studies R. B. PYNSENT University College London Sperrle, Irmhild Christina. 7he Organic Worldview ofNikolaiLeskov. Studies in Russian Literature and Theory. Northwestern University Press, Evanston , IL, 2002. xiii + 288 pp. Notes. Bibliography. Index. $89.95. ONCE in a while a book comes along that inspires you to get to know the unfamiliar,or to revisitthe familiarwith a freshoutlook. TheOrganic Worldview ofNikolai Leskov is, in my view,just such a book. IrmhildChristinaSperrleaims to bring new vigour and focus to the field of Leskovcriticism,and it seems to me that the book will have the desiredeffect.The authorbegins by identifying the main problems of existing criticism, namely the difficultiesarising from Leskov's undeserved reputation as a police spy, limitations in analysing his style, and the misconception that he was a Tolstoian. She tackles these problems methodically throughout her study, simultaneouslypresenting her own case for reading Leskov's oeuvre as a whole, shaped by an 'organic' worldview. Sperrle's use of the term 'organic' is not traditional;instead it focuses on 'movement and transformationin "an organic manner", a transformationin which death and rebirth alternate and condition each other' (p. I7). Within thiscontext, Sperrleexamines suchkey concepts as heresyas a formof 'gentle criticism',and evil as a 'prerequisiteforgrowth' (p. I8). These are fascinating notions that are refreshing for those well-versed in the turgid and often inflexibleideasof Tolstoi, and the torturousviews ofDostoevskii.Thus Sperrle drawscomparisonswith thesetwo authorsat variouspoints in her study. In the informativeintroduction, Sperrledemonstratesthe inadequacies of much Russian, Soviet and Western Leskov criticism and outlines her main argument and methods. Chapter One then gives a full exposition of Leskov's organicity. Here Sperrleuses an interestingstomach/digestion model, which she proposes as a more suitableorganic metaphor in Leskov'sworldviewthan the standard images of the growing plant or the sexual body. Sperrle builds her arguments on a sound theoretical basis, taking account of Bakhtin's models of polyphony and dialogism, as well as other critical theories such as formalismand readerresponsetheory. Thereafter follows an examination of three works by Leskov, 'Chas voli Bozhiei', Soboriane, and 'Zaiachii remiz', which Sperrle translates as 'The Rabbit Carriage'. The first of these she uses to indicate where Leskov had sympathies with Tolstoi but more importantlywhere he diverged from him. Sperrle demonstrates an expert understanding of Tolstoi and perceptively notes how Tolstoi's formidable rhetoric can conceal inconsistencies in his arguments.The analysisof Soboriane concentrateson Leskov'screativemethod and his attitudeto the genres of novel and chronicle. She drawsa comparison with both cubismand genrepainting, showinghow Leskovpreferredto record and arrangematerialto forma 'realityof half-truth'(p. II9), and emphasizing REVIEWS 95 the crucial notion that one perspective alone cannot reveal the truth(p. 137). Sperrle effectively ties together the form and content of Leskov's works according to her criteria for organicity. She highlights Leskov's love of wordplay and lexical richness, presenting a persuasive argument for her choice of translationfor 'Zaiachii remiz'. Her analysis explains the place in Leskov'sworldview of what has often been called excess in his style, and she underlinesthe subtletyand philosophicaldepth of Leskov'snarrative. It mightbe expected thatin a studyof a nineteenth-centuryRussianorganic worldview,more mention might be made of the earlySlavophiles.Certainlyit is clear that in terms of a distrust of dogmatism and fixed theory, some parallelscouldbe drawnwithIvanKireevskii'scritiqueof abstractintellectualism and Western Christianity,and there are other ideas in common such as an affinitywith the apophatic tradition. Given that Sperrle concedes that at differenttimes in his life Leskovseemed to expressthe views of Slavophilesas well as Populistsand Westernizers(p. 9), she perhaps misses the opportunity to pursue, as she does in the case of Tolstoi, any instancesof Leskovengaging with and 'digesting' Slavophile ideas. Apart from one reference to the story 'The Kolyvan Husband' as an attack on dogmatic thinking in Slavophilism (p. ioi), thereis little discussionof the movement, and it seems to me thatthis is one aspect that might have furtherenriched Sperrle'sstudy. This aside, however, the work is powerfullyargued, and Sperrlecombines convincing evidence with obvious infectious enthusiasm. In particular, her emphasison Leskov'sconcept of heresyas a constantquestioningof authority to guard...