Originally published in 2010 by faber and faber ltd. A former neighbour in polonskys building, stalins henchman vyacheslav molotov, removed here in his political retirement, provides the book with a pattern and a rationale. Is it, as in the amazon ad, molotov s magic lantern. In molotov s magic lantern, polonsky visits the haunted cities and vivid landscapes of the books from molotov s library. One of those ghostly neighbours was stalins henchman vyacheslav molotov.
Describes the authors move to a moscow apartment that once housed the soviet elite and her discovery of an extensive, culturally reflective library belonging to a stalin henchman. She visited cities and landscapes associated with the books in the library. Molotov s magic lantern npr coverage of molotov s magic lantern. Mar 19, 2010 molotov s magic lantern is a hard book to catalogue. And molotovs magic lantern is not a piece of history, nor of literary criticism, but a pocket torch shone into the nooks and crannies between the two. Go search todays deals best sellers customer service find a gift new. From the vologda chapter of rachel polonskys molotovs magic lantern. Browse the amazon editors picks for the best books of 2019, featuring our favorite. A singular homage to russian history and culture, molotovs magic lantern evokes the spirit of the great artists and the haunted past of a country ravaged by war, famine, and totalitarianism. Jan 15, 2011 a journey into the heart of russian history. Lee molotov s magic lantern travels in russian history por rachel polonsky disponible en rakuten kobo. The place was an apartment in romanov lane in central moscow, not far. One of my fellow students is writing a thesis about the status of family history and genealogy within historiography more generally. A singular homage to russian history and culture, molotovs magic lantern evokes the spirit of the great artists and the.
A writers chance encounter with vyacheslav molotovs personal library leads to an encompassing, poetic and creative portrait of russias history and present. Jan 20, 2011 her exploration of the remnants of molotovs magnificent library became the motif around which she built her book molotovs magic lantern. In the course of her travels, polonsky visits monasteries, dachas, sanatoriums and bath houses. Molotov s magic lantern travels in russian history book. The alternative history of an idea sargeant, lynn m.
It repeatedly crosses the borders between memoir, travelogue, cultural appreciation and intellectual history. Molotovs magic lantern is a hard book to catalogue. One of the most infamous neighbors was stalins henchman. Molotovs magic lantern travels in russian history book. Molotovs magic lantern npr coverage of molotovs magic lantern. After all, there are historians who write books that, while. Harvard book store is delighted to welcome journalist rachel polonsky as she discusses her new exploration of russian cultural history, molotov. Rachel polonsky when the author, a british journalist, moves to moscow, she discovers an apartment on romanov street that was once home to the soviet elite. With exceptional insight and beautiful prose, polonsky writes about the longings and. Describes the author s move to a moscow apartment that once housed the soviet elite and her discovery of an extensive, culturally reflective library belonging to a stalin henchman. Blending history, literature and travelogue, molotovs magic lantern is certainly an unconventional work. Travels in russian history an exhilarating mix of cities, history, and literature, just the kind of book i love, a passage on varlam shalamov who was from vologda shalamov and his father came into conflict over books. Some were sent to the gulag by the man who collected their books. Molotov s magic lantern is a complex and subtle work, but its variety of historical perspectives and its many layers of literary allusion do not prevent it too from accommodating both brutality and wildness on the contrary, they enable the reader to imagine both soviet brutality and russian wildness more vividly.
A creative cocktail of poetry and history in molotov. Polonsky is at once a travel writer, a supremely wellread literary historian and a brilliant anthologist. When the british journalist rachel polonsky moves to moscow, she discovers an apartment on romanov street that was once home to the soviet elite. In the course of molotovs magic lantern we read about her encounters, both in their books and in towns where they lived, with a large number of both wellknown and littleknown writers, priests, scientists and politicians. These books became the inspiration for this erudite exploration of russias history that begins in moscow and then radiates out into the countrys vast expanses.
Both etkins and polonskys books have an admirable way of taking cultural allusions from russian literary history and using them to explain the history of the time but also the present. When rachel polonsky went to live in moscow, she found an apartment block in romanov street, once a residence of the soviet elite. Full text of molotovs magic lantern internet archive. Molotovs magic lantern is a complex and subtle work, but its variety of historical perspectives and its many layers of literary allusion do not prevent it too from accommodating both brutality and wildness on the contrary, they enable the reader to imagine both soviet brutality and russian wildness more vividly. A creative cocktail of poetry and history in molotov a writer s chance encounter with vyacheslav molotov s personal library leads to an encompassing, poetic and creative portrait of russia s. A creative cocktail of poetry and history in molotov wbur. When rachel polonsky moved to moscow, she discovered an apartment on romanov street that. Having moved to moscow from england, the author and her family lived on romanov lane, in the apartment just below where stalins henchman vyacheslav molotov resided during the last years of his life d. With exceptional insight and beautiful prose, polonsky writes about the longings and aspirations of these russian writers and others in the course of her travels from the arctic to siberia and from the forests around moscow to the. In molotovs magic lantern, polonsky visits the haunted cities and vivid landscapes of the books from.
Molotovs magic lantern is preoccupied as much with the past as with the. When the british journalist rachel polonsky moves to moscow, she discovers an apartment on romanov street that was once. The best books on putin and russian history five books. When the british journalist rachel polonsky moves to moscow. Molotov s magic lanterntravels in russian historyby rachel polonskyfarrar, straus and giroux. Rachel polonsky had the good fortune to arrive in russia at just the right time and place. Is it, as in the amazon ad, molotovs magic lantern. About the author rachel is a very wellrespected academic and journalist who has written for prospect, guardian, tls and spectator among others. A view into russian history through the landscape of molotovs books. Read molotovs magic lantern travels in russian history by rachel polonsky available from rakuten kobo. Search the history of over 424 billion web pages on the internet. A view into russian history through the landscape of molotov s books. Travels in russian history reprint by rachel polonsky isbn. Russian history and the russian present have revealed themselves to me in glimpses, she writes, through a narrow lens, like.
The place was an apartment in romanov lane in central moscow, not far from the kremlin, and the time was during. One of those ghostly neighbours was stalin s henchman vyacheslav molotov. Tell us about your next choice, rachel polonskys molotovs magic lantern. In molotovs former apartment, rachel polonsky discovered his library and an old magic lantern. A journey in russian history, or, as on the facsimile title page, molotov s magic lantern.
In molotov s former apartment, rachel polonsky discovered his library and an old magic lantern. The reference to molotov along with the subtitle, a journey in russian history, might lead readers to expect a rather different book. In what was formerly molotovs apartment, polonsky uncovers an extensive library and an old magic lanterntwo things that lead her on an extraordinary journey throughout russia and ultimately renew her vision of the country and its people. The title of the book refers to the fact that she lived for a while in the moscow apartment of vyacheslav molotov 18901986, who served as stalins foreign minister, and who was therefore one. Everyday low prices and free delivery on eligible orders. A journey in russian history by rachel polonsky is an unforgettable exploration of a country and its literature.
Molotov ruthless apparatchik, participant in the collectivizations and the great purge was. A journey in russian history main by rachel polonsky isbn. Lee molotovs magic lantern travels in russian history por rachel polonsky disponible en rakuten kobo. The sunday times polonskys detailstudded hybrid of travelogue, biography and political and cultural history is dense and scholarly, and dares to lack a dominant propulsive narrative. Polonsky visits the haunted cities and vivid landscapes of the books from molotovs library. Read molotov s magic lantern travels in russian history by rachel polonsky available from rakuten kobo. And molotov s magic lantern is not a piece of history, nor of literary criticism, but a pocket torch shone into the nooks and crannies between the two. Well, from the book, quite obviously the second, so the publisher better correct the misleading parallel. Molotovs magic lantern by rachel polonsky overdrive. Molotov s magic lantern is preoccupied as much with the past as with the present. A creative cocktail of poetry and history in molotov a writers chance encounter with vyacheslav molotovs personal library leads to an encompassing, poetic and creative portrait of russias. Mar 23, 2011 these books became the inspiration for this erudite exploration of russias history that begins in moscow and then radiates out into the countrys vast expanses. Journalist polonsky english literature and the russian aesthetic renaissance, 1998 steps back into a nearvanished world of soviet and russian history. Chekhov, dostoevsky, pushkin, akhmatova and many less wellknown figures.
Jan 20, 2011 a writer s chance encounter with vyacheslav molotov s personal library leads to an encompassing, poetic and creative portrait of russia s history and present. Molotovs magic lanterntravels in russian historyby rachel polonskyfarrar, straus and giroux. Molotovs magic lantern travels in russian history by rachel polonsky. A journey in russian history, or, as on the facsimile title page, molotovs magic lantern. A journey in russian history, london, faber and faber, 2010, 369 p. The sunday times polonsky s detailstudded hybrid of travelogue, biography and political and cultural history is dense and scholarly, and dares to lack a dominant propulsive narrative. Featured texts all books all texts latest this just in smithsonian libraries fedlink us genealogy lincoln collection. Music and the transformation of russian cultural life. At the same time, molotovs magic lantern is preoccupied as much with the past as with the present. Travels in russian history she visits the cities and landscapes of the books from molotovs library. In molotovs magic lantern, polonsky visits the haunted cities and vivid landscapes of the books from molotovs library. Unlike his unruly brother who caused tikhon shalamov another kind of paternal agony. Molotovs magic lantern, by rachel polonsky the independent. Her exploration of the remnants of molotovs magnificent library became the motif around which she built her book molotovs magic lantern.
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