In A Writer at War, you can read Grossman’s account of visiting Tolstoy’s estate at Yasnaya Polyana during the Red Army’s retreat in 1941. Here’s part of what he wrote: “I feel with terrible intensity that this place has turned into Bald Hills, which the old and sick Prince is about to leave. Everything has combined to produce an entirely new image, the events that occurred a century ago and those happening today, and what the book tells with such strength and truthfulness about the old Prince Bolkonsky now seems to refer to the old Count Tolstoy himself and has become inseparable from reality.”
Grossman's writing expression ranks in canon of Russian literature, Tolstoy, Dostoyevsky, Gogol, Chekov, etc etc etc. The subtlety, ambiguity and emotion of fighting the German aggression and nihilist annihilation at the same time maneuvering to survive absurd and fatally threatening dangers among the home forces - is no where captured as well as Grossman, neither fiction nor non fiction. There's no such thing as totalitarianism and a strength of Grossman's writing is to combine sharp insight and criticism of both nazi and soviet practice without distorting it into simple label boxes and not alleging equivalency as the latter liberal concept of totalitarian seeks to do.
Thank you for writing this. Vassily Grossman’s work, particularly Life and Fate has changed me in the way only great literature can. The ‘small kernel of kindness’ section and the deaths of Sofia and David in the gas chamber are some of the most deeply moving scenes I’ve ever read. I’m surprised he’s not as well known. A true giant of 21st century literature and journalism.
In A Writer at War, you can read Grossman’s account of visiting Tolstoy’s estate at Yasnaya Polyana during the Red Army’s retreat in 1941. Here’s part of what he wrote: “I feel with terrible intensity that this place has turned into Bald Hills, which the old and sick Prince is about to leave. Everything has combined to produce an entirely new image, the events that occurred a century ago and those happening today, and what the book tells with such strength and truthfulness about the old Prince Bolkonsky now seems to refer to the old Count Tolstoy himself and has become inseparable from reality.”
A wonderful and insightful essay, this is great work brother!
An incredible piece of writing, Brock. You clearly put a lot of work into this. Bravo!
Also, can you believe I haven’t read any Grossman? One day…
Hopefully sooner rather than later!
Grossman's writing expression ranks in canon of Russian literature, Tolstoy, Dostoyevsky, Gogol, Chekov, etc etc etc. The subtlety, ambiguity and emotion of fighting the German aggression and nihilist annihilation at the same time maneuvering to survive absurd and fatally threatening dangers among the home forces - is no where captured as well as Grossman, neither fiction nor non fiction. There's no such thing as totalitarianism and a strength of Grossman's writing is to combine sharp insight and criticism of both nazi and soviet practice without distorting it into simple label boxes and not alleging equivalency as the latter liberal concept of totalitarian seeks to do.
Thank you for writing this. Vassily Grossman’s work, particularly Life and Fate has changed me in the way only great literature can. The ‘small kernel of kindness’ section and the deaths of Sofia and David in the gas chamber are some of the most deeply moving scenes I’ve ever read. I’m surprised he’s not as well known. A true giant of 21st century literature and journalism.