Isaak Babel stands as a towering figure in Russian literature, celebrated for his masterful short stories that delve into the complexities of human experience. His prose is renowned for its sharp wit, vivid imagery, and profound psychological insight, often exploring the intersection of culture and identity. Babel's unique voice captures the tumultuous spirit of his era with unflinching honesty and lyrical precision. His lasting impact lies in his ability to render the profound truths of life through deceptively simple yet powerfully evocative narratives.
'Compact, irreverent, enigmatic, savage and tender... it is impossible to look at the world the same way after reading Babel... one of the enduring jewels of 20th-century Russian literature' - Financial Times
Offers contemporary readers seventy-three short stories by one of twentieth- century Russia's premier storytellers, Isaac Babel. This unique volume, which includes Babel's famous Red Calvary series and his Odessa Stories, was translated, edited, introduced, and annotated by Val Vinokur, and features illustrations by Yefim Ladyzhensky.
A collection of “electric, heroically wrought” Russian short stories of violence, crime, and sex set in Ukraine—for fans of hard-boiled fiction by Raymond Chandler and Dashiell Hammett (John Updike) Odessa was a uniquely Jewish city, and the stories of Isaac Babel—a Jewish man, writing in Russian and born in Odessa—uncover its tough underbelly around the time of the Russian Revolution. Gangsters, prostitutes, beggars, smugglers: no one escapes the pungent, sinewy force of Babel’s pen. From the tales of the magnetic cruelty of Benya Krik—infamous mob boss, and one of the great anti-heroes of Russian literature—to the devastating semi-autobiographical account of a young Jewish boy caught up in a pogrom, this collection of stories is considered one of the great masterpieces of twentieth-century Russian literature. Translated with precision and sensitivity by Boris Dralyuk, whose rendering of the rich Odessan argot is pitch-perfect, Odessa Stories is the first ever stand-alone collection of Babel’s narratives set in the city and includes the original stories as well as later tales. “The salty speech of the city’s inhabitants is wonderfully rendered in a new translation by Boris Dralyuk . . . Hard-boiled language reminiscent of Dashiell Hammett.” —Vice
The narrative explores the life of Isaac Babel, a Jewish writer who gained prominence in the 1920s with notable works like Red Cavalry and Odessa Stories. As Stalin's oppressive regime took hold, Babel faced significant challenges in his ability to write and publish, highlighting the struggles of artists under totalitarian rule. The book delves into the intersection of creativity and political repression, shedding light on the impact of historical events on individual expression.
This monumental collection showcases the complete works of Isaac Babel, featuring previously unavailable stories, plays, and film scripts. Celebrated for its exceptional translation and editing, it balances scholarly depth with accessibility, making it a labor of love for readers. Recognized as one of the twentieth century's greatest writers, Babel's influence resonates through this comprehensive volume, which has garnered multiple accolades, including the Koret Jewish Book Award and recognition as a New York Times Notable Book.
Throughout his life Isaac Babel was torn by opposing forces, by the desire both to remain faithful to his Jewish roots and yet to be free of them. This duality of vision infuses his work with a powerful energy from the earliest tales including 'Old Shloyme' and 'Childhood', which affirm his Russian-Jewish childhood, to the relatively non-Jewish world of his collection of stories entitled 'Red Cavalry'. Babel's masterpiece, 'Red Cavalry' is the most dramatic expression of his dualism and in his simultaneous acceptance and rejection of his heritage heralds the great American-Jewish writers from Henry Roth to Saul Bellow to Philip Roth.
One of the great masterpieces of Russian literature, the Red Cavalry cycle retains today the shocking freshness that made Babel's reputation when the stories were first published in the 1920s. Using his own experiences as a journalist and propagandist with the Red Army during the war against Poland, Babel brings to life an astonishing cast of characters from the exuberant, violent era of early Soviet history: commissars and colonels, Cossacks and peasants, and among them the bespectacled, Jewish writer/intellectual, observing it all and trying to establish his role in the new Russia.Drawn from the acclaimed, award-winning Complete Works of Isaac Babel, this volume includes all of the Red Cavalry cycle; Babel's 1920 diary, from which the material for the fiction was drawn; and his preliminary sketches for the stories—the whole constituting a fascinating picture of a great writer turning life into art.