In a Maelstrom
The History of Russian-Jewish Prose, 1860–1940
Zsuzsa Hetényi is Professor at the Institute for Slavic Studies, ELTE University, Budapest, and translator (Hungarian Academy of Sciences, Award for translation, 2002). With 180 articles in six languages to her credit, she has also authored a monograph study on Biblical and messianic motifs in Babel's Red Cavalry (1991) and edited and co-authored the History of the Russian Literature (I–II., 1997–2002). Her main field of interest is 20th century Russian Prose. Hetényi has lectured and given conference papers in Austria, Croatia, France, Germany, Great Britain, Italy, Israel, Lithuania, Russia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and the USA. Her Örvényben: Az orosz-zsidó próza története [In a Maelstrom. The history of the Russian-Jewish literature], which included a one volume anthology in her own translation, was published in 2000. Her present monograph is an extended and revised English translation of this book.
Translated by János Boris
The first concise history of Russian-Jewish literary prose, this book discusses Russian-Jewish literarature in four periods, analyzing the turning points (1881–82, 1897, 1917) and proposing that the selected epoch (1860–1940) represents a special strand that was unfairly left out of both Russian and Jewish national literatures. Based on theoretical sources on the subject, the book establishes the criteria of dual cultural affiliation, and in a survey of Russian-Jewish literature presents the pitfalls of assimilation and discusses different forms of anti-Semitism. After showing the oeuvre of 18 representative authors as a whole, the book analyzes a number of characteristic novels and short stories in terms of contemporary literary studies. Many texts discussed have not been reprinted since their first publication. The material offers indispensable information not only for comparative and literary studies but for multicultural, historical, ethnographic, Judaist, religious and linguistic investigations as well.
Contents
Preface; The Concept of Russian-Jewish Literature and its Ambiguities;
THE HISTORY OF RUSSIAN-JEWISH PROSE (1860–1940); I. “Turbulent Times” — The Utopia of Assimilation; Osip RABINOVICH; Lev LEVANDA; Grigory BOGROV; Yakov ROMBRO; II. “In a Maelstrom” — After the Pogroms; Mordekhai BEN-AMI; NAUMOV-KOGAN; Sergei YAROSHEVSKY; III. “At a Crossroads” — Choosing Paths; Semyon AN-SKY; Aleksandr KIPEN; David AIZMAN; Semyon YUSHKEVICH; IV. “Motherland” and “Cemetery” — Climax and Endgame; Isaac BABEL; Lev LUNTS; Andrei SOBOL; Semyon HEKHT; Mikhail KOZAKOV; Vladimir JABOTINSKY; Friedrich GORENSTEIN; V. A Pattern of Narrative in Jewish Assimilation Literature. The Child’s Eye View — Isaac Babel in a Russian-Jewish, American and European Literary Context. A Comparative Conclusion; Biographies of Authors; Appendix; Bibliography; Index
2008
332 pages
ISBN 978-963-7326-91-2 cloth $41.95 / €31.95 / £21.95
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