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Title: Natasha's Dance: A Cultural History of Russia by Orlando Figes ISBN: 0-312-42195-8 Publisher: Picador USA Pub. Date: 01 October, 2003 Format: Paperback Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $20.00 |
Average Customer Rating: 4.55 (22 reviews)
Rating: 5
Summary: Brilliant!
Comment: I thought this was one of the best books I have ever read on Russia. In 500 beautifully written pages, it manages to say an awful lot - not just about the Russian arts and literature, nor simply about Russia as a place, its history, its customs, its religious traditions - but about that thing we call "culture". Figes shows how the arts were intertwined with politics, religion, folklore and beliefs, to create a "national consciousness". His main argument - that Russian culture was defined by a dialogue between the high culture of the aristocracy and the folk culture of the peasantry - is brilliantly developed - and original.
No doubt there are minor points where academic critics may pronounce that there is more to say - or something to be said in a more complex way. This is not an academic book (thank God for that!) though Figes does provide a comprehensive guide to academic works on what seems like almost everything...
But for the general reader this book is unparalleled. It is more exciting, and a better read, than The Icon and the Axe by James Billington, which is a more traditional cultural history of Russia.
In sum - the highest recommendation.
Rating: 5
Summary: Informative and entertaining - a "must buy"
Comment: This is a really fascinating book. Figes explores the development of the Russian national identity and the extraordinary role of literature and all the other arts in Russian history.
It is not meant to be a "comprehensive history" of all the Russian arts but an interpretation of the Russian tradition. Figes makes this clear in the Introduction - so it is quite unfair to criticize his book for omissions.
Natasha's Dance is a wonderfully rich and entertaining read. Figes writes quite beautifully. As in A People's Tragedy (his brilliant history of the Russian Revolution), Figes develops his analysis through mini-narratives which bring his "cultural history" to life. The book starts for example with a rivetting account of the building of St Petersburg in the early eighteenth century, which leads him to the theme of the first chapter - the elusive and ambiguous ideal of European civilization. The chapters are thematically arranged but the chapters follow in a sort of sequence - from the 18th to the 20th centuries - which gives the book a grander narrative.
All the major themes of Russian culture are discussed: the tension between the ("high") European culture of the aristocracy and the native ("low") culture of the peasantry; the contrast between Moscow and St Petersburg; the religious searching for the "Russian soul" (developed beautifully through the biographies of Gogol, Dostoevsky and Tolstoy); and the influence of Asia (fascinating stuff!). There are also chapters on Soviet culture and the emigres.
At 700 pages this is a long book . But don't let that put you off. It reads like a novel. And there are some wonderful pictures. Overall a bargain - and a "must buy".
Rating: 5
Summary: Russia, after this book I want to get to know you better.
Comment: This is an excellent book. Though it is arranged thematically rather than chronologically, timelines are not confusing. The great debates of Russian culture - between east and west, between serfs and aristocracy, between Orthodoxy and the Old Belief - are presented vividly and clearly. The countryside and cities come alive with characters, not just of the great figures of Russian literature and art but of the nameless millions and their beliefs, culture, attitudes and preoccupations. Natasha's Dance made me want to learn much more about Russia, its people, its history, its literature and art. And that, to me, is the measure of success of a cultural history such as this.
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Title: A People's Tragedy: The Russian Revolution : 1891-1924 by Orlando Figes ISBN: 014024364X Publisher: Penguin Books Pub. Date: 01 March, 1998 List Price(USD): $25.00 |
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Title: The Icon and the Axe : An Interpretive History of Russian Culture by James H. Billington ISBN: 0394708466 Publisher: Vintage Books USA Pub. Date: 01 December, 1970 List Price(USD): $22.00 |
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Title: Black Earth: A Journey through Russia after the Fall by Andrew Meier ISBN: 0393051781 Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company Pub. Date: 02 September, 2003 List Price(USD): $28.95 |
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Title: Gulag: A History by Anne Applebaum ISBN: 0767900561 Publisher: Doubleday Books Pub. Date: 15 April, 2003 List Price(USD): $35.00 |
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Title:Russian Ark ASIN: B00009NHAT Publisher: Wellspring Media, In Pub. Date: 09 September, 2003 List Price(USD): $29.98 Comparison N/A, buy it from Amazon for $24.58 |
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