Molotovs magic lantern by rachel polonsky overdrive. In molotov s former apartment, rachel polonsky discovered his library and an old magic lantern. Molotov ruthless apparatchik, participant in the collectivizations and the great purge was. 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. Molotovs magic lantern travels in russian history by rachel polonsky.
At the same time, molotovs magic lantern is preoccupied as much with the past as with the present. One of those ghostly neighbours was stalins henchman vyacheslav molotov. 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 best books on putin and russian history five books. She visited cities and landscapes associated with the books in the library. Chekhov, dostoevsky, pushkin, akhmatova and many less wellknown figures. A view into russian history through the landscape of molotov s books. Music and the transformation of russian cultural life. A journey in russian history, or, as on the facsimile title page, molotovs magic lantern. A journey in russian history by rachel polonsky is an unforgettable exploration of a country and its literature. Some were sent to the gulag by the man who collected their books.
Her exploration of the remnants of molotovs magnificent library became the motif around which she built her book molotovs magic lantern. Lee molotov s magic lantern travels in russian history por rachel polonsky disponible en rakuten kobo. 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. In molotovs magic lantern, polonsky visits the haunted cities and vivid landscapes of the books from. Polonsky visits the haunted cities and vivid landscapes of the books from molotovs library. A view into russian history through the landscape of molotovs books. 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.
These books became the inspiration for this erudite exploration of russias history that begins in moscow and then radiates out into the countrys. Full text of molotovs magic lantern internet archive. 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. When the british journalist rachel polonsky moves to moscow, she discovers an apartment on romanov street that was once home to the soviet elite. 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.
Go search todays deals best sellers customer service find a gift new. Blending history, literature and travelogue, molotovs magic lantern is certainly an unconventional work. Molotov s magic lanterntravels in russian historyby rachel polonskyfarrar, straus and giroux. The alternative history of an idea sargeant, lynn m.
After all, there are historians who write books that, while. The place was an apartment in romanov lane in central moscow, not far from the kremlin, and the time was during. Lee molotovs magic lantern travels in russian history por rachel polonsky disponible en rakuten kobo. Read molotovs magic lantern travels in russian history by rachel polonsky available from rakuten kobo. Travels in russian history she visits the cities and landscapes of the books from molotovs library. 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. One of my fellow students is writing a thesis about the status of family history and genealogy within historiography more generally. From the vologda chapter of rachel polonskys molotovs magic lantern. Mar 19, 2010 molotov s magic lantern is a hard book to catalogue. Featured texts all books all texts latest this just in smithsonian libraries fedlink us genealogy lincoln collection. Molotovs magic lantern, by rachel polonsky the independent. 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. One of the most infamous neighbors was stalins henchman. Molotov s magic lantern is preoccupied as much with the past as with the present. 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. Browse the amazon editors picks for the best books of 2019, featuring our favorite. Molotovs magic lanterntravels in russian historyby rachel polonskyfarrar, straus and giroux.
Harvard book store is delighted to welcome journalist rachel polonsky as she discusses her new exploration of russian cultural history, molotov. In the course of her travels, polonsky visits monasteries, dachas, sanatoriums and bath houses. A journey in russian history, or, as on the facsimile title page, molotov s magic lantern. Molotovs magic lantern is preoccupied as much with the past as with the. When rachel polonsky went to live in moscow, she found an apartment block in romanov street, once a residence of the soviet elite. A creative cocktail of poetry and history in molotov wbur. 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. Well, from the book, quite obviously the second, so the publisher better correct the misleading parallel. Molotovs magic lantern travels in russian history book. Molotov s magic lantern travels in russian history book. Travels in russian history reprint by rachel polonsky isbn. A journey in russian history, london, faber and faber, 2010, 369 p.
A journey in russian history main by rachel polonsky isbn. Jan 15, 2011 a journey into the heart of russian history. Search the history of over 424 billion web pages on the internet. Molotov s magic lantern npr coverage of molotov s magic lantern. Polonsky is at once a travel writer, a supremely wellread literary historian and a brilliant anthologist. Russian history and the russian present have revealed themselves to me in glimpses, she writes, through a narrow lens, like. In molotovs former apartment, rachel polonsky discovered his library and an old magic lantern.
When rachel polonsky moved to moscow, she discovered an apartment on romanov street that. 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. Everyday low prices and free delivery on eligible orders. Molotovs magic lantern npr coverage of molotovs magic lantern. When the british journalist rachel polonsky moves to moscow, she discovers an apartment on romanov street that was once. Rachel polonsky had the good fortune to arrive in russia at just the right time and place. 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. With exceptional insight and beautiful prose, polonsky writes about the longings and. 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. In molotov s magic lantern, polonsky visits the haunted cities and vivid landscapes of the books from molotov s library. Journalist polonsky english literature and the russian aesthetic renaissance, 1998 steps back into a nearvanished world of soviet and russian history. One of those ghostly neighbours was stalin s henchman vyacheslav molotov. Unlike his unruly brother who caused tikhon shalamov another kind of paternal agony. 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.
In molotovs magic lantern, polonsky visits the haunted cities and vivid landscapes of the books from molotovs library. Is it, as in the amazon ad, molotov s magic lantern. 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. A creative cocktail of poetry and history in 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. The reference to molotov along with the subtitle, a journey in russian history, might lead readers to expect a rather different book. When the british journalist rachel polonsky moves to moscow. 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. 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. Read molotov s magic lantern travels in russian history by rachel polonsky available from rakuten kobo. 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. Molotovs magic lantern is a hard book to catalogue. The place was an apartment in romanov lane in central moscow, not far.
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 writers chance encounter with vyacheslav molotovs personal library leads to an encompassing, poetic and creative portrait of russias history and present. Tell us about your next choice, rachel polonskys molotovs magic lantern. It repeatedly crosses the borders between memoir, travelogue, cultural appreciation and intellectual history. Jan 20, 2011 her exploration of the remnants of molotovs magnificent library became the motif around which she built her book 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. 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 singular homage to russian history and culture, molotovs magic lantern evokes the spirit of the great artists and the. Is it, as in the amazon ad, molotovs magic lantern. 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. Originally published in 2010 by faber and faber ltd.
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