|
Speculative literature has had a long history, as long as
man has been telling stories we have always wondered... What
If? The themes and backgrounds have changed over time, after
all you could not have had science fiction without the advent
of a technological society. Fantasy, however, has always formed
a part of the collective consciousness, from the fairy stories
of youth to the epic Homeric poems of our latter years. Each
country and culture draws upon its rich heritage of folk tales
to create new stories for each generation and Russia is no
different...
Worlds
Apart is a new anthology of Russian fantasy and science
fiction edited by Alexander Levitsky. Professor Levitsky is
a native of Prague whose main area of research is in the field
of Russian, Slavic and Czech poetry and prose and is a specialist
in eighteenth century and modern Russian Literature. The professor
holds a chair in Slavic languages and literature at Brown
University in America. All this would indicate that the good
professor has an impressive command of his subject.
Although
the style of the book betrays its roots in academia, that
should in no way put anyone off who has a serious interest
in examining the place of fantasy and science fiction writing
in Russian culture. This book will be of interest to anyone
who wants to expand their overall knowledge of the genre.
It is a serious work, as befits a serious subject. Both science
fiction and fantasy are often belittled without any reason
or understanding. Works of this kind help to address this
unfounded denigration of a whole subsection of literature.
As far as I am aware this is the only work which looks at
how fantasy and science fiction developed in a country which
has undergone various radical transformations over the last
one hundred and fifty years.
The
various pieces which appear in this six hundred and fifty
page anthology - a veritable door stop of a book - have not
only been chosen by Professor Levitsky, but also translated
by him. The book is in two parts. The first collects works
under the heading of Russian Early-Modern Fantasy and Utopian
Thought and contains works from the earliest folklore
up to the end of the nineteenth century. The second part,
Modern Russian Fantasy, Utopia and Science Fiction,
covers the end of the Nineteenth century up to the latter
part of the twentieth century. The sections are further subdivided
and each section and subdivision is proceeded by an informative
introduction or analysis.
The
book contains both fantastical poetry and prose, some of which
have had to be presented as excerpts, although many are translations
of the full work. Obviously, given the scope of the book,
it would be impractical to reproduce everything in its complete
form.
The
overall delight of the book is discovering that some well
known authors such as Pushkin, Turgenev, Tolstoy and Dostoevsky
can be included in this category of literature (one in the
eye for those who think that only fan boys write and read
this stuff), but more that this is the delight of being able
to be introduced to authors that you may never of heard of
and having their work placed accurately within their cultural
background.
Please
do not be put off the book if it all sounds a bit academic,
expand your mind and horizons and spend a little time with
Professor Levitsky.
 
Charles
Packer
Buy
this item online
We
compare prices online so you get the cheapest
deal! Click on the logo of the desired store
below to purchase this item.
|
|
|
£16.50
(Amazon.co.uk) |
| |
|
|
|
£25.00
(WHSmith.co.uk) |
| |
|
|
|
£25.00
(Countrybookshop.co.uk) |
| |
|
|
|
$16.29
(Amazon.com) |
All prices correct at time of going to press.
|
|
