Taras Bulba
I have always been intrigued by Russian Classics. The depiction of life and relationships in Russian books is something that is often over-looked in contemporary fiction. Nikolai Gogol is considered one of the greatest Russian writers. To the Western world, it is mostly writers such as Leo Tolstoy and Dostoevsky who encompass Russian literature. I was first drawn to his book after an online chat with an Ukranian citizen. He mentioned to me that his favorite writers were Nikolai Gogol and Alexander Pushkin. I also read a book, called ‘The Namesake’, by an Indian writer Jumpa Lahiri. The book has strong references to Gogol’s works. It is very evident how much admiration the writer has for Gogol.

This was how I entered the world of Gogol. Taras Bulba is considered one of the greatest Ukranian folklore. The narration highlights battles, loss, betrayal, patriotism, christianity, fatherly emotions, love, corrupt life and audacity. There are three main characters . Father, Taras Bulba and his two sons, Ostap and Andri. Set against the backdrop of the steppes of Ukraine, the book takes us through the battles in Crimea and parts of Poland. It narrates the story of the battle of Cossacks against the Poles. The description of battlefield, aftermath, loss of innumerable lives on both the sides, son’s betrayal and father’s search for the dead son’s body is given complete justice. There are several deploring references about Jews instantiated by the hatred for Jews amongst the Cossack brotherhood.
The part where the father searches for his dead son’s body is very heartrending. One of the major stresses of the book is about an individual’s love towards his motherland. On a side note, the author likes to refer to Ukraine as ‘Fatherland’. This in a way is suggestive of a patriarchal society that this story is set in. The mother of the two sons is given little to no importance. She is humiliated by her husband. I believe this is one of the low points of this book notwithstanding it is a hugely celebrated Russian classic. Andri betrays his fatherland and falls for a beautiful lady, who is from the enemy camp. The opinion that the author shares about such a betrayal is not clear. It’s almost like a passing mention. The author should have justified such a betrayal in order to show how important things other than battlefield, such as love and human emotions, are important in life.
All in all, I have mixed opinion about the book. Yet, I am encouraged to explore some of the other Gogol’s books such as Dead Souls, The Overcoat and also his short stories.