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Red Cavalry

Isaac Babel,

Peter Constantine (Translator)

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Dec 31, 2016 Jim rated it it was amazing

Shelves: memoir, soviet-union-russia, true_adventure

Wow! I just got this finished, barely in time to be included in this year's reading challenge! I picked a doozy to finish the year with, from an author I had never heard of writing about an obscure conflict that had occurred without the knowledge or permission of any other chronicler of war, apparently.

What a hard book to rate! The work is a book of fiction, on the face of it, written by Babel who actually did accompany Cossack cavalry into Poland when Russia invaded that hapless country shortly Wow! I just got this finished, barely in time to be included in this year's reading challenge! I picked a doozy to finish the year with, from an author I had never heard of writing about an obscure conflict that had occurred without the knowledge or permission of any other chronicler of war, apparently.

What a hard book to rate! The work is a book of fiction, on the face of it, written by Babel who actually did accompany Cossack cavalry into Poland when Russia invaded that hapless country shortly after WWI. A book of fiction in which every word has the ring of truth, and no effort is made to conceal the identities of the persons about whom Babel is writing. I wouldn't be surprised if the entire book turned out to be gospel disguised as fiction.

It wasn't an easy book for me to read, as it is presented in short story format, and anyone who has glanced over my list of books completed will know that I am not a reader of short stories. Babel presents snippets or vignettes of the invasion, very short and brutal. The book is racing at breakneck pace, just like the cavalry he accompanied. And when they stop, they bring misery in the form of rape, murder, and plunder. None of this is concealed from the reader, and Babel does not try to absolve himself from involvement in some of these excesses. He professes pity for the oppressed Jewry, but finds it hard to conceal his contempt for the Polish Peasantry.

Although I didn't care for the format, I noticed immediately that I was in the hands of a master story teller who was brutally and brilliantly efficient in his ability to convey impressions:

P. 85: "A sour odor rose from the ground, as from a soldier's wife at dawn."

P.194: "The machine guns were dragged up onto a hill like calves on halters.

Every page is a treasure of metaphor and simile, so delightful to read that you sometimes miss the horror that Babel is depicting. The last third of the book is a replication of Babel's 1920 diary. It is in note form and repetitive, but is nonetheless interesting. Some people won't like this book, and it isn't my preferred format, but I can't deprive the author of the 5 stars I think are due him. It was a good way to end the year and I hope to read more of his work in the future. ...more

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