1920 Diary [Hardcover]

Isaac Babel (Author), Professor Carol J. Avins (Editor), Mr. H. T. Willetts (Translator)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 26, 1995

The Russian writer Isaac Babel (1894-1940) is acknowledged to be one of the great masters of 20th century literature, hailed as a genius by such critics as Lionel Trilling and Irving Howe. The work for which he is best known is a cycle of stories called "Red Cavalry", which depicts the exploits of the Cossack cavalry during the Polish-Soviet war of 1919-1920 and is based on Babel's experiences as he rode with the Cossacks during the campaign. Babel kept a diary during this period, in which he recorded the devastation of the war, the extreme cruelty of the Polish and Red armies alike towards the Jewish population in the Ukraine and Eastern Poland, and his own conflicted role as both Soviet revolutionary and Jew. The "1920 Diary" was a vital source for "Red Cavalry" as well as a compelling narrative. The "1920 Diary" is a contemporary account of the tragedy of Eastern European Jewry during this period. The diary also yields insights into Babel's personal evolution, showing his youthful curiosity and his anguish as, frequently concealing his own Jewish identity, he mingled with the victimized Jews of the region's shtetls and with his Cossack comrades. Finally, the diary sheds light on Babel's artistic development, revealing the path of the Red Cavalry cycle.

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

Published in English for the first time, this slender work records noted Russian writer Babel's experiences as a correspondent with a troop of Cossacks during the Russo-Polish war (1919-1920). Amid the destruction and cruelty, perhaps the most compelling factor here is Babel himself: apparently hiding his Jewish identity, at times deeply moved by the Jewish communities he visits, at others distancing himself as a "Russian" from their petty concerns and real sufferings, he tells them "fairy tales" (which he does not believe) about the achievements and future of the revolution and is both fascinated and repulsed by the Cossacks and their violence and awed by the "un-Russian" cleanliness and culture of the Poles. Most entries are brief, telegraphic notes to spur the memory and call out scenes or people to be described later. The diary in fact became the basis for Cavalerie Rouge (1983); readers familiar with those stories will find the relation between Babel's first impressions and the finished work fascinating.?Richard Kuczkowski, Dominican Coll., Blauvelt, N.Y.
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Review

The diary is of far more than historical interest, more than a manuscript found in a bottle illuminating an almost forgotten history, though it is that, too. It is brilliant in itself, a gem of compressed, unsparing, truthful observation. -- The New York Times Book Review, Richard Bernstein --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 184 pages
• Publisher: Yale University Press; First English Edition edition (April 26, 1995)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0300059663
• ISBN-13: 978-0300059663
• Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 5.7 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12.3 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #601,928 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars JOTTINGS OF GENIUS, January 30, 2001

By 

S. F Gulvezan (Grosse Pointe Woods, Michigan USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: 1920 Diary (Paperback)

The journal Isaac Babel kept when he rode with the Cossacks in the 1919-20 war the Soviet Union waged against Poland served as source material for the stories in his brilliant collection, RED CALVARY. The diaries are a gem in themselves, displaying Babel's immediate response to the situation at hand, later to be transmuted by the writer's alchemy into the gold of the stories. It is a little slice of history in the raw, viewed through the eyes of a great writer, a writer who refused to conform to "socialist realism," a writer who 20 years later would be executed by the State Security Apparatus of the USSR.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A must read for Russian and Jewish History Enthusiasts, April 23, 2010

By 

J. Clarke (Phila, PA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: 1920 Diary (Paperback)

For those readers with even a remote interest in Russian or Jewish history, Isaac Babel's 1920 Diary is definitely worth adding to your library.

Some are destined to experience frustration as they initially delve into the reading. The style of Babel's diary resembles something more akin to shorthand notes - a few words separated by endless commas - as opposed to the free-flowing prose one might expect to find in a personal journal. As Babel's story progresses, however, his descriptions inspire the reader's imagination to fill in the gaps and produce a favorable, even enjoyable rhythm.

His descriptions of his travels during the Soviet-Polish war with the Red Army offer a remarkable insight into the Communists' earliest attempts to propagate and establish their new doctrine in the territories immediately surrounding Russia. For instance, he writes, "An order comes from the Southwest Army Group: when we enter Galcia - the first time Soviet troops cross the frontier - we are to treat the population well. We are not entering a conquered country, the country belongs to the workers and peasants of Galicia, and to them alone, we are going there to help them establish Soviet rule." While, some of Babel's entries seem to espouse his belief in new Communist ideologies, most ridicule the terrifying, violent means used by the Cossacks to attain this supposedly utopian end.

However, the diary serves a much greater purpose than simply offering up some interesting history on Russia. Babel, although traveling under a Russian pseudonym to mask his Jewish heritage, sees many of his experiences through the enhanced prism of his own strong Jewish self-consciousness. From his pleasant descriptions of majestic Jewish synagogues to his harrowing accounts of merciless, war-time pogroms against entire Jewish communities, Babel masterfully transports his readers into the paradoxical realities of peace, intermixed with the atrocities of war.

Finally, the editor of this edition has effectively supplemented the diary with an authoritative introduction as well as an informative appendix, both of which add needed context to Babel's diary so that, even if you have no former knowledge of this period of Russian history, you'll be able to enjoy the book nonetheless.