The Life of Arseniev: Youth (SRLT) [Paperback]

Ivan Bunin (Author), Andrew Baruch Wachtel (Editor), Gleb Struve (Translator), Hamish Miles (Translator), Heidi Hillis (Translator), Susan McKean (Translator), Sven A. Wolf (Translator)

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

Written during Bunin's period of self-imposed exile in 1927-28, this work belongs to a popular 19th-century Russian genre: the autobiographical novel. These novels typically depict the narrator's childhood as a joyous time, lived amidst the bucolic Russian landscape. Bunin (1870-1953) carries on the tradition: Arseniev is born into the shabby gentry (like Bunin) and weathers youth's storms in the heart of his loving yet eccentric family. Although Bunin won the Nobel Prize for Literature, he is not well known in the West-a shame given the elegance of his prose. Aside from some lengthy passages of cloying sentimentality, Bunin writes evocatively of the period just before the Russian Revolution. This is a nice companion to Ivan Bunin: Russian Requiem 1885-1920 (LJ 6/1/93), with an excellent introduction by Wachtel (Slavic languages, Northwestern Univ.). Recommended for Russian literature collections.
Diane Gardner Premo, SILS, SUNY at Buffalo
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Product Details

• Paperback: 254 pages
• Publisher: Northwestern University Press; 1 edition (October 26, 1994)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0810111721
• ISBN-13: 978-0810111721
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6.2 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,087,658 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.