Customer Reviews

Pushkin: A Biography

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Dostoevsky once said that Alexsandr Pushkin was the quintessential Russian man because of his compassion and empathy for mankind, despite all of the humiliation and misery that he suffered from his friends, family, and the rest of high society during the later years of his life. Although this description of Pushkin may be colored by Dostoevsky's own Russian nationalistic orientation, Pushkin's impact on Russian literature and culture remains undisputed.

The first part of Feinstein's biography was a bit slow due to the monotonous presentation of Pushkin's love interests, one after another. However, a number of erotic poems and epigrams were included that Pushkin wrote during his earlier years which I found particularly amusing for their juvenile and frivolous nature. Considering the aura of sanctity that was built up around Pushkin's reputation as the figurehead of Russian literature after his death, these lyrics help to paint a picture of who the real man actually was. The plot finally picks up towards the end of the book with the introduction of Georges d'Anthés (the man who fatally shot Pushkin in a duel) and the description of d'Anthés' public flirtation with Natalya (Pushkin's wife), only to be followed by his sudden and suspicious marriage to Ekaterina (Natalya's sister). All of these events made Pushkin the focus of public scrutiny and humiliation, which inevitably led to his fatal encounter with d'Anthés. Feinstein presents a lot of evidence in an attempt to shed light on d'Anthés' complicated personality and why things happened as they did. Although most of this evidence is speculatory, it still makes for interesting reading.

I encountered a number of editorial mistakes in this book which were a bit annoying, although they did not overly detract from the continuity of the plot. Some have already been mentioned by previous customer reviewers, such as the listing of Anna Petrovna Kern (one of Pushkin's premarital lovers) and Anna Petrovna as two separate people in the index when they are actually one in the same person. Additionally, Ibrahim Gannibal, Pushkin's legendary Negro great-grandfather who was a general under Peter the Great, was mistakenly identified as his grandfather at various points in the book. Most aggravating for me, however, was the author's habit of going back and forth in time, such that it became difficult to understand the sequence in which events took place.

Overall, I found this book interesting and worth my time reading. Feinstein presents Pushkin's life story in an engaging and readable style that is well-suited for general readers who have little prior knowledge of the man or his works. Nevertheless, the book is detailed enough such that we are able to gain a good understanding of Pushkin's personality and the circumstances that motivated him to write each of his major works.

I expected a lot more from this biography. It is muddled, confusing and full of inaccuracies. To start with, there seems to be a real problem with patronymics, which shouldn't happen in a book about a Russian man! For example, Pushkin's lover, Anna Petrovna Kern, appears on the index both as "Kern, Anna Petrovna" and "Petrovna, Anna" - as if she were two different people! This is annoying for anybody who knows that "Anna Petrovna" (name+patronymic) means only "Anna, daughter of Peter", and gives no clue as to the person's surname. All right, this may not be the author's fault, but that of the person in care of the index. And yet, the book itself has many mistakes of the kind. For instance, the chapter dedicated to Pushkin's wife, Natalya Nikolaevna Goncharova, opens with the words "It was at a Moscow ball in the winter season of 1828 that Pushkin first saw Natalya IVANOVNA Goncharova (my capitals), then a sixteen-year-old beauty..." This mistake is repeated more than once. In fact, Natalya Ivanovna was Natalya Nikolaevna's mother, Pushkin's mother-in-law. A biography cannot contain such inaccuracies. Besides, Pushkin's numerous love affairs and relationships are insufficiently explicated, and the whole of the narrative is confusing and takes you annoyingly back and forward through the years. A biography should be more accurate and more carefully written. I enjoyed some parts, though - but I'm afraid it was mostly because of my own interest in its subject!

A good introduction to Pushkin's life, loves, and even his writing. Ms. Feinstein presents the man, his works, and the spirit of the time well, and with finesse.

Three minor complaints:

First, Ms. Feinstein makes multiple references to other biographies of Pushkin. Sometimes this is done properly in the context of new material that has been discovered since those other biographies have been discovered. However this has the effect of making her seem egotistical, as in "they're wrong, and look how much more I know than they do". More importantly, it's annoying to someone unfamiliar with those other biographies. I understand the impossibility of presenting the full and honest truth given the ambiguity and differences in interpretations from the original materials and lack thereof left over from Pushkin's life. But the way she compares and contrasts the information comes across badly.

Second, the pace of the book is uneven. In Ms. Feinstein's defense this may simply be a conflict between what she finds interesting (and therefore worth going into detail) and what I find interesting. The section on Pushkin's childhood reads quickly, while the section on his marriage drags painfully.

Finally, Ms. Feinstein seems luridly fascinated by Pushkin's love life. The information on his loves and lovers should have presented with a little more historical objectivity and a little less romance novel swooning.

Pushkin is for Russians the great beginning of their Literature. He is the seminal figure and the one who is still considered their greatest poet. Many people I know who were educated in Russia know much Pushkin poetry by heart.

I had hoped by reading this biography to understand this 'passion for Pushkin' more fully. I had hoped to sense the greatness of the poetry. Unfortunately, I did not.

I did however get a clear sense of the overall Pushkin story, the themes and interests of his life, the character of his major works.

Much of this involves the story of Pushkin's erotic involvements in which he was not always the kindest of persons. His feeling of and for women primarily to their physical attractiveness. This had a central part in his not necessarily wise choice for a wife, and the story of jealousy, duelng for his honor, and his early death.

In a way one has a sense that Pushkin had the mentality of a different time in relation to women.

Feinstein makes it clear that in another realm Pushkin was more ethically commendable. He worked very hard and it is said created masterpieces in each realm each genre he touched upon. I will admit that my own readings of what many consider the greatest Pushkin of all, the verse- novel 'Evgeny Onegin' and the premier Pushkin story 'Ace of Spades' left me less than deeply moved. The brilliance, the great verbal play which are considered such an essential part of Pushkin's genius have never come across to me.

There are however moving parts in this biography. Pushkin's loss of his greatest friend just as he was about to be married, his dedication to and learning from the peasant woman who raised him and in the process endowed him with a deep sense of Russian myth and folk- tale, his courage in going it alone over and over again even against the will of the political authorities- these are strong positives in the Pushkin story.

Great Literature is one of mankind's most important spiritual sources. It can give us inspiration and love of life, hope and meaning. Pushkin has done that for so many. This book gives a fair account of the major works he created in doing this. It is not his fault nor is it the fault of the excellent author of this biography that in this case I do not really 'get it'.