"Chevengur is a philosophical novel that is also rich in psychological, social, and sensuous detail. Although it was never publishable in the USSR, it now stands as one of the most celebrated of Soviet novels, and along with The Foundation Pit, it is the most ambitious and moving of Andrey Platonov's efforts to take the measure of a world undergoing revolutionary transformation. The full text of Chevengur is here translated into English for the first time by Robert and Elizabeth Chandler, whose versions of Platonov and ...
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"Chevengur is a philosophical novel that is also rich in psychological, social, and sensuous detail. Although it was never publishable in the USSR, it now stands as one of the most celebrated of Soviet novels, and along with The Foundation Pit, it is the most ambitious and moving of Andrey Platonov's efforts to take the measure of a world undergoing revolutionary transformation. The full text of Chevengur is here translated into English for the first time by Robert and Elizabeth Chandler, whose versions of Platonov and Vasily Grossman have made these towering masters of modern literature accessible to readers of English. Platonov's world is a world of orphans searching for family and home. The Russian people have lost both their Mother Earth and their Father in Heaven. Nothing is left to them but the horizon-a shining but ever-receding future. Thus in part one of the novel Zakhar Pavlovich, a gifted craftsman, moves from traditional village life to the world of industry. He falls in love with steam locomotives; he wishes to harness the power of machines to bring an end to human misery, and yet before long he is disillusioned. In the second part of the book it falls on his adopted son, Sasha Dvanov, to set out across the steppes in pursuit of revolution with, as his companion, Kopionkin, knight errant of the martyred revolutionary Rosa Luxemburg. Perhaps communism will be born spontaneously of human yearning? The last part of the book finds a group of impatient Bolsheviks who live in the fictional town of Chevengur attempting to make communism happen now. They liquidate the bourgeoisie and the half-bourgeoisie, believing that this will inevitably bring about communism, since nothing else will remain. They relocate all the buildings, so that property will become worn out and cease to oppress the proletariat. Finally, Sasha Dvanov arrives in Chevengur as a herald of communism with a human face-and for the briefest moment it bears one"--
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Seller's Description:
Good in a Good dust jacket; Hardcover; Withdrawn library copy with the standard library markings; Jacket is moderately shelfworn and edgeworn, but is overall good and intac, and has not been price-clippedt (Now fitted with a new, Brodart jacket protector); Moderate wear to the boards; Library stamps to endpapers; Text pages clean & unmarked; Good binding with straight spine; This book will be shipped in a sturdy cardboard box with foam padding; Medium Format (8.5"-9.75" tall); 1.6 lbs; Black and white drawing to the dust jacket with title in red lettering; 1978, Ardis Publishing; 333 pages; "Chevengur, " by Andrei Platonov.
Choose your shipping method in Checkout. Costs may vary based on destination.
Seller's Description:
Good+ in a Very Good dust jacket; Hardcover; Withdrawn library copy with the standard library markings; Dust jacket is clean and intact with no tears, and has not been price-clipped (Now fitted with a new, Brodart jacket protector); Light wear to the boards; Library stamps to endpapers; Text pages clean & unmarked; Excellent binding with a straight spine; This book will be shipped in a sturdy cardboard box with foam padding; Medium Format (8.5"-9.75" tall); 1.6 lbs; Black and white drawing to the dust jacket with title in red lettering; 1978, Ardis Publishing; 333 pages; "Chevengur, " by Andrei Platonov.
