Vasily Grossman: A Writer's Freedom

Grossman (1905-1964) Was A Successful A Soviet Novelist, But He Eventually Appeared In The West As The Leading Authentic Dissident Of Russian Literature. How To Account For This Paradox? Being A Witness Of The Daily Violence Of The Soviet Regime As Well As The Horrors Of The Nazi Prison Camps, Which He Help Liberating With The Red Army After The Battle Of Stalingrad, Grossman Became More And More Aware Of The Nature And Forms Of Totalitarian Coercion. He Could Compare The Two Totalitarianisms That He Was Observing In Their Fatal Clash During The Second World War And Gradually Alienated From The Soviet Regime. From The Mid-fifties Until His Death His Works Were Rejected For Publication And His Last Masterpieces, Life And Fate (a Novel About Stalingrad) And Everything Flows (a Novel About The Horrors Of The Ukrainian Famine) Were First Published In The West And Finally In The Ussr Just At The Beginning Of The Perestroika. From That Moment The Interest In Grossman's Work Spread To Publishers And His Last Works Have Been Translated Into The Major European Languages, Life And Fate Was Produced On Television, Radio (bbc), And Stage. This Book Is The First Collection Of Essays In English On The Russian Author. It Presents The Most Recent And Most Accurate Researches On The Great Writer To The English Speaking Public, Providing Tools For Comprehending His Key Historical, Literary, Linguistic, Philosophical, And Political Themes. It Is A Corroboration Of Grossman's Prophetic Words: 'time Is Not The Enemy Of Genuine Literary Value; On The Contrary, It Is A, As Well As A Serene And Loyal Custodian.'-- 1 Free At Last: Vasily Grossman And The Battle For Stalingrad P. 16 / John Garrard And Carol Garrard -- 2 Grossman And The Tradition Of Classical Russian Literature P. 30 / Lazar I. Lazarev -- 3 Ideological Words And Words From Life In Life And Fate By Vasily Grossman P. 41 / Anna Bonola -- 4 Everything Flows But Ivan Grigorevich Stands Still: Grossman, Heraclitus, And The Prodigal Son P. 79 / Giuseppe Ghini -- 5 A Few Sad Short Stories: A Closer Look At Grossman's Later Works P. 95 / Maurizia Calusio -- 6 What Is Human In Man: The Levels Of Freedom In Vasily Grossman P. 107 / Giovanni Maddalena -- 7 The Russian Idea, Lenin, And The Origins Of The Totalitarian State In Vasiiy Grossman's Forever Flowing P. 123 / Frank Ellis -- 8 Vasily Grossman, Human Rights, And Political Institutions P. 141 / Michele Rosboch. Edited By Anna Bonola And Giovanni Maddalena. Includes Bibliographical References And Index.