"... this is an extremely informative book. It is also highly readable,
partly because of its novelistic qualities: the characters of both Raleigh and his
informants shine through the text. The introduction to each interview includes
a lively account of the interviewee's behaviour during the event as well as a
narrative of Raleigh's various adventures, such as getting lost on the way, in
the labyrinth of Moscow University, or being jumped on by an unannounced
pet rat. The book is beautifully illustrated with photographs of the informants,
for example, at May Day parades, on the beach, or dressed for graduation
ball. At the very end, hiding beyond the Index, are photographs of Raleigh
himself in 1967 and 2005. A valuable feature of the book is its sparing but deft
drawing of parallels between Russians and Americans of the same generation,
leading the reader to reflect on how far the book tells a specifically Russian
story or, conversely, one more universal." -- Anne White, Department of European Studies and Modern Languages
University of Bath, Slavonic and East European Review, Volume 86, number 4, October 2008
No comments:
Post a Comment