This is the first of four books of the novel, And Quiet Flows the Don. The second and third books are due to be put into ebook format in late 2016, with book four coming available in 2017. And Quiet Flows the Don is an epic novel in four volumes by Russian writer Mikhail Aleksandrovich Sholokhov. The first three volumes were written from 1925 to 1932 and published in the Soviet magazine October … October in 1928-1932, and the fourth volume was finished in 1940. The English translation of the first three volumes appeared under this title in 1934. The novel is considered one of the most significant works of Russian literature in the 20th century. It depicts the lives and struggles of Don Cossacks during the First World War, the Russian Revolution, and Russian Civil War.
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The imbeciles who awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature to Bob Dylan should have their eyes sewn open until they have finished reading this book. This, and not Bob Dylan, is is the sort of thing for which this particular Nobel Prize exists.
Compare:
“Dunia ran in, out of breath. Drops of rain hung trembling on her lashes. She smelt of the dank, black earth.” (page 32)
Or also:
“The ensign was the first to drop from his horse. Prokhor rode over him. Gregor glanced back, and a fragment of what he saw was impressed on his memory as though cut with a diamond on glass. As Prokhor’s horse leapt across the fallen officer it bared its teeth and stumbled. Prokhor flew out of the saddle as though catapulted, and falling headlong was crushed under the hoofs of the horse behind him. Gregor heard no cry, but from Prokhor’s face, with its distorted mouth and calf’s eyes staring out of their sockets, he realised that he must be screaming inhumanly. Others fell, both horses and cossacks. Through the film of tears caused by the wind in his eyes, Gregor stared ahead at the grey, seething mass of Austrians fleeing from the trenches.” (page 219)
With this drivel:
“Where preachers preach of evil fates
Teachers teach that knowledge waits
Can lead to hundred-dollar plates
Goodness hides behind its gates
But even the president of the United States
Sometimes must have to stand naked”,
(from It’s Alright, Ma I’m Only Bleeding)
Well, even I would concede that Dylan does manage the odd impressive line every now and then (that stuff in “All Along The Watchtower” about wind beginning to howl was great – especially in the Hendrix version when his guitar took over from the lyrics to show exactly how dramatic an event this could be). Furthermore, (I will disclose something personal) I’m now in late middle age; perhaps early old age. It was when we were in our late teens or early adulthood that Dylan was most likely to appeal to us. Many of my friends were absolutely fanatical about Dylan. Yet, even among the fanatics, there came a realisation that Dylan was not as good as first believed.
Furthermore, in prose, you can take as long as you like to describe an incident or scene. When writing lyrics, everything has to fit into a few lines, and the words within those lines have to match the rhythm of the music. I don’t blame Bob Dylan for not being able to match the standards required – I blame the committee for failing to maintain those standards. Sorry for being such a snob.
Anyway, now that I have finished moaning about the falling standards of Nobel Prize committees, let’s move on before I start going on about Obama’s Peace Prize.
“And Quiet Flows The Don” is not just about throwing together a whole bunch of carefully crafted phrases. It is Epic in a way that makes other Epic stories seem watered down. Its scope is vast and full of detail.
It’s a long book (or series of books) and quite heavy going at times – I have no idea how many characters are involved – a lot – so that makes it difficult too. Considering the book traces the lifestyle of an entire group of people through peace, war and revolution this is totally necessary.
To add to our pains, sometimes characters are referred to by their first names, sometimes family names, sometimes patronymics and sometimes even nicknames. It’s really hard to keep track of who’s who. Watch out for sudden shifts of pov too!
The pov shifts are confusing at times, but I think the overall effect is potent. We don’t know who the goodies and the baddies are. There are no such people, in fact – many of the characters are torn between the options that circumstances throw up. We see all sides performing in less than heroic ways and also trying to be heroic.
Of course, there are some bits of the story which fall a bit short of the overall standard; you might have to force yourself to plough through dozens of pages wondering what the point is – and then it kicks into gear again. Don’t expect a “page-turner” but this is a book you must read.