Sanin: A Novel
"Deemed pornographic when first published in Russia in 1908 . . . this book drew inspiration from such figures as Dostoyevsky and Nietzsche. . . . Although tame by modern standards, Sanin's combination of sensualism and individualism outraged members of the Russian literary establishment, but appealed to younger readers eager for change."—Publishers Weekly. December 4, 2000."There's little doubt that Artsybashev's defiant iconoclasm . . . has genuine literary as well as historical importance. A significant work."—Kirkus Reviews. January, 2001"Though the novel may be alternately quaint and tendentious, its hero has enough mystery to engage modern readers of all levels who are interested in fin-de-siecle Russia."—Choice, November 2001, Vol. 39, No. 3"Boele's well-researched introduction goes far in explaining the novel's significance within its cultural context including Free Love Societies. He also suggests that Sanin should be interpreted as a modern addition to the line of strong individuals represented by Pechorin and Bazarov. Within this framework the novel takes on a broader significance than just that of pornography or outrageous literature."—Frederick H. White, Memorial University of Newfoundland, Slavic and East European Journal 46:2, Summer 2002"With his masterful translation Michael R. Katz has revived an important novel—one that sent shock waves from one end of the Russian Empire to the other in 1907. Some Russian critics attacked it as immoral, others as a distortion of reality, and a few found some art in it. . . . The Cornell edition is a welcome revival of a good novel."—Rodney L. Patterson, State University of New York at Albany, Canadian Slavonic Papers, XLIII: 4, December 2001"Russian pornography, Kornei Chukovskii once asserted, differs from pornography of the French or German variety by being so thoroughly permeated with ideas. In Artsybashev's Sanin, this 'pornography with ideas' is closely associated with—and openly espoused by"The novel's eponymous hero, a quiet, self-assured, serene, and enigmatic young man, who returns to his hometown after spending his formative years traveling extensively and experiencing native life in a way that shaped his character as very unconventional, individualistic, and original. . . . Michael Katz's lively, highly readable translation is accompanied by Otto Boele's very helpful Introduction, which places the novel in its historical (mainly sociocultural) contest, and by Nicholas Luker's quite insightful Afterword, which explores the philosophical ideas and literary qualities that inform Sanin."—Ronald LeBlanc, University of New Hampshire, The Russian Review 63:2"After achieving immense notoriety in 1907, Artsybashev's classic novel vanished underground. Michael Katz's remarkable translation gives an incredibly vivid glimpse of the disillusionment of Russia's idealistic younger generation following 1905's populist revolution but, in Sanin's bizarre mixture of pornography and preaching, there can also be heard a note of prophesy for a later generation—that of today."—John Bayley, St. Catherine's College Oxford"'Pornography with ideas' . . . and bodies, and brothers. And sisters, and suicides. Sanin has been left to languor too long as a textbook reference signifying Russia's turn-of-the-century decadence. In his inspired translation, Michael Katz restores Artsybashev's bermensch to life. Following the adventures this anti-hero within the context of innovations in historiography and literary criticism, significant new question emerge; issues that differ from those this novel has long been assigned to address. Katz's work allows us to rethink some of the cultural contours of late imperial Russia." —Louise McReynolds, University of Hawaii