Description
Book SynopsisThe 19th-century author Nikolai Gogol occupies a key place in the Russian cultural pantheon as an ardent champion of Russian nationalism. In exploring Gogol's fluctuating nationalist commitments, Bojanowska traces the connections between the Russian and Ukrainian nationalist paradigms in his work and situates both in the larger imperial context.
Trade ReviewA major contribution to the history of Russian literary culture. Bojanowska illuminates Gogol's works in a new and interesting way, and makes a convincing case for his identification with Ukraine and his frequent inclination to compare Russia unfavorably to it. Her research is extensive, her argument fresh, stimulating, and controversial. The implications for our understanding of Gogol are enormous. -- Jeffrey P. Brooks, Johns Hopkins University
Edyta Bojanowska confronts head-on a fundamental anomaly: Nikolai Gogol was a Ukrainian, but he became a great Russian writer. She shows how Gogol, throughout his literary career, was deeply torn between his identity as a Ukrainian and his commitment to be a Russian writer. It was his mission to sear Russian hearts with his message of truth and righteousness and show them the way to purify their souls. But his Ukrainian heart was never really in it; he didn't like Russia or believe in it. This is an illuminating, impressive, and original work by a very talented scholar. -- Hugh McLean, University of California, Berkeley
Bojanowska's well-researched, sophisticated, and provocative analysis of the writings of one of Europe's most famous nineteenth-century authors not only offers a new perspective on Gogol's life and works but also sheds new light on the complex and often contradictory formation of modern national identities. A major contribution to the study of nationalism, as well as to the intellectual and cultural history of the region. -- Serhii Plokhy, University of Alberta
Bojanowska's study is the most thorough yet attempted of Gogol's internally contradictory national identity, and it presents a challenging and convincing portrayal of his creativity… For a thorough and insightful study of Gogol's perpetual preoccupation with national identity…there is no better place to begin than with Edyta Bojanowska's book. -- Geoffrey A. Hosking * Times Literary Supplement *
Bojanowska tackles an important (if narrow) subject with thoroughness and care and comes up with challenging and persuasive conclusions. True, the impact of Ukrainian culture on Gogol's works has been examined before—but never as seriously or with a more sharply defined point of view… Gogol's enduring pro-Ukrainian sympathies have indeed been neglected. Thanks to Bojanowska's efforts that imbalance has been righted. -- R. Gregg * Choice *
Takes full advantage of historical hindsight, producing a well-grounded and elegantly astute consideration of Gogol's ever-evolving sense of nationalism and offering a valuable contribution to a growing field of postcolonial studies on Russia… Readers of Gogol will want to turn to Bojanowska's study for a focused and enlightening treatment of the dynamics of nationalism in his life and work. -- Amy Singleton Adams * Russian Review *
[Bojanowska]'s broad and all-encompassing analysis, which harnesses previous research, including tiiat of Ukrainianists (a very welcome development indeed), and combines it with fresh observations, careful reading of the entire oeuvre and perceptive contextualization, makes her book a major accomplishment in Russian and Gogolian studies, a noteworthy antidote to the treatment of Gogol as an exclusive Russian possession. This book should become required reading for scholars and students alike. -- Oleh S. Ilnytzkyj * Canadian Slavonic Papers *
Diplomatically, elegantly, and with sharp intelligence, [Bojanowska] sets out to undermine this 'Russocentric view of Gogol'… Bojanowska gives this complex new problem new life through a scrupulous analysis of Gogol's works, letters, and reception history… Bojanowska's book is not an 'either/or' tract, with simplistic answers to longstanding questions about Gogol's nationality and his relationship to two national cultures. It is a helpful primer for anyone who is interested in objectively reassessing Gogol's purported 'Russianness' and his relationship to Ukraine in an imperial context. Her book's major achievement lies not in the frequent references to him as a 'Ukrainian,' but in the elimination of the categorical and homogenizing tendencies that have put him forward as a clear-cut 'Russian.' -- Oleh S. Ilnytzkyj * Canadian Slavonic Papers *
Bojanowska has written an important book that calls into question old assumptions about the interplay between national and imperial identities in nineteenth-century Russia. Extensively researched and with copious notes, it will be read with enormous interest and benefit not only literary scholars and historians of Ukraine and Russia, but by students of nationalities more broadly. -- Robert H. Greene * Canadian Journal of History *
Table of ContentsAbbreviations A Note on Transliteration Introduction 1. Nationalism in Russia and Ukraine 2. From a Ukrainian to a Russian Author 3. The Politics of Writing History 4. Confronting Russia 5. Nationalizing the Empire 6. The Failure of Fiction Conclusion Notes Bibliography Acknowledgments General Index Index of Works Cited
