smokeyshouse's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
reflective
slow-paced
4.0
An extremely reflective and compassionate memoir by someone who, as it turned out, was nearing the end of his life. Set in Armenia, this is a celebration of humanity.
isering's review against another edition
3.0
I was hoping to learn a bit of history but instead I got pleasant reflections on life. Nice and easy to read.
lauren_endnotes's review against another edition
4.0
A "twilight" travelogue of Armenia by the famous war reporter and novelist, Vasily Grossman. His travels took place in the early 1960s, written just few years before his own death.
Poetic passages and philosophical musings weave right along with descriptions of Armenian lakes and mountains, dinnertime conversations, and late-night feasts and drinking sessions.
It's both charming and weighty; Grossman, a Ukrainian Jew, finds a somber and tragic kinship with the Armenian people who were also subjects of ethnic-based genocide in the 20th century.
Poetic passages and philosophical musings weave right along with descriptions of Armenian lakes and mountains, dinnertime conversations, and late-night feasts and drinking sessions.
It's both charming and weighty; Grossman, a Ukrainian Jew, finds a somber and tragic kinship with the Armenian people who were also subjects of ethnic-based genocide in the 20th century.
kingkong's review against another edition
3.0
I'm glad that Vasily made a bunch of friends in Armenia
whats_margaret_reading's review against another edition
4.0
Vasily Grossman's An Armenian Sketchbook takes a tone almost like travel writing in describing the people and landscapes he encounters during his exile in Armenia.
Grossman was in the process of completing [b:Life and Fate|88432|Life And Fate|Vasily Grossman|http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1320447178s/88432.jpg|2435598] when the manuscript was siezed by the Soviet government, and in response Grossman begins translating an Armenian novel into Russian in order to lie low for a while as well as earn some extra money.
Here is where An Armenian Sketchbook picks up, with Grossman arriving in Armenia and traveling around the countryside. The people he meets are diverse, and he takes side trips like the one to Lake Sevan. His prose is elegant and descriptive, every now and again including a story about World War II or some other event that politicizes Grossman's commentary and reveals not only his political leanings but also his beliefs about art and life. This may not be the longest travelogue or most incisive political tract, but the combination of elements makes for a complex and captivating memoir of life on the outskirts of the USSR.
Grossman was in the process of completing [b:Life and Fate|88432|Life And Fate|Vasily Grossman|http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1320447178s/88432.jpg|2435598] when the manuscript was siezed by the Soviet government, and in response Grossman begins translating an Armenian novel into Russian in order to lie low for a while as well as earn some extra money.
Here is where An Armenian Sketchbook picks up, with Grossman arriving in Armenia and traveling around the countryside. The people he meets are diverse, and he takes side trips like the one to Lake Sevan. His prose is elegant and descriptive, every now and again including a story about World War II or some other event that politicizes Grossman's commentary and reveals not only his political leanings but also his beliefs about art and life. This may not be the longest travelogue or most incisive political tract, but the combination of elements makes for a complex and captivating memoir of life on the outskirts of the USSR.