A review by ostrava
Taras Bulba by Nikolai Gogol
2.0
It's difficult to rate a book when you lack the context behind the political sensibilities of the time it was written, especially when it's one of this level of nationalism. The book does not only glorify some of mankind's worst tendencies, it also happens to lack the empathetic and humanist treatment of characters that Gogol reflects on his other stories.
This book hasn't aged well. It's an interesting piece in Russian Literature, but one that should not be remembered along the author's best achievements. It's antisemitic, xenophobic and misogynistic. It portays a very toxic idea of masculinity, glorifies war against the "barbarian outsider" and treats Jews as if they were an entirely different species to men, a part of "Ukranian Folklore" we're supposed to find entertaining. Like Goblins. Disgusting.
But it's also well written and serves as a well researched document on the lifes of the Cossacks, a topic that doesn't interest me, but could interest others nonetheless. I cannot go as far as to say it's a bad book, and I lack enough knowledge on the historical topic to probably treat the story more fairly. However, it was a very unpleasant and time-wasting experience, so I believe my 2 stars are justified.
This book hasn't aged well. It's an interesting piece in Russian Literature, but one that should not be remembered along the author's best achievements. It's antisemitic, xenophobic and misogynistic. It portays a very toxic idea of masculinity, glorifies war against the "barbarian outsider" and treats Jews as if they were an entirely different species to men, a part of "Ukranian Folklore" we're supposed to find entertaining. Like Goblins. Disgusting.
But it's also well written and serves as a well researched document on the lifes of the Cossacks, a topic that doesn't interest me, but could interest others nonetheless. I cannot go as far as to say it's a bad book, and I lack enough knowledge on the historical topic to probably treat the story more fairly. However, it was a very unpleasant and time-wasting experience, so I believe my 2 stars are justified.