Epic and the Russian Novel from Gogol to Pasternak

Epic and the Russian Novel from Gogol to Pasternak examines the origin of the nineteen- century Russian novel and challenges the Lukacs-Bakhtin theory of epic. By removing the Russian novel from its European context, the authors reveal that it developed as a means of reconnecting the narrative form with its origins in classical and Christian epic in a way that expressed the Russian desire to renew and restore ancient spirituality. Through this methodology, Griffiths and Rabinowitz dispute Bakhtin’s classification of epic as a monophonic and dead genre whose time has passed. Due to its grand themes and cultural centrality, the epic is the form most suited to newcomers or cultural outsiders seeking legitimacy through appropriation of the past. Through readings of Gogol’s Dead Souls-a uniquely problematic work, and one which Bakhtin argued was novelistic rather than epic-Dostoevsky’s Brothers Karamazov, Pasternak’s Dr. Zhivago, and Tolstoy’s War and Peace, this book redefines “epic” and how we understand the sweep of Russian literature as a whole.

Reviews of Epic and the Russian Novel from Gogol to Pasternak

"Felicitous phrasing throughout (the Odyssey as "the grandfather of all Baedekers," 155) renders this erudite volume a pleasure to read and ponder. Griffiths and Rabinowitz have created an exemplary and inspirational work of interdisciplinary scholarship. Any scholar of Slavic studies, classics, Russian intellectual history, or the classical heritage should gladly welcome this book."–Judith E. Kalb, University of South Carolina "Griffiths and Rabinowitz reveal the genre's liveliness, fluidity, and seemingly limitless ability to assert itself in modern letters. Newarly every sentence rewards, and will provoke serious readers to pause and think. The impressive erudition and critical imagination which Griffiths/Rabinowitz combine make one hope that this ancient/modern pair of critical bogatyri will sally forth again."–John M. Kopper, Dartmouth College