My Past and Thoughts, vol I

Alexander Ivanovich Herzen (1812 – 1870) is considered by many to be the "father of Russian socialism".  His influence is illustrated, for example, by the fact that he was the key figure in Tom Stoppard’s trilogy of plays evoking the per-revolutionary period in Russia. 

But Herzen's first,"pre-revolutionary," volume chronicles his childhood, university years, and banishment to northeastern European Russia, a punishment for having been part of left-leaning student groups:

 “His autobiography is often considered one of the best examples of that genre in Russian literature…..the impressions he left of his father and other relations, of the Moscow idealists, and of the leaders of the European Revolution are unforgettably vivid….the first parts devoted to his life before his exile contain the broadest, truest, and most penetrating view of Russian social and cultural history in the first half of the nineteenth century”. (Wikipedia)

For me, this was a very enjoyable, leisurely read.  Herzen's descriptions of the countryside are lyrical. His family was aristocratic and his father played a key role in negotiations between the Tsar and Napoleon. As a child, Herzen was very isolated and his father was forbidding and cruel - his descriptions of his father were initially sharp and severe, but eventually were tempered with sympathy: a striking contrast.  Herzen relates vivid impressions of the Tsars and his sympathy and passion for freeing the serfs were admirable.  Despite some anecdotes about now obscure Russians, Herzen's memoir is very readable and is interesting for its insights into a time when revolution was in the air.

 

 

 

 

 

Warlight

 

Warlight by Michael Ondaatje is a growing-up story told by Nicholas, who eventually discovers that his parents were important British spies during World War Two.  His story, revealed in flashbacks, is like a dream, with vivid imagery, disconnected, puzzling events and colorful characters (The Moth, The Darter, Marsh Felon) who appear and disappear suddenly and meaningfully.  The title references the reduced-light conditions imposed by blackouts during aerial bombings of London.  The difficulty of discerning objects under these conditions is echoed by repeated instances of things later turning out to be different than they seemed at first. 

Besides, hearing another version of the goat incident was a further layering in the world that I was entering.  I felt I was a caterpillar changing colour, precariously balanced, moving from one species of leaf to another.

Much of the war work in which my mother and others participated was carried out, it is now clear, with a similar invisibility, the real motives camouflaged, the way childhood is.

That familiar false modesty of the English, which included absurd secrecy or the cliché of an innocent boffin, was somewhat like those carefully painted formal dioramas that hid the truth and closed the door on their private selves.

 The writing is often beautiful, with lovely descriptions of the countryside or the Thames at night, alternating with fast-paced, nefarious adventures.