Pushkin FROM THE PUBLISHER
Alexander Sergeevich Pushkin's preeminence as the father of Russian literature is undisputed. Lyric poet, writer of ironic fairy tales, and the author of the verse novel Evgeny Onegin, Pushkin led a life as dramatic as any story he invented, filled with political censorship, unrequited love, dramatic duels, but most of all, brilliant artistic intensity. Elaine Feinstein's discerning new biography reveals a man of reckless ebullience whose unruly behavior concealed an enduring loneliness. Born in 1799, the child of a feckless aristocrat and a descendant of the African slave who became a favorite of Peter the Great, Pushkin described his loveless childhood as intolerable. His perception of himself as ugly derived from features inherited from his black great-grandfather; nevertheless, he pursued love affairs with some of the most beautiful women of his time. When he was only twenty-one, his liberal poems led to banishment in southern Russia where, isolated and bored, he began to write feverishly. In his thirties, Pushkin's marriage to the seventeen-year-old beauty Natalya Goncharova brought him unexpected solace, but it was Natalya's flirtation with the Frenchman d'Anthes that led to the duel in which Pushkin lost his life.
FROM THE CRITICS
Library Journal
Aleksander Pushkin (1799-1837), Russia's greatest poet, belonged to an old royal family that was trying to keep up with high society on a very meager income. Throughout his life, he battled his lack of funds and his African heritage. Feinstein, a poet, biographer (e.g., The Captive Lion: The Life of Marina Tsvetayeva), and fellow of the Royal Society of Literature, has written a very readable volume, accurately noting Pushkin's lack of activity in the Decembrist Revolution of 1826 but chronicling his literary support for that effort. She vividly describes his marriage to the beautiful Natalia Goncharova and her flirtations at court with Georges-Charles d'Anthes, which led to Pushkin's premature death in a duel protecting her honor. Feinstein liberally quotes from Pushkin's poetry to demonstrate his feelings and actions. The Soviet period (1917-89) distorted Pushkin's writings and influence on Russian society; here, Feinstein takes advantage of recently discovered materials and access to Soviet archives to shed new light on Pushkin's last years. Recommended for public and academic libraries.--Harry V. Willems, Southeast Kansas Lib. Syst., Iola Copyright 1999 Cahners Business Information.
Booknews
British poet, novelist, and biographer Feinstein recounts the short life of Alexander Sergeevish Puskin (1799-1837), widely recognized as the father of Russian literature. She finds in him an impudent genius, libertine, wounded son, jealous husband, victim of snobbery and censorship, and above all a writer of inexhaustible vision and vitality. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)
Emily Barton - The New York Times Book Review
Feinstein's prose is energetic and clear,
and she takes obvious pleasure in
recounting Pushkin's life...Such a
swashbuckling, Byronic life -- and his tragic death, at the age of 37, at
the hands of his rival -- makes excellent reading; recognizing this,
Feinstein, an English poet and novelist, allows the narrative of Pushkin's
life to stand on its own terms...this
biography is quite readable and provides an entertaining introduction to
the life of the poet.
Julia Bushkova - ForeWord
[Feinstein's] bigraphy is written without the academician's jargon providing interesting details that general readers of biographies enjoy. With skill she intersperses family history, political background and summaries of his works to keep the reader's interest.
Kirkus Reviews
An accessible biography that emphasizes the contradictions in Pushkin's personality and how they contributed to his early death. In this bicentennial year of Pushkin's birthe, the author establishes herself as a good synthesizer. While Feinstein's (Lawrence and the Women: The Intimate Life of D.H. Lawrence, 1993) biography of Russia's great literary figure is up-to-date on the latest research, it will serve as a readable and reliable English-language biography for the general public rather than a groundbreaking study for literary critics. Feinstein presents Pushkin's life chronologically, from his birth and school days to his undoing in a dramatic duel and painful death. Chapters are concise and predictable. An introductory account of Russian imperial history falls into the trap of excessive shorthand, which leads to empty remarks such as the following about Peter the Great: he "unquestionably wanted to make Russia great." From the start, Feinstein focuses on the juxtapositions within Pushkin's personality and his various situations in life: his perception of himself as ugly and his pride in his African ancestry; his liberal political views and his unsolicited role as the tsar's pet poet; his inheritance of his father's love of gossip and society and his need for solitude for work; and his marriage to the beautiful young wife whose flirtations (if not infidelity) led to an eruption of Pushkin's violent temper and the fatal duel that caused his death. For the general reader, Feinstein conveys some of the social complexity of Pushkin's era and life at the royal court. She also makes a particular effort to make Pushkin's works accessible and understandable in chapters thatcover his most productive periods, offering excerpts to illustrate Pushkin's creative genius. Feinstein's Pushkin is a far more conventional biography than Serena Vitale's recent Pushkin's Button, with its marked imaginative flair and foundation of original research. But for the general reader with no knowledge of Russian, it offers a solid introduction to this literary giant. (8 b&w illustrations)
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