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Life and Fate
Life and Fate | Vasily Grossman
A book judged so dangerous in the Soviet Union that not only the manuscript but the ribbons on which it had been typed were confiscated by the state, Life and Fate is an epic tale of World War II and a profound reckoning with the dark forces that dominated the twentieth century. Interweaving a transfixing account of the battle of Stalingrad with the story of a single middle-class family, the Shaposhnikovs, scattered by fortune from Germany to Siberia, Vasily Grossman fashions an immense, intricately detailed tapestry depicting a time of almost unimaginable horror and even stranger hope.Life and Fate juxtaposes bedrooms and snipers nests, scientific laboratories and the Gulag, taking us deep into the hearts and minds of characters ranging from a boy on his way to the gas chambers to Hitler and Stalin themselves. This novel of unsparing realism and visionary moral intensity is one of the supreme achievements of modern Russian literature.
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Sparklemn
Life and Fate | Vasily Grossman
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Bailedbailed

I tried. I really did. But, unlike other Russian novels that I've enjoyed, this goes so deep into the Soviet political and war machines that I just couldn't get into it. It might work for someone else! #boxwalla

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sisilia
Life and Fate | Vasily Grossman
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Pickpick

5⭐️ I was in awe of the cruelty in fascist and totalitarian regimes, of forcing people to choose between survival and acting on their conscience. I must admit that I lost my faith in humanity halfway through the book, and was reminded by Grossman himself as he wrote: “But I do believe in the future. I believe that it is not only man‘s power that will evolve, but also his soul, his capacity to love.”

51 likes1 stack add
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sisilia
Life and Fate | Vasily Grossman
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“I was a fool then, and I‘m still a fool now.”

THE END 🥰

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sisilia
Life and Fate | Vasily Grossman
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“... alive today, dead tomorrow.”

I‘m left with the last 70 pages, and feel very conflicted. This is the usual bookworm problem: excited to find out about the ending, but also sad that it‘s ending soon 🤪

Oblomov26 Amazing read 4y
sisilia @Oblomov26 I agree. It is totally worth the time and commitment 4y
Oblomov26 @sisilia read 5 +years ago. Loved that War and Peace sense of an author trying to reflect the entire scope of events which are occurring at a point in history (edited) 4y
37 likes3 comments
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sisilia
Life and Fate | Vasily Grossman
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“To deprive a man of his conscience is a terrible crime. And if a man has the strength to listen to his conscience and then act on it, he feels a surge of happiness.”

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sisilia
Life and Fate | Vasily Grossman
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This is the hardest part to read so far. It‘s so heartwrenching I had to take a few days break

“... if you wish to remain a human being under Facism, there is an easier option than survival - death.”

Leftcoastzen I remember it was brutal 4y
sisilia @Leftcoastzen I have no words for what happened 🤯 4y
34 likes2 comments
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sisilia
Life and Fate | Vasily Grossman
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“What is ‘good‘? ‘Good‘ for whom? Is there a common good - the same for all people, all tribes, all conditions of life? Or is my good your evil? Is what is good for my people evil for your people? Is good eternal and constant? Or is yesterday‘s good today‘s vice, yesterday‘s evil today‘s good?”

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sisilia
Life and Fate | Vasily Grossman
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I‘m only halfway, but I must say that this has been a rewarding read so far. I did a lot of google search to understand more about Leninism, Bolsheviks vs Menshiviks, October Revolution, The Great Purge, Stalinism, etc. It has also posed a lot of questions about humanity, and I‘ve been spending some time pondering about it 😃

Not a quick read, definitely... maybe another week or two with this chunkster 💝

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sisilia
Life and Fate | Vasily Grossman
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“... if the most brilliant victories had failed to bear the expected fruits, this was because they hadn‘t been carried through with the necessary tenacity and decisiveness. At the same time, ... the ability to abandon an objective that had lost its meaning was a sign of strength.”

BarbaraBB So true! 4y
42 likes1 comment
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sisilia
Life and Fate | Vasily Grossman
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Super slow progress with this novel 😄

SamanthaMarie That is quite a chunkster of a book haha! 4y
Sleepswithbooks I love your headband 😃🐷🙃 4y
sisilia @SamanthaMarie Indeed 😁 4y
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sisilia @Stacypatrice Thank you! It‘s Hamm from Toy Story ☺️ 4y
LeahBergen I like the pig hairband 😆😆 I have a cat one! 4y
74 likes6 comments
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sisilia
Life and Fate | Vasily Grossman
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“One of the most astonishing human traits that came to light at this time was obidience.... This obidience bears witness to a new force acting on human beings. The extreme violence of totalitarian social systems proved able to paralyse the human spirit throughout whole continents.”

😢 I pray that those powerful people stay sane (tough luck in this era, I know), and the world peace is intact

BiblioLitten 💜 4y
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sisilia
Life and Fate | Vasily Grossman
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“Sofya now understood the difference between life and existence: her life had come to an end, but her existence could drag on indefinitely.”

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sisilia
Life and Fate | Vasily Grossman
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Because it‘s such a chunky book, I‘m splitting it into 9 parts so that I don‘t feel overwhelmed 🙂

I teared when I read Anna Semyonovna‘s last letter to her son Viktor 😢 I cannot imagine how she felt, alone in a Jewish ghetto without her family, knowing that she‘s facing death soon. She is modelled on Grossman‘s own mother who experienced the same fate. I‘m heartbroken 💔

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sisilia
Life and Fate | Vasily Grossman
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sisilia
Life and Fate | Vasily Grossman
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Starting this now. I‘m so excited!

Cathythoughts I‘m just starting a banned book too , also with pencil in hand 😁 4y
batsy @Cathythoughts @sisilia Pencil in hand while reading gang 🖐🏽✏️ 4y
sisilia @Cathythoughts @batsy 🙌🏻 Fabulous gang! 4y
BarbaraBB Wow! You go girl! 4y
68 likes5 comments
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Leftcoastzen
Life and Fate | Vasily Grossman
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Since @emilyhaldi suggested reading #NYRBchunksters I wanted to show off my old edition,one of the reviews of Grossmans Stalingrad mentions that they overlap .This edition was a publishing event in March of 1986 https://www.counterpunch.org/2019/10/25/review-vasily-grossmans-stalingrad/

emilyhaldi Oooohhh love.... that dark cover is a mood 🖤 4y
sisilia That cover! 😍 4y
53 likes2 comments
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emilyhaldi
Life and Fate | Vasily Grossman
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One of my reading goals for the year is to tackle one of these #nyrbchunksters ... Who's with me?! If any #NYRBclassics lovers or #NYRBbookclub members have any interest, hit me up for a buddy read 👋🏻

sisilia I‘ll be reading Life and Fate on 19th this month 😸 .. Have you read Stalingrad? 4y
Leftcoastzen @sisilia remind me , I think Life & Fate was translated first , but Stalingrad was written first? 4y
Leftcoastzen I read Life & Fate years ago but could do a re read.The others look good too! 4y
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emilyhaldi Oh crap... Do I need to read Stalingrad first?? @sisilia I didn't realize it was a prequel to this book! Or can they be read independently? (edited) 4y
emilyhaldi @Leftcoastzen glad you would be interested!! Did you enjoy L&F? 4y
merelybookish I'm intrigued by Eustace and Hilda. But not sure I can commit because those are some serious chunksters! But if you decide to read it, let me know. 4y
emilyhaldi @vivastory I hope I'm not overstepping the book club by making this suggestion.. I only assume that it's a rare chance someone will nominate a chunkster for their selection? 😂 4y
Leftcoastzen I did! And I could be wrong, but you know how it can be with translations ,they don‘t always come in order especially from countries with complicated politics. 4y
sisilia @emilyhaldi It‘s fine if you skip Stalingrad; the consensus is that Life and Fate is a much better story 🤩 Let‘s do it! Hahaha 4y
emilyhaldi @merelybookish I know, I'm somewhat intimidated by these chunksters, but im inexplicably drawn to concrete-slab-like books 🤷🏻‍♀️ 4y
sisilia @Leftcoastzen That‘s correct. The translator Robert Chandler is considering to redo L&F but no specified date yet 4y
emilyhaldi @sisilia the 19th of this month might be a challenge for me with all the other books I have lined up but I'll see what I can do! Would love to be able to join you. 4y
sisilia No worries @emilyhaldi I read Stalingrad in Nov, and am hoping that I still remember all the Russian names if I read it this month 🤞🏻 (edited) 4y
Leftcoastzen @sisilia thanks ! I read in my old edition of L&F that Stalingrad was serialized in a periodical as For a Just Cause , he ran afoul of Stalin ,it was “hacked up” with a post Stalin edition with parts restored in 1956 .In 1960 KGB confiscated manuscript of L&F,so Grossman never saw it published. 4y
Leftcoastzen Long story short I would try to work a chunkster into the rotation!😃 4y
Liz_M I would be interested in either L&F or E&H, but in April. I am (always) reading nyrb's Anniversaries and have a group read of Don Passos's USA for the first quarter. 😁 4y
emilyhaldi Oh! @Liz_M I have Anniversaries on my shelf too.. how are you liking it?! I think April might be a good time for me too.. maybe we can start to plan a readalong for that time period too 4y
emilyhaldi Fascinating history!! @Leftcoastzen how are you feeling about working L&F into your January to-read?? If it's too soon for you too perhaps we can do another buddy read for later in the year 4y
Suet624 Thank you for tagging me but I don‘t think I‘ll be able to. I‘m so tempted, but I HAVE to deal with the books I already own. It‘s my one goal of the year! My one exception are books for the NYRBbookclub. 😀 4y
LeahBergen @Suet624 I‘m trying to do the same thing (and with the same exception 😆). 4y
Leftcoastzen I could probably add it in , but if you want more people to join in, I could wait. 4y
BarbaraBB I‘d love to read L&F but January is too soon for me. If you decide to read it later in the year, I‘d love to join! 4y
batsy Thank you for tagging me! I don't own any of these and at the moment not sure if I will buy them, but I've been interested in A&C for a long time so if you do plan to read it after March or so, please feel free to give me a shout then 🙂 4y
Suet624 @LeahBergen I‘m not sure why it‘s so hard to do. 🤦🏻‍♀️ but I‘m going to go crazy if I don‘t. I read almost 100 books last year - imagine if those had all been mine and not the library‘s! Good luck to you, Leah. Hopefully we can keep encouraging each other. 4y
Suet624 @LeahBergen Also, did you see that @shawnmooney is trying to do the same thing? Well, at least read or deal with one shelf of books. 😀 he talked about it on his recent YouTube post. (edited) 4y
Reviewsbylola You didn‘t even tag your own sister. Damn, that‘s cold. 4y
emilyhaldi LOLOL I don't know how I forgot you 😂😂 @Reviewsbylola 4y
emilyhaldi @Suet624 @LeahBergen good luck to you both! My goal is similar in that I really need to work through the collection of NYRB classics I‘ve amassed over the past year 😅 4y
vivastory I'd definitely be interested in joining one of these. Are you still thinking of reading Life and Fate? 4y
vivastory And no, you're not overstepping the book club. The more NYRB that is read, the better 👍🙂 4y
emilyhaldi @vivastory yes definitely! L&F is high on my list. Perhaps we should plan on regrouping in March/April to see how everyone is feeling about giving this one a go?! @Leftcoastzen @Liz_M @BarbaraBB 4y
vivastory I'd be interested in reading it. Tag me when others are too 👍 Or, if you decide on another NYRB chunkster 4y
Leftcoastzen I‘m game! 4y
Liz_M I might have committed to reading Ducks in March. 😬 4y
BarbaraBB I‘d be interested too! 4y
emilyhaldi Oh boy! @Liz_M that will surely keep you busy 😆 perhaps the group will be fine with April instead if that works better for you. We can touch base in a couple of months!! 4y
Mdargusch NOPE! 4y
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Simona
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Day 4 #7covers7days

Would you like to join @PlayingBonny ? Post a photo of your favorite covers each day for a week, no explanation, and each day invite a Litten to play the game #CoverCrush

WildQuibble I‘ll give it a go 😊 5y
batsy Nice one! I love the spines of these editions 😍 5y
Simona @PlayingBonny It‘s a fun, enjoy 😘 5y
Simona @batsy Me too, it‘s very satisfying view 😘 5y
59 likes4 comments
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Simona
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Last challenge for this year - done ✅ and my favorite book from this list is V. Grossman -Life and Fate.

#ReadAroundTheWorld

rockpools Yay! And I love your page 🌏 5y
batsy Beautiful 😍 5y
BarbaraBB How good that you managed to read them all! 5y
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Lel2403 I love your journal....so pretty 5y
MaGoose Very nice journal. 😍💕❤ 5y
Simona @BarbaraBB It was just one book a month.😁 5y
BarbaraBB @Simona Yes but I found it hard to find books of certain countries. Do you know if there will be a continuation next year? 5y
Simona @BarbaraBB ☺️ My main source is Scribd, I found most of the books there. I don‘t know nothing about continuation of this challenge ... we will have to wait for @jenp. Maybe @BookwormM knows? 5y
BookwormM @Simona we do intend to continue into next year in the next few days I will randomly select the next 12 countries and post them to the blog and here 5y
Simona Thank you @BookwormM 🙏. @BarbaraBB The answer 👆 5y
BarbaraBB @BookwormM Yay! I hope to join next year again (for some months at least... ☺️) @JenP 5y
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review
Simona
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Pickpick

This story demands commitment, but the reward at the end is absolutely worth the time. It isn‘t a flawless story, but it is the story with clear message - that there is no difference between totalitarian regimes, and is the story through which you can understand without any judgment what it means living in psychotic times when line between right and wrong isn‘t clear anymore, and when your personal moral/ethics is question of the state.

Simona My last book for #ReadAroundTheWorld #Russia 🇷🇺 5y
Leftcoastzen I read it years ago , difficult and worth it. 5y
Simona @Leftcoastzen Oh yes, difficult and challenging, but unforgettable! 5y
batsy Lovely review, Simona ❤️ 5y
Simona Thank you @batsy ☺️ 5y
65 likes5 comments
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Simona
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I‘m speechless ...

Lindy 😱😥 5y
merelybookish Yikes! 😧 5y
Bklover No. Oh no. 😳😧🥴 5y
BarbaraBB Horrible. 🙁 5y
batsy 😔😔😔 5y
39 likes5 comments
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Simona
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From my current read. I‘m few pages in and I already like it❣️

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Simona
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I really like this collection with playful, vibrant #nakedSpines Interesting choice for heavy stories.

#readingResolutions

GatheringBooks is there an english version of the first book of life and fate? i saw on goodreads that this is actually the second book of a duology, but couldn‘t find an english version of the first book. 6y
Simona @GatheringBooks I don‘t know nothing about the English version of the For Just a Cause, but my understanding is that this is not the first book. Life and Fate is rewritten Just a Cause (after Stalin‘s death). I‘m currently not at home, but I will check the introduction (I think it‘s by translator) and reported back to you, if anything is mentioned about Cause. (edited) 6y
batsy So pretty! 6y
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Simona @GatheringBooks From translator‘s Introduction: ‘Intended as a sequel to the politically less heretical For Just a Cause, Life and Fate is better seen as a separate novel that includes many of the same characters.‘ I also did some googling, and it looks that For Just a Cause was not translated. 6y
Simona @batsy I know 😘😘😘😘 6y
arubabookwoman Those look like lovely editions. I loved all those books, though it‘s been about 45 years since I read Dr. Zhivago. I say that it warrants a reread. 6y
LeahBergen So pretty! 6y
GatheringBooks @Simona thank youuu! much appreciated. i hope it can also serve as a stand-alone. 😍 6y
Simona @GatheringBooks I‘m sure it can👍 6y
Simona @arubabookwoman It‘s on my ‘reread‘ list ... because I can‘t remember if I had read it or I saw the movie 🤷‍♀️ 6y
88 likes11 comments
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hlgreenfield
Life and Fate | Vasily Grossman
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I really want this to be my next read, but I've been having so little time to read and this seems like such an investment time-wise that I am unsure if I will manage! But I've heard it be compared to war and peace ( one of my absolute favourites) and the story sounds so interesting that I think I'll have to try it out!

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charl08
Life and Fate | Vasily Grossman
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What I like...is he's not trying to teach me anything.

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charl08
Life and Fate | Vasily Grossman
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A girl was embracing a fair haired soldier... meanwhile the rest of the world was perfectly still.

charl08 Oops, dark haired soldier. Freud, do with that what you will... 6y
MayJasper 😁 6y
31 likes2 comments
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charl08
Life and Fate | Vasily Grossman
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...the strange incongruity between the tremendous military strength of the Soviet state and this dark kitchen with its poverty, gossip and general pettiness; the incongruity between cold, hard steel and kitchen pots and pans full of potato peelings.

Oblomov26 Read this several years back, amazing book which presented a very human picture of Stalingrad 6y
Minervasbutler Loved it! 6y
charl08 @Minervasbutler @Oblomov26 it's amazing, but also Heavy. Good argument for a kindle copy. 6y
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mauveandrosysky
Life and Fate | Vasily Grossman
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A few of my newest arrivals. I think Life and Fate is going to be my next "Challenging Read" that I'll take a couple months working my way through on the side. I've heard great things.

ReadingEnvy Ooh I just got Broken River too. 7y
vivastory Broken River is brilliant 7y
26 likes2 comments
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feministtexican
Life and Fate | Vasily Grossman
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I splurged and ordered these from the UK. They're part of the Vintage Classic Russians Series that commemorates the 100th anniversary of the 1917 Russian Revolution. So far, I just see the Anna Karenina one available in the US. (I'll buy the other three next paycheck. 😍)

Mindyrecycles ❤️❤️❤️ 7y
Books88 Worth it! 7y
unproductivemale Wow they look stunning 6y
kaysworld1 Did you get them all because no have one I think I could send to you, save you some money? Xxx 5y
7 likes4 comments
review
MeaMck
Life and Fate | Vasily Grossman
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Pickpick

Read this book if you're into:
Stalinist Russia
Historical Fiction
Crying by yourself in a busy café

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shawnmooney
Life and Fate | Vasily Grossman
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Taking advantage of the time difference here in Tokyo to be one of the first open my Valentine's Day presents! @Simona oh my God what a wonderful assortment of bookish and other goodies! Thank you so much! Probably my favorite thing was your warm, very personal message in the card! The books look fantastic and all the other stuff too! If you can wait until next year, let's buddy-read Life and Fate! 😘❤😘❤
#CupidGoesPostal #ValentinesBookExchange.

andrew61 There was a tremendous BBC Radio 4 adaptation a few years ago of Life and Fate that may stll be available on bbc archive and/or iTunes. 7y
TrishB Wow 😀 fab gifts! 7y
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LeahBergen Ooo, you lucky duck! I really enjoyed The North Water and LOVE Kate Atkinson. Life and Fate has been on my "want" list, too. Good job, @Simona ! 7y
Moray_Reads Amazing! I adore Life and Fate 💕💕 7y
LeahBergen And I'm a bookmark coveter. 7y
LeahBergen @shawnmooney Cruel. Just cruel. 😉 7y
Bookzombie Great gifts! 7y
SusanInTiburon What a nice way to celebrate! 7y
bookwrm526 Wow!! 7y
asiriusreader Lovely assortment!! 😻 7y
Simona @shawnmooney I wouldn't put my hand into the fire that you're going to read them to the end 😂 ...but I hope that you're going to enjoy at least in a few pages. 😘 7y
shawnmooney @Simona Ha! I can certainly guarantee that I'll eat the chocolates all away to the end. 😍 But seriously, you've chosen well – I can't wait to get into these new books! 7y
Simona @shawnmooney At least something 😙😉I wanted to send you a more personalized package, that would reflect my culture and the area from which I come, but there are problems with translated books... I'm glad that you will give these books a chance and I'm very curious about yours reaction on North Water. 😘 7y
75 likes15 comments
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RachelMack
Life and Fate | Vasily Grossman
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'Remember and that your mother's love is always with you, in grief and in happiness, no one has the strength to destroy it.' #LifeandFate #PowerfulWords #RussianClassic

review
schmia
Life and Fate | Vasily Grossman
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Pickpick

Clearly intended to be the War and Peace of the 20th century -- I confess I am still making my way through War and Peace but about a third of the way through that book and would pick Life and Fate over it (you know, in case you are really struggling with which Russian epic novel to choose....if you are on Litsy I assume you want to and should read both! :)

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AdamDalva
Life and Fate | Vasily Grossman
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My favorite page of the year, from the NYRB's amazing LIFE AND FATE. Chills.

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that_danny_mac
Life and Fate | Vasily Grossman
Pickpick

A classic of of WW2, totalitarianism versus freedom, and the state versus the individual. A must read.

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that_danny_mac
Life and Fate | Vasily Grossman

How can one describe that last, quick look at a beloveds face? How can a man live with the merciless memory of how, during the silence of parting, he blinked for a moment to hide the crude joy he felt at having managed to save his life?

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that_danny_mac
Life and Fate | Vasily Grossman

"What does a woman who has lost her children care about a philosophers definition of good and evil?"

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that_danny_mac
Life and Fate | Vasily Grossman

"A soul can live in torment for years and years, even decades, as it slowly, stone by stone, builds a mound over a grave; as it moves towards the apprehension of eternal loss and bows down before reality."

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that_danny_mac
Life and Fate | Vasily Grossman

"Instead of valour or gallantry, you could hear the sadness of a soul parting with everything it loved..."