It's so sad. I've gotten my first reaction to my new book. Well, second reaction. My sweet husband was brought to tears reading the introduction (possibly because he remembered just how many drafts of each section of the book, and of all the sections left on the cutting room floor, that he had read, and read, and read before). But now I've heard from a potential reader that his Russian friend-in-exile (and more importantly that friend's teenage son) think the title is кринжовый. Ouch. That hurts.
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Why do we need Russian literature? Do we? My Polish friend wrote to encourage me when she saw my linked in post about the publication and assured me that SHE and all her friends still love Russian literature ... even and despite the fact that Russians sometimes misbehave. (Some Russians more than others, and sometimes not just misbehaving--the world's reaction to the murder of Alexey Navalny in prison is noteworthy and important. We need to hold those responsible in contempt, and we need to hope that murders like these will not continue to be excused and ignored by many in Russia.)
When I brought out the book at an Arts & Sciences Chairs meeting last week--fresh off the press--another friend looked at it and called it "cute." She wondered why the preface starts by saying the book took ten years to write if it's so short... But that's just the point--it's not the ideas so much as the tone that took so long to get right. At least, I hope it's right. It might just be cringeworthy...
As I plan a few outings with the book (Louisville KY, Boulder CO), I think about what I will say. And I'm leaning into the appendix where I talk about all kinds of different writers (some--gasp--not even ethnically Russian! and some--double gasp--women!). It's true that the main chapters of the book are about the canonical greats and it's their names that get in the title ... but you know, publishers want you to use the word Tolstoy in your title. And Tolstoy, face it, was a pretty great writer. There were many more chapters I could have written, and some that I did. But I hope that making the case about the big names will convince people to look into the corners as well and to bring some other writers out of the shadows and into the light.
When the new Master and Margarita film was all over the Russian alternative media community, I was not surprised. When it made it to the first section of the New York Times this week, that was something. Perhaps most readers of the NYT already know Bulgakov? I'm looking forward to seeing the film when it gets to the U.S. I'm also assuming that it is better than some of the theatrical versions I've seen where the naked women at the satanic ball are awfully hard to pull off. One or two of those shows (in Chicago, for example) were, well, kind of cringeworthy.
Quick update--my adult son actually read the book, not just the title, and tells me that he knows from cringe, and my book is not that! A relief for sure.
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