Last week, Booknik found out that there is no way they can live without Jews both in Siberia and Mexico; he also caught ancient Slavs plagiarizing, flunked the institute entrance exams, had another nightmare, froze by a broken window, taught Booknik Jr. to count to five with the help of a mechanical adding machine, and improved his vocabulary. Meanwhile, Booknik Jr. realized that he could like radishes but it was no reason to eat them.
The Patriarchal Counter-Revolution
The Provincial “Counter-Revolution.” The White Movement and the Civil War in the Russian North, 1917—1920, by Lyudmila Novikova
The author of this book, together with Booknik’s literary critic Yevgeny Levin, believe that studying the revolution (and counter-revolution) in the Russian North could radically change one’s perceptions of the Civil War.
El sueno del celta, by Jorge Mario Pedro Vargas Llosa
The protagonist of the new novel by Llosa is not a reckless inspector, a super-disciplined captain, and not a displaced dictator. This documentary novel tells about the diplomat, and Irish freedom fighter Sir Roger Casement. There is a Jew, however, in every book, too, as Booknik reviewer Yevgenia Ritz found out.
Apocryphal Metamorphoses
Hidden Books. Judean Mysticism in Slavic Apocrypha, by Andrey Orlov
The genre of Apocalyptica characteristic of the Second Temple period literature was discarded by the Talmudic canon, and Booknik’s faithful Talmud scholar Reuven Kipervasser grieves for the fact. In the Talmudic corpus of books, only fragments of eschatological texts can be found now. Nevertheless, in Slavic Apocrypha there are not only excerpts from the Second Temple Apocalyptica but even the specimens of later Jewish mysticism.
Ashes in the Ocean
The Descendants, by Kaui Hart Hemmings
The Hawaiian American, Hemmings managed to tell the essentially catastrophic family history, presented as a family album. Everything there happens on the backdrop of palms, ocean waves, and flowered shirts. With all this, a broken human life looks not exactly normal but, at least, natural. And the idea that after one’s death one’s ashes will be strewn in the ocean seems to Booknik reviewer Masha Tuuborg much more alluring than a burial in a three-meter-deep hole in some swamp.
…and many other comforting thoughts in the Books & Reviews section.
In the final installment of the Belated Diary you will read about the hunger that was no hindrance for fashion, and the state-approved anti-Semitism could not throw one from finding one’s own path in life.
The Usual Nightmare
We Need to Talk About Kevin, directed by Lynne Ramsay
The film is based on the bestselling book by the American journalist and author Lionel Shriver, and the director Lynne Ramsay is British, but the film, and the theme itself, is very feminine. However, this does not mean softness, melodrama, sentimentality, or humility. The feminine approach is merciless, and the feminine patience is boundless. This is a must-see film, and do not read anyone’s comments on it, do not listen to any opinions. Apart from Booknik’s cultural expert Masha Tuuborg’s, of course.
…and many other must-sees in the Columns & Columns section.
The Sun Shining in a Pocket
We did not quite have time to clean up the stony mess created in our offices by our unpredictable contributor Alexander Ilichevsky when he produced another rock from under his shirt. The glass cracked and broke, and it is winter outside, you know.
…and many other broken windows in the Stories & Essays section.
On January 25, all Russian students celebrate the beginning of their winter break, Tatyana’s Day. As soon as all of us are former, present, or future students, our new quiz will be dedicated to Tatyanas.
…and many other quizzical quests in the Contests & Quizzes section.
Perpetuum Schmobile 27: Izrael Abraham Staffel and the Calculating Machine
Izrael Abraham Staffel, Polish inventor, watchmaker, mechanic, designer of calculating machines, created the best adding machine in the 19th century. His invention received numerous awards at international exhibitions and fairs, yet he did not stop and continued to improve his calculator. He also created such appliances as a fan or a postal stamp-printing machine.
Hebrarium, the Lexicon of Jewish Whatnots: Sh-2
What should be done in the seventh year? What two words became the symbol for Judaism? What do they call the ninth candle in the menorah? Ask Booknik filmmaker Kirill Chichayev — or just watch the new episode of our Hebrarium.
The Flickering Jew 12: The Comedy of Pogroms
A pogrom as a happening, flash mob, and spectacle. This is the approach to the serious and terrible theme Russian moviegoers had never seen before Get Thee Behind Me, the film directed by Dmirty Astrakhan. It appeared in 1991, on the cusp of periods in the Russian history when the specter of anti-Semitism roamed the expanses of the soviet empire again. The film critic and Booknik’s editor-in-chief Sergey Kuznetsov believes that it was an antidote for real Jewish pogroms in those uncertain times.
…and many other unexpected visitations in the Video Blog section.
Have you ever thought that this unremarkable bitter root could become a raw material for carving (sic!) a crocodile, a monkey, a temple, a Mexican girl with braids, or even copies of famous paintings? Mexicans have. The Night of Radishes happens on December 23 every year in Oaxaca. The tradition is 114 years old.
Five Marshaks
Korney Chukovsky once said that there were five Samuils Marshaks, the children’s poet, the playwright, the lyrical poet, the literary translator, and the satirist. If you are interested in this poet, and you will read his works, you could add someone else to the list of Marshaks.
…and many other exciting activities at Booknik Jr., also known as Family Booknik, our own web site for kids and their parents.
Well, let's hang these flowers and get that jacket in some water. Booknik and Family Booknik are supported by the AVI CHAI Foundation.
