Natasha's Dance: A Cultural History of Russia

std as cover thick: Allen Lane, 2002. Hardcover. Used: Acceptable. Condition good with dustjacket. ref ZKVQ Review As epic and ambitious as his first book A People's Tragedy, Orlando Figes's Natasha's Dance is a sweeping panorama of Russian culture over the centuries. It takes its title from a scene in War and Peace in which the upper-crust Natasha Rostov, visiting her countrified "Uncle", falls instinctively into the rhythms of a peasant dance. Figes finds in this scene an ideal metaphor for his book's central theme--the perpetual see-sawing between the European cultural ideals of the aristocracy in St Petersburg and an "authentic" Russianess, usually seen as embodied in the peasantry and the country. The great debate in Russian culture has been between those who have seen it as a naturally "Western" society and those who have seen its destiny as lying in the East and its vast hinterland. Around this supporting central theme, Figes has constructed an imposing edifice. The range of his knowledge and the sureness with which he deploys it are very impressive. Whether writing about the music of Stravinsky and Shostakovich or the novels of Tolstoy and Dostoevsky, the buildings of St Petersburg or the poetry of Akhmatova, he has something new and original to say. The great cultural achievements of Russia often seem, for those who have only a little knowledge of Russian history, like giant mountains suddenly rising out of featureless terrain. Figes's excellent book gives them a context and fills out many of the details of the surrounding landscape.--Nick Rennison Review "In this excellent book Orlando Figes gives us the sight, sound and flavour of several Russias', glimpsed from various angles?" -- Literary Review, October 1, 2002 (by Lindsey Hughes) "One of those books that, at times, makes you wonder how you have so far managed to do without it." -- Independent on Sunday, October 6, 2002 (by Robin Buss) "This fascinating and important book by the author of that widely acclaimed work, A People's Tragedy, is a remarkable achievement." -- Sunday Times, November 10, 2002 (by Antony Beevor) "This wide-ranging history of Russia is one of the publishing events of the year." -- Sunday Times Culture, September 15, 2002 "Written beautifully with striking wit?this superb, flamboyant and masterful tour d'horizon is fun, anecdotal and fascinating, colourful and playful." -- Financial Times, September 22, 2002 (by Simon Sebag Montefiore) Review "In this excellent book Orlando Figes gives us?the sight, sound and flavour of several Russias', glimpsed from various angles?" -- Literary Review, October 1, 2002 (by Lindsey Hughes) "One of those books that, at times, makes you wonder how you have so far managed to do without it." -- Independent on Sunday, October 6, 2002 (by Robin Buss) "This fascinating and important book by the author of that widely acclaimed work, A People's Tragedy, is a remarkable achievement." -- Sunday Times, November 10, 2002 (by Antony Beevor) "This wide-ranging history of Russia is one of the publishing events of the year." -- Sunday Times Culture, September 15, 2002 "Written beautifully with striking wit?this superb, flamboyant and masterful tour d'horizon is fun, anecdotal and fascinating, colourful and playful." -- Financial Times, September 22, 2002 (by Simon Sebag Montefiore) About the Author Orlando Figes is Professor of History at Birkbeck College, University of London. His last book, A PEOPLE'S TRAGEDY (Cape 1996), won the NCR Book Award, the Wolfson History Prize, the Longman/History Today Book of the Year Award and the WH Smith Literary Award. He lives in Cambridge.