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A prose poem about a prim reaper

Jaci: Well, if you’re following the bookclub at all, it’s probably obvious that Dead Souls took a toll on our timeliness.  First he reads ahead, then he falls behind…just kidding, dear.  It was a confluence of events that delayed us in finishing the rather slim novel.  First I got an unexpected two weeks ashore, then I started (and finished) The Swan Thieves by Elizabeth Kostova…

Ben: I had predicted that Gogol would be the potential downfall of the book club. At the time of my prediction, I thought it was because it was going to be a difficult read, full of nineteenth century Russian references that I wouldn’t understand, and because I felt that this was Jaci’s idea of “books as medicine”. I was wrong- instead the difficulty was caused by travel, new jobs, moving, and the fact that our being together while apart book club didn’t work so well while we were actually together!

Jaci: …and then, it turns out that the second half of this book is really just an incomplete fragment that sent its author mad, so it is more a literary curiosity than a complete “Part II.”  And hard going.

Ben: I kind of felt Gogol going mad across the course of the book. I’m not sure that I didn’t just project this on him, but since the author did a lot of communicating to the reader directly (and as the author, not just as an abstract narrator) it was very easy for me to imagine him slowly slipping into crazy. I’m not sure that matches the historical timeline of the writing, but hey- it gave me added interest!

Jaci: The first half of the novel, Part I, was actually quite funny.  I found myself making notes on the funny bits.  He’s scathing on female education (“French, piano-playing and knitting”) and Germans, for example, and the tone of the novel is very modern (it was first published in 1842).  I had expected something much more windswept and bleak and devastating, and what I got was a sort of Russian tragicomedy of manners.  I found myself asking: is Gogol modern, or are we moderns Gogolian?

Ben: And I will admit, I was amused. Perhaps I’ve travelled enough to get the jokes, or perhaps nineteenth century Russian references and inside jokes are universal, but it was funny. The whole idea of this man going around trying to purchase the tax burden of dead serfs really made zero sense to me, and I think that was what created the amusement. In fact, I did not really understand the reason for a long time. My initial assumption was that he wanted to claim he had so many serfs, and therefore was entitled to a higher social position (which is the actual reason as far as I could tell at the end)- but I soon pushed this off as unlikely. In fact, in the course of his business interactions with widows, landowners, and dandies – he seems to have a more nefarious goal, and I’m not sure that this was unintended, but the incompleteness of the second half makes this speculation difficult to prove.

Jaci: It was also interesting to read another translated work; I again found myself wondering how much of the tone of the book to ascribe to the translator.  Gogol has been translated by several authors, but we were confined to what I think is one of the earliest translations, and one that I could not find many opinions on.  In any case I don’t think it was a bad translation, but my knowledge of Russian and Russian literature is confined to four semesters in college (only two of them of real educational value) and three weeks in the land itself.

Ben: I do enjoy translated work as well- but I’ve had better luck with modern translated work. Classic literature loses something in translation, even to read Greek literature, I often have to accompany it with history and philosophy in order to really understand. I’m excited to move to non-fiction. Heaven was my idea, and once again we’ll be getting an interesting new perspective!

Jaci: Next up is Heaven.  (I did that on purpose.)  If you’re reading along, your new dates are 30 Sep-6 Oct (for those of you east of the international date line) and 1 Oct-7 Oct (for those of us west of the international date line) to complete the introduction and the first five chapters.

I discovered borshch while traveling to Tver as part of a language study abroad program with the Naval Academy in the summer before my Firstie year. Being a vegetarian in Russia seems like it would be easy, especially because most Russians don’t eat a lot of meat- they can’t afford it. However, in an effort to be a good host, and thanks to communication difficulties, the babushka I stayed with tended to serve a lot of meat and needless to say, vegetarian borshch was a welcome relief. The secret of good borshch is to brown the vegetables separately in a frying pan before adding them to the soup.  And don’t skip the lemon juice–it may seem unneccessary, but the acidity of the juice ensures a deep crimson colour!

Recipe Summary

Difficulty: Easy
Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cook Time: 30-35 Minutes
Servings: 6 dinner-sized bowels

Borshch

Ingredients:

• 1 onion, chopped
• 2 beets, grated
• 3 carrots, grated
• 1 potato, cubed
• 1  turnip or parsnip, chopped
• 2 tbsp oil
• 2 tbsp lemon juice
• 4 cups water
• 1 head cabbage, chopped
• 3 stalks celery, chopped
• ¼ tsp salt
• ½ tsp pepper
• 1 cup tomato juice
• ½ cup sour cream, for garnish
• dill, for garnish

Directions:
In a large skillet, brown the onions, beets, carrots, potato, and turnip/parsnip separately in oil with one tbsp of lemon juice. Stirring occasionally, sauté for about 10 to 12 minutes. Meanwhile, in a large pot bring the water to a boil.

When water is boiling, add the cabbage, 1 tbsp of lemon juice, and celery; the vegetables will cool the water, so bring it back to a boil. When boiling again, add the browned vegetables from the skillet, salt, and pepper; simmer until the vegetables are soft, but not mushy; about 20 minutes. Finally add the tomato juice.

Serve hot OR cold, depending on the season; topped with a generous dollop of sour cream and a sprinkle of dill.