Nov 28 2018

The Sorcerer of the Wildeeps by Kai Ashante Wilson

Oof, I did not expect The Sorcerer of the Wildeeps to end as a tragedy, nor when it did. Looking back, though, I am not at all sure that the ending is a tragedy, at least from the perspective of the principal characters. Glancing at my review of Kai Ashante Wilson’s other novella set in this world of strong magics and desert caravans, I see that its ending also took me by surprise. Straightaway, there is one of Wilson’s strengths as an author. (I read this novella on my Kindle, and there is a substantial excerpt from A Taste of Honey following The Sorcerer of the Wildeeps, so it looked like I was further from the end than I was. Sneaky!)

The two novellas share a world, one roughly cognate to earth, and the stories take place in and around the equivalent of the Mediterranean. In Wilson’s world, the greatest wealth and power are to be found in the city of Olorum. Reading A Taste of Honey, I thought Olorum would be a Maghreb city, on the southern shores of the sea; from the geography in Wildeeps, I thought it south of the parallel Sahara, for Wildeeps is a story that takes place in a caravan in and around its visit to an oasis city known as the Station at the Mother of Waters. The leading characters are all members of the guards who have protected the caravan so far, and will do so again after the break at the Mother of Waters, as the train of people and camels crosses the magical and monster-infested Wildeeps to get to the fabled wealth of Olorum.

Some of the guards are old, and some are young, some are veterans of many trips, some have left home for their very first adventure. They all follow their Captain, whose preternatural speed and endurance are just a few of the hints that he is far more than he seems. The Sorcerer, one of those making his first journey across the deserts and the Wildeeps, tries to pretend that he is not much more than he seems — he would not have his nickname if he hadn’t already shown some supernatural ability — but does not convince the others.

Over the course of the novella, Wilson gradually shows more and more of the Captain and the Sorcerer. He sketches the other guardsmen (they are all men, as far as is known), giving them vivid personalities and hinting about all the different places they have come from to take on this risky journey. Seeing the camaraderie within the company, mixed with rivalry and the knuckleheadedness of some young men, is one of the pleasures of this story. Another is perceiving how Wilson’s world works, based on the glimpses this tale shows. Socerer of the Wildeeps is a story in the world, not of the world; that is, its characters do not shape the world with their actions. Their stories are important to a reader because Wilson has drawn convincing human beings, and what happens to them matters, and that is more than enough to carry the weight of the story.

I think that A Taste of Honey is a better work, but I also think that Wilson could not have written it without having first written Wildeeps. They both show fascinating parts of a rich setting, and Wilson populates them with people who feel real, whose heroism and stoicism are moving, whose follies are exasperating, and whose ultimate fates have stayed with me long after I finished the novella.

Permanent link to this article: https://www.thefrumiousconsortium.net/2018/11/28/the-sorcerer-of-the-wildeeps-by-kai-ashante-wilson/

Nov 28 2018

Firefly: Big Damn Hero by Nancy Holder and James Lovegrove

First, can I talk about just how beautiful this book is? Titan sent me a hardback copy which, as always, has an incredible cover. That dust jacket needs to be felt to be believed. And it comes with a ribbon bookmark! I don’t usually go gaga over the physical format of a book, but this truly feels like a collectible.

The contents are fairly accessible for people new to the Firefly universe (or ‘verse, as it’s known) but the book will really shine for Browncoats who’ve seen every episode plus the movie. While it’s no surprise that Nancy Holder knows the mythos back and forth, James Lovegrove masterfully continues where she left off to produce a damn fine piece of writing. You know how sometimes you read an official novelization and it reads more like self-inserting, wish fulfillment fanfic than something that feels authentic to the characters and series? This book skillfully avoids any of that while still illuminating not only a huge chunk of Mal’s past but also showcasing a perfectly plausible chapter in the adventures of the Serenity’s crew.

I did have several reservations that have little to do with Mr Lovegrove’s writing. In fact, in many parts, it feels like he does his best to make up for the premise he has to work with, tho how much of this is due to Ms Holder’s benign influence is unknown. The problem, of course, is how weirdly the Browncoat experience feels like revisionist Confederate history. It’s not, but it’s hard to ignore the parallels of romanticism, among others, that make for uncomfortable reading in the era of Cult 45.

My second issue was with how poorly the crew of Serenity treat Jayne. There is a lot of telling instead of showing as to why, and it sets up this weird dichotomy where Mal is a precious fragile bb who must be tended and deferred to whereas mean ole Jayne is always right but everyone hates him because he refuses to kowtow. I kinda want to go back and watch the series again to see if this was always a problem and I never noticed before, or if this is specific to this novel. Tbh, I kinda want to go back and watch the whole show again period. And? I’m totally panting for more of these books! It makes me so happy that two more are guaranteed. I’m also hoping that they go beyond (unfilmed) chapters and tell us what happens after the movie (which I’m currently watching on Netflix having turned it on since the beginning of writing this chapter, whee!)

Permanent link to this article: https://www.thefrumiousconsortium.net/2018/11/28/firefly-big-damn-hero-by-nancy-holder-and-james-lovegrove/

Nov 18 2018

Three Dark Crowns (Three Dark Crowns #1) by Kendare Blake

So I’d been avoiding this book for a while, despite owning another of Kendare Blake’s acclaimed novels (Anna Dressed In Blood, one of many on my To-Read pile) because, while the premise is interesting and the author’s reputation confidence-inspiring, I thought Queen Katharine’s power incredibly lame compared to the other two. She can ingest any poison, wooo, whereas Queen Arsinoe can command flora and fauna while Queen Mirabella can command the elements themselves. But then HarperCollins sent me this book in the course of my completing a survey on fantasy novels for them (with the caveat that they’d ask me several questions about it later on, ofc) and I figured, ah, hell, why not, it looks like a quick read anyway.

And it was, but not only that, it was good! Katharine’s powers in the blurb are deliberately underplayed, as is the fact that this book isn’t just about three queens (a la Black Trillium: shoutout to a classic!) but also about the people and politics they’re surrounded by. It’s a sprawling family saga with surprisingly complex relationships, distressing setbacks and shocking plot twists (and a love triangle that isn’t super stupid,) and I’m really glad I was, shall we say, compelled to read it. I’m really looking forward to reading the rest of the series, tho probably in the New Year, as I have fifteen more books to read and review before the end of the year. Adult me tries to tamp down my rising panic with the knowledge that young, vicious me would cry with happiness at the fact that I’m living her dreams rn.

Permanent link to this article: https://www.thefrumiousconsortium.net/2018/11/18/three-dark-crowns-three-dark-crowns-1-by-kendare-blake/

Nov 08 2018

An Interview with Aliya Whiteley, author of The Arrival Of Missives

Q: Every book has its own story about how it came to be conceived and written as it did. How did The Arrival Of Missives evolve?

A: It started with the voice of my main character, Shirley, and grew entirely from there. I loved her straight away; she’s a teenager who is both naïve and confident, determined and doubtful, and she has all sorts of emotions rolled up together. So I tried to capture that first and as the voice grew I realised she wasn’t living in contemporary times. I placed her in 1920, in a village in Somerset, UK, and the rest of the story unfolded from there. It was a scary journey because I’ve never written historical fiction before but as the story progressed I realised that I was still writing science fiction too. It was only a case of approaching it from a different perspective, which made it a really rewarding challenge.

Q: I loved how both stories in this volume exploded traditional science fiction’s patriarchal bent, and I want to give copies of this book to every sci-fi fan I know. Which led me to wonder whether you write with any particular audience in mind, and if there are any particular audiences you hope will connect with these stories?

A: I’m a really selfish writer. I write stories that I think I’d like, and then just hope that other people will agree! But I don’t write to reach a certain type of person so much as think that it would be great if it reaches anyone at all. And if it fails to do that: well, at least I enjoyed the ride. I’ve always enjoyed stories that really take me by surprise, so I try to find that in the writing process. I hope Missives does that.

Q: Despite the very different ways it was presented — in a straightforward fashion in TAoM but in a far more metatextual, one could even say satirical, mode with The Last Voyage Of The Smiling Henry — I was struck by the theme of social conditioning that ran through this book. Do you consider yourself at all a political author?

A: I suspect everything I write is political without examining it too closely. I don’t really think about it while I’m writing because I’m caught up in the voice, and where it takes me. Afterwards I can see that themes have emerged and when it was time to choose a story to accompany Missives for the US release then The Last Voyage of the Smiling Henry felt like the right choice because it shares themes with Shirley’s story, but those themes are presented in an entirely different way. They’re both about how we respond to what we consider to be the status quo, I think.

Q: You’ve stated elsewhere that Daphne du Maurier’s Rebecca is the first book you read that struck you with its inventiveness, and credit William Hope Hodgson with inspiration for TLVotSH. What other books and authors have made you think, “I have got to write something like this someday!” (and then possibly subvert it entirely!)

A: I think that all the time! Whenever I read something I enjoy I want to give it a whirl myself. But with the books that I’ve loved the most I sometimes feel as if I really wouldn’t want to even try to write something along similar lines. George Eliot’s Middlemarch scares me and inspires me in equal measure; imagine being able to write something so wonderful. And the novels of Iris Murdoch and Graham Greene are the places I go to when I don’t want to see the craft of writing at all but just get utterly lost in the magnificent prose.

I did find the courage to use DH Lawrence as my inspiration for certain key moments in Missives. I’ve loved Lawrence since first reading The Rainbow when I was sixteen (the same age as Shirley), and he was a huge influence on this book.

Q: How did you learn to write? Did you have a teacher who inspired you in the same way Mr Tiller initially inspired Shirley, though hopefully with less personal fallout?

A: I took a module in Creative Writing at University that absolutely captivated me, and from that point on I knew I wanted to be a writer. The strength of my feelings about it really took me by surprise, so I suppose you could say my crush was on the subject rather than the teacher! But my teacher for that module was amazing, and he has continued to be supportive since those university days. We keep in touch and I send him my books; I thanked him in the acknowledgements for Missives, along with other teachers I know and admire.

Q: Do you adhere to any particular writing regimen?

A: I try to write every day but some days are easier than others! I write my first drafts in longhand and it’s the process of typing up those handwritten sentences (some more legible than others) that really brings the book to life.

Q: Are you a pantser (someone who writes by the seat of their pants) or a plotter?

A: Absolutely a pantser, although that’s the first time I’ve ever come across that description for it. It’s all about finding the voice and the character for me, and then I let them take me wherever they want to go. Usually I have a few key moments in my mind, but that’s about it, and I never know the ending.

Q: What are you reading at the moment?

A: I mentioned Iris Murdoch earlier; I’m reading The Time of the Angels, which is dark and creepy and magnificent.

Q: Are there any new books or authors in speculative fiction that have you excited?

A: I’ve just finished Tade Thompson’s Rosewater – I’m hugely enjoying that mixture of big ideas, science fiction, and noir. And there’s a collection of ecologically-minded speculative fiction short stories called Lost Objects by Marian Womack that had me spellbound. Both of those books feel like they’re engaging with our rapidly changing future rather than recycling existing ideas.

Q; You’ve stated on your website that you tend to be drawn to writing about “the darker side of life.” How did this influence your choice of speculative fiction as your primary means of expression, after debuting in other genres?

A: I don’t think I ever consciously chose a genre, and that’s probably why my stories often use lots of different genre elements without really belonging to just one. I first wrote romantic novels and then crime for a while, but in all my books an element of weirdness, or speculative fiction, crept in and I think that’s probably because of my interest in darker themes. I’ve always been looking to explore the strangest elements and emotions of being human, whatever the genre.

Q: Is there any chance we’ll be able to look forward to reading Shirley Fearn’s continuing adventures? I, for one, really want to see what she does next.

A: I keep trying to picture what happens to Shirley next but my thoughts change on her future every single time, and considering the conclusion of the book that seems like a perfect outcome! I’ll just keep imagining all the adventures she might embark upon and maybe one day I’ll prefer one over all the others and I’ll write that one down.

Q: What can you tell us about your next project, Shirley-related or otherwise? And will you be reviving your Patreon project in the foreseeable future?

A: I’ve got a new book out in the UK this week; it’s called The Loosening Skin (published by Unsung Stories) and it’s a noir-tinged detective story that travels in unexpected directions. It will be published in the US by Titan Books in the near future. Titan will also be publishing a novel of mine called Skein Island, which involves archaeology and Greek myths. So there’s a lot going on right now! I’ve put my Patreon project (to write a strange short story every month) on hold for the time being but I’m hoping to get back to it at some point. What’s great is that The Last Voyage of the Smiling Henry grew from that Patreon project, as well as lots of other ideas that I’m still working on, so it’s been great in terms of finding new inspiration.

Q: Tell us why you love your book!

A: I love Shirley and her realisation that the world is so much bigger than her small village. She was a joy to write. She made me laugh but she also broke my heart a little bit. She brought back all those complicated feelings of growing up and realising that everything is not black and white, and people cannot be trusted, no matter how knowledgeable they seem to be. I hope readers love her too, and find a reminder of their own experiences in hers.

~~~

Author Links

Aliya Whiteley

Twitter

~~~

The Arrival Of Missives was published in the US on November 6th 2018 and may be found at all good booksellers. My review of the book itself may be found here.

Permanent link to this article: https://www.thefrumiousconsortium.net/2018/11/08/an-interview-with-aliya-whiteley-author-of-the-arrival-of-missives/

Nov 08 2018

Vicious (Villains #1) by V.E. Schwab

Or, as I like to think of it, A Tale Of Two Sociopaths.

In a world where people with superpowers are called ExtraOrdinaries (or EOs, for short) two brilliant college students decide that it isn’t enough to study them and try to figure out how they came to be. Eli Cardale and Victor Vale are roommates with families who are neglectful or worse, and find in each other a kindred spark of, to put it bluntly, sociopathy. Both pre-med, they think they’ve figured out what makes an EO, so decide to see if they can undergo the process themselves. It’s not a spoiler to say that they do, coming out with vastly different powers and vastly different views on what to do with them. Eli’s betrayal sends Victor to jail for a decade, and when Victor gets out, he’s hellbent on revenge.

I really enjoyed this twist on the superhero genre, especially since our main characters aren’t really good guys. My favorite character by a country mile was Mitch, and I hope the sequel explains a little of his “curse”. Personally, I thought he was a rolling badass, especially on the climactic night of the book’s narrative. I also really enjoyed Sydney, and appreciate the fact that Serena, while nuanced, was still clearly a villain. And most of all, I really liked the way the book acknowledged the different levels of sociopathy, even if it sometimes felt as if all the characters were chosen to be illustrative of the lower two levels of the D&D alignment chart.

I’m probably looking forward to reading the sequel to this more than any of VE Schwab’s other novels, but it’s definitely raised my already rather high opinion of her writing. Good, solid entertainment that leans on the darker side of morality without descending into sickening, whether violent or maudlin, tropes.

Permanent link to this article: https://www.thefrumiousconsortium.net/2018/11/08/vicious-villains-1-by-v-e-schwab/

Nov 06 2018

The Arrival Of Missives by Aliya Whiteley

This is a volume that is dead set on subverting our expectations of science fiction, and succeeds at that goal brilliantly. Packaged together with the short story The Last Voyage Of The Smiling Henry, the title novel (I know that some might argue that its 133-page length renders it more of a novella, but I, for one, laud the return of the short, standalone novel) starts out as a fairly typical post-Great-War bildungsroman featuring the teenaged Shirley Fearn, who dreams of a meaningful life beyond her small English farming village. She is in love with her schoolmaster, Mister Tiller, a veteran of the fighting in France, whose body has been impossibly changed by a near-death battlefield experience. But he has plans for her that have nothing to do with his own physical desires, as he takes her into his confidence for a May Day celebration that he hopes will change the course of history.

And then? Things go amazingly crazy. It would be a disservice to tell you more, but I will say that when I finished The Arrival Of Missives, I desperately wanted a longer book, a 300+ page behemoth, a multi-part series of such behemoths out of this. I want to see where Shirley goes next, I want to see her fight and win. I was so impressed by how Aliya Whiteley takes this dreamy young girl, seemingly destined to play such a crucial role in the proceedings, and makes her even more important by virtue of her self-determination. It is an audacious coup of storytelling, and an excellent reminder of how each and every one of us is capable of breaking the shackles of expectations to claim our own ambitions and victories.

Subversive in a different, less subtle way is TLVotSH. It’s not much of a spoiler to say that it’s essentially an adventure story very much akin to the popular fiction of the turn of the 20th century, only with the genders reversed. I grew up reading a lot of that type of fiction, and younger me never really grokked the casual sexism on display, filing it away in my brain as “this book could really use more interesting women” instead of truly seeing how damaging (and pervasive!) this worldview could be. I’m not sure if Ms Whiteley wrote this story as an antidote, as satire or as counterpoint to those predecessors, but reading it really hit home how little earlier authors thought of our entire sex. Ms Whiteley’s ability to put an entire subgenre of literature into perspective while still entertaining with a quality sci-fi read is astonishing, if not outright genius.

Anyway, I really loved this volume, not only for the wildly entertaining plots but also for the penetrating insight into the importance of female characters wresting their own agency in the face of all odds. More please, Ms Whiteley. With that in mind, stay tuned for an interview with the author herself, and check out the other stops on her blog tour!

Permanent link to this article: https://www.thefrumiousconsortium.net/2018/11/06/the-arrival-of-missives-by-aliya-whiteley/

Nov 03 2018

Traitor to the Throne (Rebel of the Sands #2) by Alwyn Hamilton

I am so glad I decided to read this book! I had a bunch of misgivings after the overall good but uneven first in the series, Rebel Of The Sands, and had prepared myself for more of the same here, but Traitor To The Throne far surpassed my expectations. There were several annoying lapses in logic that could have been remedied with some thought and explanation: I thought the bit with Leyla and the djinn especially underwritten, in part because it felt Totally Obvious what was actually going on despite the confusion of events from Amani’s pov — a bit more storytelling from that last would have done the book worlds of good. Also? The last scene with Amani’s surgery and her thoughts of vengeance needed more writing. These are, however, minor flaws in the face of the sheer sweep of the book, as Alwyn Hamilton shows us both the flip side and the cost of rebellion.

It isn’t a spoiler to say that in this novel our heroine, the gun-slinging, half-djinn Amani, becomes a captive in the Sultan’s court, where she works feverishly to secure her position and earn his trust as a valued aide while siphoning critical information about his plans to the Rebellion. Ms Hamilton has written a really terrific book about politics and court intrigue, as Amani finds herself sympathizing with the Sultan’s quest to secure their kingdom (one should say sultanate really, but why quibble) of Miraji from foreign conquest. Because Miraji doesn’t exist in a vacuum: it is constantly encroached upon by foreign nations eager to take advantage of its unique weapons-making capabilities. Prince Ahmed’s Rebellion displays regime weakness to the powers waiting on the borders like carrion birds, and the Sultan is determined to crush it all, leaving Amani feeling like a traitor to her beloved homeland the more she spies.

In addition to excellent plotting, TttT retains all the wonderful world-building of the first book, as well as the sass and verve of our main characters. I liked that the romance with Jin didn’t dominate the story, and I especially liked the boldness of the twists Ms Hamilton threw in regarding the various characters, and especially Amani’s relatives. Shira is exceptional — a truly complex creation. And I loved how the book set up for the final novel in the trilogy, which I’m waitlisted for at the library now. I have no idea what to expect, tho, honestly. TttT was a game-changer, and I’m eager to see where Ms Hamilton goes with the series next.

Want it now? For the Kindle version, click here.

Permanent link to this article: https://www.thefrumiousconsortium.net/2018/11/03/traitor-to-the-throne-rebel-of-the-sands-2-by-alwyn-hamilton/

Nov 01 2018

In A Dark, Dark Wood by Ruth Ware

I kinda don’t remember why I placed this on my library hold list, but I finally got around to reading it and, hmm. It’s very readable. I tore through the last half really quickly, almost compulsively: it’s written in such a way that I just had to keep going to find out whodunnit. Unfortunately, it was really predictable, and the mystery itself far less compelling than the atmosphere.

Our protagonist, Nora Shaw, wakes up in the hospital after a car accident, with huge gaps in her memory. She’d reluctantly agreed to go to the hen night — or weekend, rather — of her childhood best friend, Clare, despite not having seen her in the decade since they were both sixteen. Something terrible happened back then between Nora and her boyfriend, James, and she’d left her childhood friends behind, moving away and eventually becoming a reclusive crime writer with a need for daily runs.

The hen night is organized by Flo, Clare’s current best friend who often seems more neurotic admirer/sycophant than friend. The other guests include Nina, another friend of Nora and Clare’s from school; Tom, a colleague of Clare’s, and Melanie, who’d gone to uni with Clare and Flo. They all gather in Flo’s aunt’s summer house, a gleaming glass structure in the woods, for what’s supposed to be a fun, wild weekend. Instead there’s malice, carnage and death.

I really enjoyed the scenes from the hen weekend. It reminded me a lot of a grown-up version of Robin Klein’s Games (tho with a completely different ending, of course. No spoilers here!) Unlike with Games, however, I didn’t really care for any of these characters (hi, Doug!) Everyone is a variation on a brittle asshole, except maybe Melanie. And honestly, how emotionally stunted do you have to be to not get over a teenage breakup ten years ago, especially when you live in cosmopolitan environs with constant outside stimuli and chances to meet new and exciting people? I kept expecting a twist — which is what likely had me turning the pages — but it was a fairly straightforward, obvious whodunnit, dressed up with the shifting timeline plot device. There were bits that surprised me — why Nora and James broke up, for example — but I rather expected better and more, and am still unclear as to why I put the book on my to-read list to begin with. Oh wait, it’s going to be made into a movie? That’s probably why: I always consider that a recommendation of some sort, tho I’m starting to reconsider.

Permanent link to this article: https://www.thefrumiousconsortium.net/2018/11/01/in-a-dark-dark-wood-by-ruth-ware/

Oct 23 2018

Bless Me, Father by Neil Boyd

Bless Me, Father turned out to be just the thing for an autumn weekend afternoon. It’s short, light, breezily written and genuinely funny in places, which I hadn’t entirely expected — despite the recommendation that landed it in my set of books to read — from a book published forty years ago about events twenty years previous to that. Neil Boyd relates stories from his earliest days as a Catholic priest in a mixed neighborhood in London in the early 1950s.

If Bless Me, Father was a period piece, as I rather suspect it was, when it was published in 1977 — just a year before Armistead Maupin‘s Tales of the City how’s that for a world of difference — it’s more of a historical document now. The world that Boyd depicts is something I only knew from Andy Capp comic strips (and boy howdy is that a strange thing to put on the funny pages of a South Louisiana newspaper, now that I think about it) and the occasional black and white movie rerun on weekend television. The ex-con who has trouble landing a job, and the accountant who seems to follow him around to ensure that he doesn’t keep one if he does manage to find a place. The neighborhood bookie who keeps racing pigeons, who knew that that was even a thing? (Well, plenty of English people, I suppose, but it keeps proving the point about being separated by a common language.) The deep rivalry between Anglican and Catholic parishes in a local annual swimming contest.

The eleven stories in the book are generally 20 pages or less, such that the whole volume is only about 175 pages. This is a length that has virtually disappeared, presumably for commercial reasons, among the kinds of books I like to read, and I miss it a bit. Sit down with a book one day, finish it later the same day or, at a stretch, the next. I find that satisfying, especially if it doesn’t require staying up all night. By way of comparison, even the light and breezy science fiction mystery of John Scalzi‘s Head On is nearly twice as long. Publishers’ and readers’ ideas of what constitutes a short novel have changed over the years, yet another way in which Bless Me, Father is a period piece.

Continue reading

Permanent link to this article: https://www.thefrumiousconsortium.net/2018/10/23/bless-me-father-by-neil-boyd/

Oct 21 2018

Soviet Mass Festivals, 1917-1991 by Malte Rolf

Every now and then, I like to read a book that is of interest mainly to specialists. Malte Rolf’s work uses the parades and other mass events in the Soviet Union as a lens for examining how that society developed over the course of its existence. Celebrations reveal a great deal about a society — what rulers think should be celebrated, what the population as a whole actually celebrates, how both rulers and ruled actually mark festive occasions — and that holds even more for the Soviet Union, in which people consciously set out to create new celebrations appropriate for the new era that the revolution had ushered in. Rolf looks at festivities throughout the Soviet period, although he concentrates on the 1920s and 1930s. Although he gives careful attention to the well-known spectacles in Moscow, he draws examples from a wide geographic range of places, including Voronezh and surrounding smaller towns in Russia’s “black earth” region, as well as Novosibirsk in Siberia. This diversity allows him to show whether and how the concepts that were developed at the center were actually implemented across Russia’s vast distances. (He occasionally mentions celebrations in the non-Russian republics of the USSR, but he focused his research on places that are now part of the Russian Federation.)

The overall story of Soviet celebrations moves from improvisation into standardization, although always marked by shortages, followed by a long period of repetition after World War II, with a growing divergence between public conformity and private diversity in the USSR’s final years. Public celebrations held a special place for the Bolsheviks because they came to power claiming to speak for the masses that the old order had repressed. Turning out large numbers of people for revolutionary celebrations thus illustrated the correctness of their claim and reinforced their power. At a time when Soviet power was explicitly set against remnants of the old regime, the Orthodox Church in particular, getting people to march in May Day events rather than in religious processions was another step in establishing the revolutionary order.

Rolf documents the chaos and improvisation of the revolutionary days, when masses of people on the streets affected the course of events in Russia’s capitals. He shows how early Bolshevik celebrations sought to recreate this fervor, and he looks behind the scenes to show how organizers competed with one another to define what Bolshevik celebrations would look like in practice. In the beginning, anyone who called himself (and they were all men) a celebration expert and managed to get people organized could have a significant effect, although the people drawn to this work tended to be “theater directors and artists, popular pedagogues, and agitation functionaries.” (p. 37) People argued about whether the celebrations should serve to educate the populace or whether they should provide space for members of the proletariat to articulate their own visions of what the revolution should bring.

Continue reading

Permanent link to this article: https://www.thefrumiousconsortium.net/2018/10/21/soviet-mass-festivals-1917-1991-by-malte-rolf/