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Как закалялась сталь
Yüz yıl sonra Ekim Devrimi ve ardından kurulan iktidarların bozulup çürüdüğü ve yıkıldığı, büyük emek ve özverilerle insanlığa armağan edilen kazanımların emperyalist kapitalist barbarlık eliyle yok edilerek insanın kendine düşman haline getirilmeye çalışıldığı bir çürüme çağında dönüp yeniden Ekime bakmak, onun insanın kendini gerçekleştirmesine yaptığı katkıdan esinlenmenin büyük bir değeri olacağı kanısındayız. Çünkü sosyalizm sadece insanı maddi-ekonomik zincirlerinden kurtarmakla kalmamış aynı zamanda ve bununla bağı içinde yeni bir insan tipinin de müjdesini vermiştir. Ve bu tarihsel serüveni en iyi anlatan şeylerden birinin de edebiyat olduğu su götürmez bir gerçektir.
Birçok insanı sosyalizm fikrine yaklaştıran, sosyalizmi kuru bir analiz olmaktan çıkararak kanlı canlı bir tarihsel deneyim halinde kavramasına yol açan devrim romanlarının dönüp dönüp tekrar okunmasının bu nedenle büyük bir önem taşıdığına inanıyoruz.
Birçok insanı sosyalizm fikrine yaklaştıran, sosyalizmi kuru bir analiz olmaktan çıkararak kanlı canlı bir tarihsel deneyim halinde kavramasına yol açan devrim romanlarının dönüp dönüp tekrar okunmasının bu nedenle büyük bir önem taşıdığına inanıyoruz.
432 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1932
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About the author
Nikolai Ostrovsky
25 books139 followersNikolai Alexeevich Ostrovsky (Russian: Николай Алексеевич Островский) was a Soviet socialist realist writer, who published his works during the Stalin era. He is best known for his renowned novel How the Steel Was Tempered on the Russian Civil War.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 517 reviews
June 12, 2011
i read this book years ago and i wasn't able to understand it because of my age, but now is really one of my favorites, i could believe the emotions of the character as if they were real and not something someone made up, even thought i´m not entirely sure if i like the character of pavel korchaguin due to the narrow minded in wich he is portraited and the fact that he has no toleration to other way of thinking that is not his own, and his true is the only true, but you can blame it to the history context in wich he lived.
i like this book because there's not really a strugle between good and evil but just people trying to do what they thing is the right thing and get a better life.
i like this book because there's not really a strugle between good and evil but just people trying to do what they thing is the right thing and get a better life.
July 23, 2020
শেষ করতে পারলাম তাহলে!! [বিজয়ীর হাসি]
খারাপ কথাবার্তা আগে লিখি...
বইটা সম্পর্কে সবচেয়ে প্রচলিত প্রশংসা হল এটা মঙ্গলগ্রহে নিয়ে যাবার জন্য সবচেয়ে বেশী ভোট পাওয়া বই। তবে আমি খুব ভাল করেই জানি যে এই বই আমি মঙ্গল গ্রহে নিচ্ছি না। একবছর ধরে আসলে বইটা পড়তে থাকলেও এবার শুরু থেকে পাঁচ দিনে পড়লাম। এর জন্য নিজেকে রং চা, দুধ-চা, কফি চা, গরম কফি, কোল্ড কফি, ব্ল্যাক কফি সহ নানা ধরণের ঘুষ প্রদান করতে হয়েছে। আর নিজেকে ঘুষ প্রদানের সুব্যবস্থা খুব সম্ভবত মঙ্গল গ্রহে থাকবে না। জানি না দোষটা কার, লেখকের না অনুবাদকের, কখনো মনে হয়েছে লেখকের, কখনো বা মনে হয়েছে অনুবাদকের, আমার কাছে ন্যারেশন খুবই ফ্লাট মনে হয়েছে। পাঠক হিসাবে ব্যাতিক্রমী ন্যারেশন আমাকে খুব বেশী টানে এবং ভাল ন্যারেশনের গুণে একটা ফ্লাট গল্পও আমি গোগ্রাসে গিলে ফেলি। এছাড়াও অনেক জায়গাতে মনে হয়েছে লেখক অগোছালো হয়ে গেছেন। একটু আধটু অগোছালো লেখায় আমার তেমন কোনো সমস্যা হয় না, কিন্তু যখন জানি যে মঙ্গল গ্রহে নেবার জন্য মোস্ট ভোটেড বই এটি, সেই বই অগোছালো হওয়াটা বেশ হতাশাজনক। বইয়ের কিছু কিছু জায়গা অপ্রয়োজনীয় বলেও মনে হয়েছে। এবং এখন পর্যন্ত যে তিনটা ব্যাপারে সমালোচনা করলাম তিনটাই আসলে রিলেটেড। তিনটা মিলিয়ে একটা সমস্যা।
এবার ভাল কথাবার্তা লিখি...
বইটা সম্পর্কে সবচেয়ে প্রচলিত সমালোচনা হল, বইটা প্রোপাগান্ডামুলক বই। আমি আসলে প্রোপাগান্ডা খুঁজে পাই নি। একজন মানুষ যখন একটা আদর্শকে জীবনের সবচেয়ে গুরুত্বপূর্ণ স্থানটি দিবে এবং সেটার জন্য নিজেকে নিবেদিত করবে সেই আদর্শের প্রতি তার পক্ষপাত থাকবেই, সেটাই সততা। বরং সে যদি ওই আদর্শটাকে নিরপেক্ষ অবস্থান থেকে বর্ণনার চেষ্টা করে, ওটাই হিপোক্রেসি।
তবে বই পড়ে আমি একটা জিনিসই জানি, আমি পাভেলের (বা নিকোলাই অস্ত্রভস্কির) কর্মী সত্ত্বাকে শ্রদ্ধা করি, নিজেকে জয় করার চেষ্টাকে ভালবাসি। আর এই জয় করার চেষ্টার জন্যই হয়তো এই লেখাটাকে বিভিন্ন দোষে দোষী করেও চার তারার কম দিয়ে পারা যায় না।
খারাপ কথাবার্তা আগে লিখি...
বইটা সম্পর্কে সবচেয়ে প্রচলিত প্রশংসা হল এটা মঙ্গলগ্রহে নিয়ে যাবার জন্য সবচেয়ে বেশী ভোট পাওয়া বই। তবে আমি খুব ভাল করেই জানি যে এই বই আমি মঙ্গল গ্রহে নিচ্ছি না। একবছর ধরে আসলে বইটা পড়তে থাকলেও এবার শুরু থেকে পাঁচ দিনে পড়লাম। এর জন্য নিজেকে রং চা, দুধ-চা, কফি চা, গরম কফি, কোল্ড কফি, ব্ল্যাক কফি সহ নানা ধরণের ঘুষ প্রদান করতে হয়েছে। আর নিজেকে ঘুষ প্রদানের সুব্যবস্থা খুব সম্ভবত মঙ্গল গ্রহে থাকবে না। জানি না দোষটা কার, লেখকের না অনুবাদকের, কখনো মনে হয়েছে লেখকের, কখনো বা মনে হয়েছে অনুবাদকের, আমার কাছে ন্যারেশন খুবই ফ্লাট মনে হয়েছে। পাঠক হিসাবে ব্যাতিক্রমী ন্যারেশন আমাকে খুব বেশী টানে এবং ভাল ন্যারেশনের গুণে একটা ফ্লাট গল্পও আমি গোগ্রাসে গিলে ফেলি। এছাড়াও অনেক জায়গাতে মনে হয়েছে লেখক অগোছালো হয়ে গেছেন। একটু আধটু অগোছালো লেখায় আমার তেমন কোনো সমস্যা হয় না, কিন্তু যখন জানি যে মঙ্গল গ্রহে নেবার জন্য মোস্ট ভোটেড বই এটি, সেই বই অগোছালো হওয়াটা বেশ হতাশাজনক। বইয়ের কিছু কিছু জায়গা অপ্রয়োজনীয় বলেও মনে হয়েছে। এবং এখন পর্যন্ত যে তিনটা ব্যাপারে সমালোচনা করলাম তিনটাই আসলে রিলেটেড। তিনটা মিলিয়ে একটা সমস্যা।
এবার ভাল কথাবার্তা লিখি...
বইটা সম্পর্কে সবচেয়ে প্রচলিত সমালোচনা হল, বইটা প্রোপাগান্ডামুলক বই। আমি আসলে প্রোপাগান্ডা খুঁজে পাই নি। একজন মানুষ যখন একটা আদর্শকে জীবনের সবচেয়ে গুরুত্বপূর্ণ স্থানটি দিবে এবং সেটার জন্য নিজেকে নিবেদিত করবে সেই আদর্শের প্রতি তার পক্ষপাত থাকবেই, সেটাই সততা। বরং সে যদি ওই আদর্শটাকে নিরপেক্ষ অবস্থান থেকে বর্ণনার চেষ্টা করে, ওটাই হিপোক্রেসি।
তবে বই পড়ে আমি একটা জিনিসই জানি, আমি পাভেলের (বা নিকোলাই অস্ত্রভস্কির) কর্মী সত্ত্বাকে শ্রদ্ধা করি, নিজেকে জয় করার চেষ্টাকে ভালবাসি। আর এই জয় করার চেষ্টার জন্যই হয়তো এই লেখাটাকে বিভিন্ন দোষে দোষী করেও চার তারার কম দিয়ে পারা যায় না।
December 12, 2020
This book is probably the most famous example of Socialist Realism, which was the only approved writing style of the Stalin era in the Soviet Union. Ostrovsky vigorously toes the party line, extolling the virtues of the Red Army, the Bolsheviks and collectivization of farms while condemning the Whites, the bourgeoisie, the Trotskyites, bandits, wreckers and a variety of other imaginary enemies of the Soviet state.
This book is also famous for being bad. As literature it gets a solid F. The vocabulary and imagery are beyond tired and trite, and the character development is non-existent. The book is filled with groaners and howlers, from the scene where Pavel meets his first girlfriend, the hopelessly bourgeois Tonya - he the barefoot boy fishing; she the schoolgirl in a sailor outfit - to that great line "a fierce and merciless class struggle gripped the Ukraine". When I took a Soviet literature class in college, we read another famous bad work of Socialist Realism, Gladkov's "Cement" and we were told by our professor that we should thank him for sparing us from Ostrovsky. But he was wrong. This book is so bad that it is good. It would be wrong to give it more than one star, but I thoroughly enjoyed it. It may not be literature, but it was fun, and perhaps no worse than similar pieces of literary tripe on the other side of the political spectrum, such as the garbage purveyed by Horatio Alger.
I find it interesting to see how many people on Goodreads have given this book four or five stars and have written reviews saying that they found the book to be good or inspirational. It just goes to show how the inspirational power of communist ideas and mythologies can continue to endure despite the horrors of Stalin, Mao and Pol Pot and the downfall of every communist government outside of China and Cuba. I get it. On one level it moved me too and made me wish that there might be a way to keep the good stuff in communism, but throw out the bad.
This book is also famous for being bad. As literature it gets a solid F. The vocabulary and imagery are beyond tired and trite, and the character development is non-existent. The book is filled with groaners and howlers, from the scene where Pavel meets his first girlfriend, the hopelessly bourgeois Tonya - he the barefoot boy fishing; she the schoolgirl in a sailor outfit - to that great line "a fierce and merciless class struggle gripped the Ukraine". When I took a Soviet literature class in college, we read another famous bad work of Socialist Realism, Gladkov's "Cement" and we were told by our professor that we should thank him for sparing us from Ostrovsky. But he was wrong. This book is so bad that it is good. It would be wrong to give it more than one star, but I thoroughly enjoyed it. It may not be literature, but it was fun, and perhaps no worse than similar pieces of literary tripe on the other side of the political spectrum, such as the garbage purveyed by Horatio Alger.
I find it interesting to see how many people on Goodreads have given this book four or five stars and have written reviews saying that they found the book to be good or inspirational. It just goes to show how the inspirational power of communist ideas and mythologies can continue to endure despite the horrors of Stalin, Mao and Pol Pot and the downfall of every communist government outside of China and Cuba. I get it. On one level it moved me too and made me wish that there might be a way to keep the good stuff in communism, but throw out the bad.
May 13, 2012
I read this book long ago. I was maybe ten years old. (30 y ago..?)wow!!!
it was my dad who started reading it. he read a few pages aloud to me and my sisters. we were so "enamored" of Pavel and his adventures alot.
when Dad was at work, we read a few pages ... and then after a few days I red it by myself alone! I could not leave it from me, this amazing book. a year later I saw the movie at a cinema in Tehran.I have strong memories of the book. it is well writen.Yes it does propaganda but it shows a picture of the old Soviet. things that happens in the book, people and environment descriptions.... everything and everything is just so clear, so real! still remember some scenes from the book ... and see. the book is like a part of my childhood.
it was my dad who started reading it. he read a few pages aloud to me and my sisters. we were so "enamored" of Pavel and his adventures alot.
when Dad was at work, we read a few pages ... and then after a few days I red it by myself alone! I could not leave it from me, this amazing book. a year later I saw the movie at a cinema in Tehran.I have strong memories of the book. it is well writen.Yes it does propaganda but it shows a picture of the old Soviet. things that happens in the book, people and environment descriptions.... everything and everything is just so clear, so real! still remember some scenes from the book ... and see. the book is like a part of my childhood.
March 10, 2019
Όχι σύντροφοι, δεν δένεται έτσι το ατσάλι, χαλυβουργός είμαι και ξέρω! Έτσι γκρεμίζονται τα όνειρα και τα οράματα των λαών που εναπόθεσαν τις ελπίδες τους στον κομμουνισμό.
Δυστυχώς δεν μπορώ να βρω κάτι καλό σε αυτό το βιβλίο. Χωρίς αρχή και τέλος, με μια καθαρά δογματική και προπαγανδιστική αντίληψη για τους καλούς μπολσεβίκους, το καλό κόμμα, την καλή Σοβιετική Ένωση και τον ευτυχισμένο λαό που πάει για δουλειά με το χαμόγελο στα χείλη και τραγουδώντας τη Διεθνή.
Μετά φταίω εγώ που θέλω να διαβάσω για τα Γκούλαγκ και για τον πόλεμο στο Αφγανιστάν?
Δυστυχώς δεν μπορώ να βρω κάτι καλό σε αυτό το βιβλίο. Χωρίς αρχή και τέλος, με μια καθαρά δογματική και προπαγανδιστική αντίληψη για τους καλούς μπολσεβίκους, το καλό κόμμα, την καλή Σοβιετική Ένωση και τον ευτυχισμένο λαό που πάει για δουλειά με το χαμόγελο στα χείλη και τραγουδώντας τη Διεθνή.
Μετά φταίω εγώ που θέλω να διαβάσω για τα Γκούλαγκ και για τον πόλεμο στο Αφγανιστάν?
February 6, 2017
Ένα συγκλονιστικό και συγκινητικό έργο από τον Ostrovsky, ο οποίος στην ουσία περιγράφει την ιστορία της Ουκρανίας την εποχή της ρωσικής επανάστασης. Ο τραγικός ήρωας ταυτίζεται με τη ζωή του ίδιου του συγγραφέα, ο οποίος πέθανε μόλις 32 ετών, γράφοντας μέχρι τελευταία στιγμή στο κρεβάτι.
August 10, 2018
Bữa mình mua cuốn sách này, bác chủ nói: "Đây từng là cuốn sách gối đầu giường của bác, giờ thanh niên không còn đọc những thể loại truyện này nữa. Chúng nó quên hết cách mạng rồi". Chẳng biết có phải phút đó, muốn chứng minh với bác rằng không phải vậy đâu bác, còn những đứa như cháu chưa từng ngoảnh mặt với lịch sử mà mua quyển sách về.
Mình đọc quyển này chắc tầm 2-3 tháng mới xong được. Một quyển sách khó nhằn, khá hại não có nhiều khi dở ra đọc vài trang đã thấy buồn ngủ nhưng vẫn không muốn đặt xuống. Cũng bởi mình quan điểm đọc không bỏ dở, hết quyển này mới đọc quyển khác.
Thép đã tôi thế đấy với hình tượng người chiến sĩ Pavel (hình mẫu này chính là hình ảnh của tác giả Ostrovsky). Anh là chiến sĩ cách mạng kiên trung, nhiệt huyết sống và nhiệt huyết chiến đấu trong anh chưa một phút giây nào thôi sục sôi.
Phương châm sống của Pavel cũng đã trở thành phương châm sống của nhiều thanh niên thế hệ Pavel: "Cái quý nhất của con người ta là sự sống. Đời người chỉ sống có một lần. Phải sống sao cho khỏi xót xa, ân hận vì những năm tháng đã sống hoài, sống phí, cho khỏi hổ thẹn vì dĩ vãng ti tiện và hèn đớn của mình, để khi nhắm mắt xuôi tay có thể nói rằng: tất cả đời ta, tất cả sức ta, ta đã hiến dâng cho sự nghiệp cao đẹp nhất trên đời, sự nghiệp đấu tranh giải phóng loài người.... ".
Nhớ lại chính câu nói của anh cũng là động lực theo mình suốt trong mùa thi đại học. Đó là là tuyên thệ với bản thân Pavel, với cách mạng và của nhiều thế hệ đàn em sau này. "Thép đã tôi thế đấy" không phải hiển nhiên có thể trường tồn với thời gian và trở thành những tác phẩm văn học kinh điển thế giới.
Hãy thử đặt điện thoại xuống, cầm quyển sách lên và giở một trang sách bạn sẽ thấy thật nhiều điều đáng quý.
Mình đọc quyển này chắc tầm 2-3 tháng mới xong được. Một quyển sách khó nhằn, khá hại não có nhiều khi dở ra đọc vài trang đã thấy buồn ngủ nhưng vẫn không muốn đặt xuống. Cũng bởi mình quan điểm đọc không bỏ dở, hết quyển này mới đọc quyển khác.
Thép đã tôi thế đấy với hình tượng người chiến sĩ Pavel (hình mẫu này chính là hình ảnh của tác giả Ostrovsky). Anh là chiến sĩ cách mạng kiên trung, nhiệt huyết sống và nhiệt huyết chiến đấu trong anh chưa một phút giây nào thôi sục sôi.
Phương châm sống của Pavel cũng đã trở thành phương châm sống của nhiều thanh niên thế hệ Pavel: "Cái quý nhất của con người ta là sự sống. Đời người chỉ sống có một lần. Phải sống sao cho khỏi xót xa, ân hận vì những năm tháng đã sống hoài, sống phí, cho khỏi hổ thẹn vì dĩ vãng ti tiện và hèn đớn của mình, để khi nhắm mắt xuôi tay có thể nói rằng: tất cả đời ta, tất cả sức ta, ta đã hiến dâng cho sự nghiệp cao đẹp nhất trên đời, sự nghiệp đấu tranh giải phóng loài người.... ".
Nhớ lại chính câu nói của anh cũng là động lực theo mình suốt trong mùa thi đại học. Đó là là tuyên thệ với bản thân Pavel, với cách mạng và của nhiều thế hệ đàn em sau này. "Thép đã tôi thế đấy" không phải hiển nhiên có thể trường tồn với thời gian và trở thành những tác phẩm văn học kinh điển thế giới.
Hãy thử đặt điện thoại xuống, cầm quyển sách lên và giở một trang sách bạn sẽ thấy thật nhiều điều đáng quý.
June 30, 2020
01. Leave all your political views aside before touching this book.
02. Stop looking at the book as another Soviet propaganda
03. You will fall in love with it if you follow 01 & 02
Pavel became one of my earliest 'men in books'. Ostrovsky used Pavel to portray his own life in 2nd person. I've read it few times in Sinhalese many years ago and every single time it managed to capture my heart a little bit more. Found the English Translation accidentally and I just had to read it no matter what. Memories came flooding with every mental picture I created two decades ago.
I've always found this story so fascinating and mind blowing. The love, the courage, the determination I saw in it is brutal & captivating. Ostrovsky wrote a timeless classic with such passion, it speaks in volumes.
I think, no matter what you believe in, everyone should give it a try. Not everything is meant to be pushed under the sheets cos of 'political beliefs'. Specially not classics like this.
02. Stop looking at the book as another Soviet propaganda
03. You will fall in love with it if you follow 01 & 02
Pavel became one of my earliest 'men in books'. Ostrovsky used Pavel to portray his own life in 2nd person. I've read it few times in Sinhalese many years ago and every single time it managed to capture my heart a little bit more. Found the English Translation accidentally and I just had to read it no matter what. Memories came flooding with every mental picture I created two decades ago.
I've always found this story so fascinating and mind blowing. The love, the courage, the determination I saw in it is brutal & captivating. Ostrovsky wrote a timeless classic with such passion, it speaks in volumes.
I think, no matter what you believe in, everyone should give it a try. Not everything is meant to be pushed under the sheets cos of 'political beliefs'. Specially not classics like this.
December 27, 2024
Abenteuerroman eines Schlafwandlers mit an Lichtgeschwindigkeit grenzendem Erzähltempo – unselbstbestimmt und mutig bis zum Schluss
Inhalt: 4/5 Sterne (spannend, aber bieder)
Form: 3/5 Sterne (trocken, mit Zuckerbäckerkitsch)
Erzählstimme: 4/5 Sterne (fesselnd-auktorial)
Komposition: 3/5 Sterne (biographisch-chronologisch)
Leseerlebnis: 3/5 Sterne (abwechslungsreich, doch etwas fade)
773 Mal wurde dieser einzige fertiggestellte Roman von Nikolai Ostrowski allein in der Sowjetunion nachgedruckt mit einer geschätzten Gesamtauflage von über 53 Millionen weltweit. Das Buch dient als Paradebeispiel für den sozialistischen Realismus und fand in vielen Ländern Eingang in den Kanon als Schullektüre. Der Held des Romans heißt Pawel Kortschagin, ein unermüdlicher Streiter für die gute Sache, und zwar von Anfang. Das Buch beginnt in Pawels Jugend, im Alter von fünfzehn im Jahre 1915, und endet neun Jahre später, im Jahre 1924 im Alter von vierundzwanzig. Die Zahlenmystik zeigt. Es handelt sich um eine Art Heiligenlegende:
Kortschagin stützte den Kopf in beide Hände und verfiel in Grübeln. Vor seinen Augen zog sein ganzes Leben vorüber, von seiner Kindheit bis in die letzten Tage hinein. Hatte er seine vierundzwanzig Jahre gut oder schlecht ausgenutzt? Wie ein unvoreingenommener Richter sichtete er in seinem Gedächtnis Jahr um Jahr, überprüfte sein ganzes Leben und stellte mit großer Genugtuung fest […] dass er die Tage des Kampfes nicht verschlafen, dass er im eisernen Ringen um ein neues Leben seinen Mann gestanden hatte und dass auf dem purpurroten Banner der Revolution auch einige Blutstropfen von ihm waren.
Mit großer Schlichtheit, wenig Ornamenten, mit harter, direkter Sprache erzählt eine auktoriale Erzählstimme die Ereignisse von den Anfängen des 1. Weltkrieges, über die Oktoberrevolution 1917 und anschließenden Bürgerkriegswirren bis hin zum Tode Lenins. Das Unpersönliche schlägt sich auf Schritt und Tritt im Text nieder. Psychologisierung wird kleingeschrieben. Reflexionen gibt es so gut wie gar keine. Für Beschreibung haben die Figuren und die Erzählstimme schlicht keine Zeit.
In derselben Sekunde ratterte das Maschinengewehr in fiebriger Hast. Toptalo stürzte samt seinem Rappen, von einem Dutzend Kugeln getroffen, zu Boden. Erschrocken schnaubend bäumte sich Pawels Pferd und trug den Reiter über die Gefallenen, direkt auf die Männer am Maschinengewehr zu. Der Säbel beschrieb einen funkensprühenden Bogen und drang in das blaue Viereck einer Mütze ein. Wieder flog der Säbel in die Höhe, um auf einen anderen Schädel niederzusausen. Doch das feurige Pferd sprang zur Seite. Gleich einem reißenden Gebirgsfluss ergoss sich die Schwadron über den Kreuzweg. Dutzende von Säbeln sausten durch die Luft.
Was sich wie ein Abenteuerroman liest, bleibt auch einer, nur dass für Zärtlichkeiten, für Hoffnung, für Sentimentalität in der Welt von Pawel Kortschagin kein Platz und keine Zeit ist. Er muss weiterziehen, weiterkämpfen, unaufhörlich sich für die gute Sache in die Bresche schlagen, bis sein junger Körper schließlich aufgibt und die Waffen streckt. Erst dann kann er verschnaufen und von seinen Taten als Schriftsteller berichten. Leider bleibt dieser proletarische Entwicklungsroman stellenweise sehr episodenhaft und hektisch, die innerparteilichen Widersprüche unklar, die Weltsituation nur Skizze.
Die Unruhe vertreibt eine gewisse Bestimmtheit und Klarheit. Pawel erscheint wie getrieben, rastlos, besessen, da ihm die hierfür notwendige Innerlichkeit fehlt. Das aber ist gerade Programm des sozialistischen Realismus. Die Figuren wirken wie Schlafwandler in einer chaotischen Welt, die deshalb dem großen Anderen, der Partei, vertrauen müssen, die all ihr Schritte lenkt. Für ein Zeitpanorama zu wenig, für eine Heldengeschichte etwas zu viel, bleibt dennoch genug Roman zwischendrin übrig. Franziska Linkerhand von Brigitte Reimann, Rummelplatz von Werner Bräunig oder Peter Weiss' Die Ästhetik des Widerstands wirken in jedem Fall ausgefeilter.
---------------------------------
---------------------------------
Details – ab hier Spoilergefahr (zur Erinnerung für mich):
---------------------------------
---------------------------------
Inhalt:
● Hauptfigur: Pawel Kortschagin, Sohn von Maria Jakowlewna, Bruder von Artjom, mit dem Heimat Schepetowka in der Ukraine 1915 (1. Weltkrieg) bis 1924 (Lenins Tod). Seine Lebensetappen besitzen jeweils eine Frau, um die sich Pawels Gefühle drehen: Tonja Tumanowa (Jugend); Rita Ustinowitsch (junge Erwachsenenzeit); Taja Kützman (reife Erwachsenenzeit).
● Plotskizze: Pawel lebt als Raufbold, fliegt aus der Schule, erlebt Misshandlung und Brutalität, rebelliert, schließt sich den Sowjets an, zieht in den Krieg, wird verletzt, wird Jugendagitator, arbeitet sich bei einem Eisenbahnbau halb tot, genest, zieht sich bleibende Schäden zu, muss zur Kur, erblindet schließlich, kann kaum noch gehen, beginnt zu schreiben, veröffentlicht sein erstes Buch.
● Wichtige Ereignisse: 1. Weltkrieg; Pogrome gegen Juden; Oktoberrevolution; Probleme beim Wiederaufbau; Kulaken- und Trotzkistenbekämpfung; Tod Lenins.
● Genauer Handlungsverlauf: 1. Teil mit 9 Kapitel. Pawel fliegt wegen Streich an einem Popen mit zwölf von der Schule; arbeitet daraufhin in der Bahnhofswirtschaft, erlebt schlimme Ausbeutung, Vergewaltigungen und Prostitution. Pawel erbeutet sich nach diversen Aufständen ein Gewehr, muss es aber wieder abgeben, stiehlt die Pistole vom Nachbarn Leszczynski. Beginnt eine zarte Romanze mit Tonja, auf die auch Viktor Leszczynski ein Auge geworfen hat. Während der deutschen Besatzung rebelliert Artjom und bringt mit der Lokomotive keinen Nachschub an die Front. 1919 kommt es zu einem brutalen Pogrom durch nicht näher bestimmte ukrainische und polnische Banden: Petljura-Banden, Pawljuk-, Golub-Leute. Fjodor Shuchrai agitiert für die Sowjets. Als Shuchrai festgenommen wird, verhilft ihm Pawel zur Flucht, Lisa Leszczynski bezeugt Pawels Hilfe und verrät es Viktor, ihrem Bruder, der Pawel verpetzt, woraufhin Pawel festgenommen wird. Im Gefängnis bietet sich ihm Christina an, die nicht durch Vergewaltigung entjungfert werden will, Pawel geht darauf nicht ein. Ein Rittmeister setzt die Gefangenen nach misslungener Parade frei, um den Petljura nicht zu verärgern. Pawel flieht zu Tonja, die ihm mit Artjom hilft, mit der Eisenbahn nach Kasatin zu gelangen. Umkämpftes Schepetowka, mal von den Rot-, mal von Weißgardisten besetzt. Hausdurchsuchung beim Wirt, der vorgibt, keine Vorräte zu haben. Die Sowjets kämpfen um Kiew, müssen sich zurückziehen, gehen gegen die Machnowschtschina (Syndikalanarchisten) vor. In den Bürgerkriegswirren verletzt sich Pawel als Budjonny-Reiter, fällt ins Koma, fährt zurück zur Mutter. Dezember 1920 fährt Pawel zurück nach Kiew. Ende 1. Teil.
2. Teil mit 9 Kapitel. Pawel soll zum Jung-Agitator geschult werden, bricht wegen seiner romantischen Gefühle für Rita die Schulung ab. Probleme mit der Holzbeschaffung, das Holz bleibt liegen, wird geklaut, es muss eine Bahn gebaut werden. Bau der Eisenbahnstrecke im Wind und Wetter, Regen, Matsch, Typhus, Erkältung. Pawel erschöpft sich total, fällt tot um. Er wird gerade so zurück zur Mutter gebracht, wo er genest, sein Bruder hat geheiratet und lebt als Kleinbauer. Pawel will zurück in die Stadt, zur Industrie. Nach Rückkehr sind viele Freunde fort. Er findet Anstellung, muss aber seinen Vorabeiterplatz Zwetajew überlassen, der aber an Rückhalt verliert. Auf einem Nachhauseweg mit Anna wird Pawel überfallen, kann Anna gerade so vor einer Vergewaltigung retten. Acht Monate später reitet Pawel im Grenzbataillon an der polnischen Grenze. Es kommt zu Bauernschlägereien. Jagd auf Räuberband Antonjuk. Große Parade der Sowjets an der Grenze. Innerparteiliche Machtkämpfe gegen Trotzkisten. Lenin stirbt. Artjom tritt der Partei bei. Reden. Rita nun Mitglied beim ZK. Pawel und sie treffen sich beim 6. Kongress des Kommunistischen Jugendverbandes. Brief von Rita. Sie ist nun verheiratet. Gesundheit von Pawel geht den Bach runter, wird zur Kur geschickt, schwere, unheilbare Entzündung in der Wirbelsäule, Lähmungserscheinungen. Besucht auf Wunsch seiner Mutter die Familie Kützam, die unter dem Vater leidet. Pawel verspricht zu helfen. Reist zurück nach Kiew, aber nicht mehr verwendbar für die Arbeit. Er ist am Boden zerstört, kehrt zurück an die Krim zur Familie Kützam, überlegt sich umzubringen, entschließt sich, es nicht zu tun. Heiratet die jüngste Tochter der Familie Kützam, Taja, und überzeugt sie, der Partei beizutreten. Ziehen weg. Pawel beginnt zu schreiben, Beine versagen ihm den Dienst, er verliert das Augenlicht. Er diktiert seinen ersten Roman „Die Sturmgeborenen“. Seine Mutter kümmert sich um ihn. Das Buch wird angenommen.
… fesselnd, viele Wendungen, ein Auf und Ab der Geschichte, ein wenig Propaganda, aber hauptsächlich wie ein Jules Vernes- oder Karl May-Buch gehalten, überzeugende Figuren, viel Handlung, wenig Reflexion, aber Handlung spannungsgeladen, nie uninteressant. Teilweise zu kurz angerissen, zu wenig beschrieben, zu schnell, insbesondere gegen Ende des Buches, auch etwas ernüchternd, dass es sich dann doch wieder um eine Künstlerkarriere handelt; und etwas zu sehr an eine Heiligengeschichte angelehnt, Pawel, der züchtige, der am Ende von seiner Mutter Maria gepflegt wird, während er das Buch schreibt. --> 4 Sterne
Form: Sehr reduzierte Sprache, aber dennoch wohlaustariert. Teilweise ruppig, aber nie banal, eher klassisch, ohne Ausrutscher, abwechslungsreich, teilweise gewollte Vergleiche, Wortfeldmischungen, gespielte Wissenschaftlichkeit, etwas hart-züchtiger Ton. Keine aufregende, aber dienliche Sprache. Instrumentell. Kurzsatzschreibweise. --> 3 Sterne
Erzählstimme: Beginnt personal erzählt, aus Sicht des Reflektors Pawel, im Rückblick. Dann mehr und mehr Episodenroman, mit wechselnden Reflektoren, und irgendwann dann auch kommentierender auktorialer Erzähler, der Überblick demonstriert und Wertungen ausspricht. Hier tritt klar die Propagandafunktion zutage, aber sehr selten. Der Erzählkommentar hält sich stark zurück. Moderates auktoriales Erzählen, das durch die Wirren im Krieg Rechtfertigung erhält. Montage mit Tagebucheinträgen, Reden und längeren, direkten Erzählungen von Figuren. Dadurch lebendig, abwechslungsreich, kameraschnittartig. Auch die Verwendung des narrativen Präsens interessant. Teilweise sehr immersiv. Etwas unentschieden und hastig hier und da. --> 4 Sterne
Komposition: Da Biographie eines proletarischen Vorzeigehelden chronologisch, mit ein paar Abschweifungen. Es geht darum, dass Pawel seinen Platz in der Welt findet und sich nicht von Saufereien, Sex und Saubeuteleien ablenken lässt. Pawel hält sich tadellos, nur sein Körper gibt nach. Kriegsverletzung durch Granatsplitter, die harte Arbeit beim Eisenbahnbau bis zur Erschöpfung. Kompositorisches Element das Materielle des Lebens: die Grenze des Zumutbaren, und der grenzenlose Wille, über sich hinaus zu wachsen. Zusammengehalten wird alles dadurch, dass Pawel stets versucht, etwas der Sache der Befreiung der Menschen beizutragen, selbst als blinder und gelähmter. Klare Verwendung der Tempi-Wechsel, das Ein- und Wegtauchen in die historischen Etappen, die Skizzierung der Probleme, aber stets motiviert durch deutliche Beschreibung der Grausamkeiten von Räuberbanden und Pogromhäschern. --> 3 Sterne
Leseerlebnis: Flüssiges, schnelles, interessantes und mitreißendes Lesen, das gegen Ende aber durch das Abflachen des Sujets enttäuscht wird. Pawel wird Schriftsteller – die eigentliche Karriere heißt also auch hier: Teil der Nomenklatura werden. Werner Bräunig hat da einen anderen „Entwicklungsroman“ geschrieben, Brigitte Reimann auch. Eher als Jugendbuch einschätzbar. Szenische Höhepunkte: der Krieg bei Lwow, der Eisenbahnbau in der Nähe von Bojarka. --> 3 Sterne
Inhalt: 4/5 Sterne (spannend, aber bieder)
Form: 3/5 Sterne (trocken, mit Zuckerbäckerkitsch)
Erzählstimme: 4/5 Sterne (fesselnd-auktorial)
Komposition: 3/5 Sterne (biographisch-chronologisch)
Leseerlebnis: 3/5 Sterne (abwechslungsreich, doch etwas fade)
773 Mal wurde dieser einzige fertiggestellte Roman von Nikolai Ostrowski allein in der Sowjetunion nachgedruckt mit einer geschätzten Gesamtauflage von über 53 Millionen weltweit. Das Buch dient als Paradebeispiel für den sozialistischen Realismus und fand in vielen Ländern Eingang in den Kanon als Schullektüre. Der Held des Romans heißt Pawel Kortschagin, ein unermüdlicher Streiter für die gute Sache, und zwar von Anfang. Das Buch beginnt in Pawels Jugend, im Alter von fünfzehn im Jahre 1915, und endet neun Jahre später, im Jahre 1924 im Alter von vierundzwanzig. Die Zahlenmystik zeigt. Es handelt sich um eine Art Heiligenlegende:
Kortschagin stützte den Kopf in beide Hände und verfiel in Grübeln. Vor seinen Augen zog sein ganzes Leben vorüber, von seiner Kindheit bis in die letzten Tage hinein. Hatte er seine vierundzwanzig Jahre gut oder schlecht ausgenutzt? Wie ein unvoreingenommener Richter sichtete er in seinem Gedächtnis Jahr um Jahr, überprüfte sein ganzes Leben und stellte mit großer Genugtuung fest […] dass er die Tage des Kampfes nicht verschlafen, dass er im eisernen Ringen um ein neues Leben seinen Mann gestanden hatte und dass auf dem purpurroten Banner der Revolution auch einige Blutstropfen von ihm waren.
Mit großer Schlichtheit, wenig Ornamenten, mit harter, direkter Sprache erzählt eine auktoriale Erzählstimme die Ereignisse von den Anfängen des 1. Weltkrieges, über die Oktoberrevolution 1917 und anschließenden Bürgerkriegswirren bis hin zum Tode Lenins. Das Unpersönliche schlägt sich auf Schritt und Tritt im Text nieder. Psychologisierung wird kleingeschrieben. Reflexionen gibt es so gut wie gar keine. Für Beschreibung haben die Figuren und die Erzählstimme schlicht keine Zeit.
In derselben Sekunde ratterte das Maschinengewehr in fiebriger Hast. Toptalo stürzte samt seinem Rappen, von einem Dutzend Kugeln getroffen, zu Boden. Erschrocken schnaubend bäumte sich Pawels Pferd und trug den Reiter über die Gefallenen, direkt auf die Männer am Maschinengewehr zu. Der Säbel beschrieb einen funkensprühenden Bogen und drang in das blaue Viereck einer Mütze ein. Wieder flog der Säbel in die Höhe, um auf einen anderen Schädel niederzusausen. Doch das feurige Pferd sprang zur Seite. Gleich einem reißenden Gebirgsfluss ergoss sich die Schwadron über den Kreuzweg. Dutzende von Säbeln sausten durch die Luft.
Was sich wie ein Abenteuerroman liest, bleibt auch einer, nur dass für Zärtlichkeiten, für Hoffnung, für Sentimentalität in der Welt von Pawel Kortschagin kein Platz und keine Zeit ist. Er muss weiterziehen, weiterkämpfen, unaufhörlich sich für die gute Sache in die Bresche schlagen, bis sein junger Körper schließlich aufgibt und die Waffen streckt. Erst dann kann er verschnaufen und von seinen Taten als Schriftsteller berichten. Leider bleibt dieser proletarische Entwicklungsroman stellenweise sehr episodenhaft und hektisch, die innerparteilichen Widersprüche unklar, die Weltsituation nur Skizze.
Die Unruhe vertreibt eine gewisse Bestimmtheit und Klarheit. Pawel erscheint wie getrieben, rastlos, besessen, da ihm die hierfür notwendige Innerlichkeit fehlt. Das aber ist gerade Programm des sozialistischen Realismus. Die Figuren wirken wie Schlafwandler in einer chaotischen Welt, die deshalb dem großen Anderen, der Partei, vertrauen müssen, die all ihr Schritte lenkt. Für ein Zeitpanorama zu wenig, für eine Heldengeschichte etwas zu viel, bleibt dennoch genug Roman zwischendrin übrig. Franziska Linkerhand von Brigitte Reimann, Rummelplatz von Werner Bräunig oder Peter Weiss' Die Ästhetik des Widerstands wirken in jedem Fall ausgefeilter.
---------------------------------
---------------------------------
Details – ab hier Spoilergefahr (zur Erinnerung für mich):
---------------------------------
---------------------------------
Inhalt:
● Hauptfigur: Pawel Kortschagin, Sohn von Maria Jakowlewna, Bruder von Artjom, mit dem Heimat Schepetowka in der Ukraine 1915 (1. Weltkrieg) bis 1924 (Lenins Tod). Seine Lebensetappen besitzen jeweils eine Frau, um die sich Pawels Gefühle drehen: Tonja Tumanowa (Jugend); Rita Ustinowitsch (junge Erwachsenenzeit); Taja Kützman (reife Erwachsenenzeit).
● Plotskizze: Pawel lebt als Raufbold, fliegt aus der Schule, erlebt Misshandlung und Brutalität, rebelliert, schließt sich den Sowjets an, zieht in den Krieg, wird verletzt, wird Jugendagitator, arbeitet sich bei einem Eisenbahnbau halb tot, genest, zieht sich bleibende Schäden zu, muss zur Kur, erblindet schließlich, kann kaum noch gehen, beginnt zu schreiben, veröffentlicht sein erstes Buch.
● Wichtige Ereignisse: 1. Weltkrieg; Pogrome gegen Juden; Oktoberrevolution; Probleme beim Wiederaufbau; Kulaken- und Trotzkistenbekämpfung; Tod Lenins.
● Genauer Handlungsverlauf: 1. Teil mit 9 Kapitel. Pawel fliegt wegen Streich an einem Popen mit zwölf von der Schule; arbeitet daraufhin in der Bahnhofswirtschaft, erlebt schlimme Ausbeutung, Vergewaltigungen und Prostitution. Pawel erbeutet sich nach diversen Aufständen ein Gewehr, muss es aber wieder abgeben, stiehlt die Pistole vom Nachbarn Leszczynski. Beginnt eine zarte Romanze mit Tonja, auf die auch Viktor Leszczynski ein Auge geworfen hat. Während der deutschen Besatzung rebelliert Artjom und bringt mit der Lokomotive keinen Nachschub an die Front. 1919 kommt es zu einem brutalen Pogrom durch nicht näher bestimmte ukrainische und polnische Banden: Petljura-Banden, Pawljuk-, Golub-Leute. Fjodor Shuchrai agitiert für die Sowjets. Als Shuchrai festgenommen wird, verhilft ihm Pawel zur Flucht, Lisa Leszczynski bezeugt Pawels Hilfe und verrät es Viktor, ihrem Bruder, der Pawel verpetzt, woraufhin Pawel festgenommen wird. Im Gefängnis bietet sich ihm Christina an, die nicht durch Vergewaltigung entjungfert werden will, Pawel geht darauf nicht ein. Ein Rittmeister setzt die Gefangenen nach misslungener Parade frei, um den Petljura nicht zu verärgern. Pawel flieht zu Tonja, die ihm mit Artjom hilft, mit der Eisenbahn nach Kasatin zu gelangen. Umkämpftes Schepetowka, mal von den Rot-, mal von Weißgardisten besetzt. Hausdurchsuchung beim Wirt, der vorgibt, keine Vorräte zu haben. Die Sowjets kämpfen um Kiew, müssen sich zurückziehen, gehen gegen die Machnowschtschina (Syndikalanarchisten) vor. In den Bürgerkriegswirren verletzt sich Pawel als Budjonny-Reiter, fällt ins Koma, fährt zurück zur Mutter. Dezember 1920 fährt Pawel zurück nach Kiew. Ende 1. Teil.
2. Teil mit 9 Kapitel. Pawel soll zum Jung-Agitator geschult werden, bricht wegen seiner romantischen Gefühle für Rita die Schulung ab. Probleme mit der Holzbeschaffung, das Holz bleibt liegen, wird geklaut, es muss eine Bahn gebaut werden. Bau der Eisenbahnstrecke im Wind und Wetter, Regen, Matsch, Typhus, Erkältung. Pawel erschöpft sich total, fällt tot um. Er wird gerade so zurück zur Mutter gebracht, wo er genest, sein Bruder hat geheiratet und lebt als Kleinbauer. Pawel will zurück in die Stadt, zur Industrie. Nach Rückkehr sind viele Freunde fort. Er findet Anstellung, muss aber seinen Vorabeiterplatz Zwetajew überlassen, der aber an Rückhalt verliert. Auf einem Nachhauseweg mit Anna wird Pawel überfallen, kann Anna gerade so vor einer Vergewaltigung retten. Acht Monate später reitet Pawel im Grenzbataillon an der polnischen Grenze. Es kommt zu Bauernschlägereien. Jagd auf Räuberband Antonjuk. Große Parade der Sowjets an der Grenze. Innerparteiliche Machtkämpfe gegen Trotzkisten. Lenin stirbt. Artjom tritt der Partei bei. Reden. Rita nun Mitglied beim ZK. Pawel und sie treffen sich beim 6. Kongress des Kommunistischen Jugendverbandes. Brief von Rita. Sie ist nun verheiratet. Gesundheit von Pawel geht den Bach runter, wird zur Kur geschickt, schwere, unheilbare Entzündung in der Wirbelsäule, Lähmungserscheinungen. Besucht auf Wunsch seiner Mutter die Familie Kützam, die unter dem Vater leidet. Pawel verspricht zu helfen. Reist zurück nach Kiew, aber nicht mehr verwendbar für die Arbeit. Er ist am Boden zerstört, kehrt zurück an die Krim zur Familie Kützam, überlegt sich umzubringen, entschließt sich, es nicht zu tun. Heiratet die jüngste Tochter der Familie Kützam, Taja, und überzeugt sie, der Partei beizutreten. Ziehen weg. Pawel beginnt zu schreiben, Beine versagen ihm den Dienst, er verliert das Augenlicht. Er diktiert seinen ersten Roman „Die Sturmgeborenen“. Seine Mutter kümmert sich um ihn. Das Buch wird angenommen.
… fesselnd, viele Wendungen, ein Auf und Ab der Geschichte, ein wenig Propaganda, aber hauptsächlich wie ein Jules Vernes- oder Karl May-Buch gehalten, überzeugende Figuren, viel Handlung, wenig Reflexion, aber Handlung spannungsgeladen, nie uninteressant. Teilweise zu kurz angerissen, zu wenig beschrieben, zu schnell, insbesondere gegen Ende des Buches, auch etwas ernüchternd, dass es sich dann doch wieder um eine Künstlerkarriere handelt; und etwas zu sehr an eine Heiligengeschichte angelehnt, Pawel, der züchtige, der am Ende von seiner Mutter Maria gepflegt wird, während er das Buch schreibt. --> 4 Sterne
Form: Sehr reduzierte Sprache, aber dennoch wohlaustariert. Teilweise ruppig, aber nie banal, eher klassisch, ohne Ausrutscher, abwechslungsreich, teilweise gewollte Vergleiche, Wortfeldmischungen, gespielte Wissenschaftlichkeit, etwas hart-züchtiger Ton. Keine aufregende, aber dienliche Sprache. Instrumentell. Kurzsatzschreibweise. --> 3 Sterne
Erzählstimme: Beginnt personal erzählt, aus Sicht des Reflektors Pawel, im Rückblick. Dann mehr und mehr Episodenroman, mit wechselnden Reflektoren, und irgendwann dann auch kommentierender auktorialer Erzähler, der Überblick demonstriert und Wertungen ausspricht. Hier tritt klar die Propagandafunktion zutage, aber sehr selten. Der Erzählkommentar hält sich stark zurück. Moderates auktoriales Erzählen, das durch die Wirren im Krieg Rechtfertigung erhält. Montage mit Tagebucheinträgen, Reden und längeren, direkten Erzählungen von Figuren. Dadurch lebendig, abwechslungsreich, kameraschnittartig. Auch die Verwendung des narrativen Präsens interessant. Teilweise sehr immersiv. Etwas unentschieden und hastig hier und da. --> 4 Sterne
Komposition: Da Biographie eines proletarischen Vorzeigehelden chronologisch, mit ein paar Abschweifungen. Es geht darum, dass Pawel seinen Platz in der Welt findet und sich nicht von Saufereien, Sex und Saubeuteleien ablenken lässt. Pawel hält sich tadellos, nur sein Körper gibt nach. Kriegsverletzung durch Granatsplitter, die harte Arbeit beim Eisenbahnbau bis zur Erschöpfung. Kompositorisches Element das Materielle des Lebens: die Grenze des Zumutbaren, und der grenzenlose Wille, über sich hinaus zu wachsen. Zusammengehalten wird alles dadurch, dass Pawel stets versucht, etwas der Sache der Befreiung der Menschen beizutragen, selbst als blinder und gelähmter. Klare Verwendung der Tempi-Wechsel, das Ein- und Wegtauchen in die historischen Etappen, die Skizzierung der Probleme, aber stets motiviert durch deutliche Beschreibung der Grausamkeiten von Räuberbanden und Pogromhäschern. --> 3 Sterne
Leseerlebnis: Flüssiges, schnelles, interessantes und mitreißendes Lesen, das gegen Ende aber durch das Abflachen des Sujets enttäuscht wird. Pawel wird Schriftsteller – die eigentliche Karriere heißt also auch hier: Teil der Nomenklatura werden. Werner Bräunig hat da einen anderen „Entwicklungsroman“ geschrieben, Brigitte Reimann auch. Eher als Jugendbuch einschätzbar. Szenische Höhepunkte: der Krieg bei Lwow, der Eisenbahnbau in der Nähe von Bojarka. --> 3 Sterne
June 15, 2013
It is not your classic page turner, but for me, it was simply the passion of Pavel Korchagin (the protagonist) that drove me through this book. Read the latter 200 pages in one sitting. You may want to feel a little sorry for Pavel by the end but his enthusiasm makes you realize that feeling sorry would be an insult to him.
February 11, 2025
Zu Beginn erleben wir Pawel als einen impulsiven, lebendigen, rebellischen, widersprüchlichen Jugendlichen. Seine Kraft und sein Wille zur Selbstbehauptung sind radikal. Aber sie sind nicht ideologisch kanalisiert – er handelt aus einer rohen, fast anarchischen Energie heraus, die intrinsisch motiviert ist.
Das erste Drittel habe ich gerne gelesen. Ostrowski erzählt flüssig und nimmt sich Zeit zur Ausgestaltung der Szenen.
Es folgen immer mehr gebrochene Szenen, die so abrupt geschnitten werden, dass es dilettantisch wirkt. Ein nachvollziehbarer Prozess kommt nicht zustande. Wir hetzen von einem Schauplatz zum nächsten.
Nach mehreren Sprüngen erleben wir diese Szene:
„Und wie steht's da mit der Disziplin? Bei dir, Pawel stimmt sonst alles so ziemlich, aber ein bisschen anarchistisch bist du doch. Was dir in den Kopf kommt, tust du einfach. Partei und Komsomol stützen sich aber auf eiserne Disziplin. Die Partei über alles! Ein jeder von uns muss nicht da sein, wo er möchte, sondern da, wo man ihn braucht.“
Kurz später dies:
„Es verstrichen noch einige Tage, und jede Begegnung, jedes Gespräch brachte größere Entfremdung und eine dumpfe Feindseligkeit in ihre Beziehungen. Der Individualismus Tonjas wurde Pawel immer unerträglicher. Beide begriffen, dass der Bruch unvermeidlich war.“
„Ich werde aber zuerst der Partei, dann dir und den anderen mir Nahestehenden gehören.“
Ach sieh an. Wie eine historische Gesetzmäßigigkeit können wir nicht mehr zwischen privater und politischer Sphäre unterscheiden?
Oh Wunder, Tadaaa! Es passiert einfach – als hätte es keine inneren Kämpfe gegeben, keine Brüche, keine Reflexion darüber- sind wir die Partei. Alternativlos versteht sich.
Mir ist klar dass das Propagandaliteratur ist. Wieso muss ich den Charakter dann zu Beginn so anlegen und erzeuge dadurch einen krassen Bruch der literarischen Plausibilität?
Wenn du schwarz weiß denken willst, dann leg es doch direkt so an. Das wär konsequent.
So was zerstört für mich jegliches Interesse, diese Farce weiter zu lesen.
Nur aus persönlicher Rache dafür, 1 Stern, obwohl ich das erste Drittel 3-4 Sterne würdig fand.
Das erste Drittel habe ich gerne gelesen. Ostrowski erzählt flüssig und nimmt sich Zeit zur Ausgestaltung der Szenen.
Es folgen immer mehr gebrochene Szenen, die so abrupt geschnitten werden, dass es dilettantisch wirkt. Ein nachvollziehbarer Prozess kommt nicht zustande. Wir hetzen von einem Schauplatz zum nächsten.
Nach mehreren Sprüngen erleben wir diese Szene:
„Und wie steht's da mit der Disziplin? Bei dir, Pawel stimmt sonst alles so ziemlich, aber ein bisschen anarchistisch bist du doch. Was dir in den Kopf kommt, tust du einfach. Partei und Komsomol stützen sich aber auf eiserne Disziplin. Die Partei über alles! Ein jeder von uns muss nicht da sein, wo er möchte, sondern da, wo man ihn braucht.“
Kurz später dies:
„Es verstrichen noch einige Tage, und jede Begegnung, jedes Gespräch brachte größere Entfremdung und eine dumpfe Feindseligkeit in ihre Beziehungen. Der Individualismus Tonjas wurde Pawel immer unerträglicher. Beide begriffen, dass der Bruch unvermeidlich war.“
„Ich werde aber zuerst der Partei, dann dir und den anderen mir Nahestehenden gehören.“
Ach sieh an. Wie eine historische Gesetzmäßigigkeit können wir nicht mehr zwischen privater und politischer Sphäre unterscheiden?
Oh Wunder, Tadaaa! Es passiert einfach – als hätte es keine inneren Kämpfe gegeben, keine Brüche, keine Reflexion darüber- sind wir die Partei. Alternativlos versteht sich.
Mir ist klar dass das Propagandaliteratur ist. Wieso muss ich den Charakter dann zu Beginn so anlegen und erzeuge dadurch einen krassen Bruch der literarischen Plausibilität?
Wenn du schwarz weiß denken willst, dann leg es doch direkt so an. Das wär konsequent.
So was zerstört für mich jegliches Interesse, diese Farce weiter zu lesen.
Nur aus persönlicher Rache dafür, 1 Stern, obwohl ich das erste Drittel 3-4 Sterne würdig fand.
April 30, 2021
VE ÇELİĞE SU VERİLDİ- NİKOLAY OSTROVSKİ
‘’Ölürsem şu adreste bulunan yakınlarıma durumu bildiriniz: Şepetovka kenti, demiryolları deposu, tornacı Artem Korçagin.’’ Sayfa 233
Ve Çeliğe Su Verildi kitabının çok etkileyici bir Sovyet Edebiyatı eseri olduğunu söyleyebilirim. Öncelikle kitabının isminin içerikle çok uyumlu olduğunu vurgulamadan geçemeyeceğim. Normalde yumuşak olan ��elik maddesinin en yüksek derecede ısıtıldıktan sonra su verilerek sertleştiğini tıpkı işçi sınıfının da devrim sürecinde böyle ısıtılması ve sertleşmesi sonucunda ortaya çıkışına benzetmiş. Eserde insanın çelikleşene kadar ne kadar piştiği, sağlamlaştığı görülür.
İşçi çocuğu olan Ostrovski (1904-1937) Ukrayna’nın küçük bir kentinde doğmuş. Yazarın hayatına baktığımızda Ve Çeliğe Su Verildi kitabının yarı otobiyografik ögeler taşıdığını rahatça görebiliyoruz. Gözünün kör olması, felç geçirmesi ve diğer bütün zorluklar. Hikaye hemen hemen 1917 Ekim devrimi bağlamında başlıyor ve sonrasında 1. Dünya Savaşı’yla devam ediyor. İç savaşlar, dış güçler birçok şey mevcut. Kitabın temposu neredeyse hiç düşmüyor. Romanın ana kahramanı Pavel Korçagin için de Fadeyev şöyle demiş: ‘‘Tüm Sovyet Edebiyatında, şimdiye kadar böylesine saf ve canlı bir roman kahramanının olduğunu sanmıyorum.’’
''Bazen ideolojiler hayatımızdan önemli mi?'' bu da roman boyunca kafama takılan sorulardan bir tanesi oluverdi. Merak edenlere Ve Çeliğe Su Verildi kitabını öneririm.
‘’Ölürsem şu adreste bulunan yakınlarıma durumu bildiriniz: Şepetovka kenti, demiryolları deposu, tornacı Artem Korçagin.’’ Sayfa 233
Ve Çeliğe Su Verildi kitabının çok etkileyici bir Sovyet Edebiyatı eseri olduğunu söyleyebilirim. Öncelikle kitabının isminin içerikle çok uyumlu olduğunu vurgulamadan geçemeyeceğim. Normalde yumuşak olan ��elik maddesinin en yüksek derecede ısıtıldıktan sonra su verilerek sertleştiğini tıpkı işçi sınıfının da devrim sürecinde böyle ısıtılması ve sertleşmesi sonucunda ortaya çıkışına benzetmiş. Eserde insanın çelikleşene kadar ne kadar piştiği, sağlamlaştığı görülür.
İşçi çocuğu olan Ostrovski (1904-1937) Ukrayna’nın küçük bir kentinde doğmuş. Yazarın hayatına baktığımızda Ve Çeliğe Su Verildi kitabının yarı otobiyografik ögeler taşıdığını rahatça görebiliyoruz. Gözünün kör olması, felç geçirmesi ve diğer bütün zorluklar. Hikaye hemen hemen 1917 Ekim devrimi bağlamında başlıyor ve sonrasında 1. Dünya Savaşı’yla devam ediyor. İç savaşlar, dış güçler birçok şey mevcut. Kitabın temposu neredeyse hiç düşmüyor. Romanın ana kahramanı Pavel Korçagin için de Fadeyev şöyle demiş: ‘‘Tüm Sovyet Edebiyatında, şimdiye kadar böylesine saf ve canlı bir roman kahramanının olduğunu sanmıyorum.’’
''Bazen ideolojiler hayatımızdan önemli mi?'' bu da roman boyunca kafama takılan sorulardan bir tanesi oluverdi. Merak edenlere Ve Çeliğe Su Verildi kitabını öneririm.
September 27, 2025
Как се каляваше стомата е емблематична и много популярна пропагандна книга на СССР. Тя описва периода на създаването на Съюза по време на Първата световна война и по-специално борбите на революционните болшевишки сили в Украйна, която Руската царска империя и после СССР смятат за своя.
Ако човек е поне малко запознат с историята на СССР и направи поне леко критически прочит и се опита да отсее пропагандата, може да види разказ от почти първа ръка за неуспешната борбата на Украйна и успешната борба на Полша (която болшевиките искат да направят съветска република) срещу съветските сили. Също така, може да си направи пряк паралел с организацията, идеологията, методите и междучовешките отношения в комунистическото революционно движение и левите движения по света в днешния ден.
Литературната стойност на Как се каляваше стоманата е ... да речем спорна - започва що годе добре, но след първата една трета става досадно монотонна, повтаряема и се губи всякаква интрига. От нея могат да се направят ценни наблюдения върху събитията, вижданията на хората и цялостното положение по време на тия бурни времена.
Тя е забележителна и с това, че е първата и засега единствена руска книга, която съм чел, където има някакви намеци за сексуалността на героите - нищо хардкор, просто подхвърлена мисъл за "едрите гърди" на жена или "широките гърди" (в романтичен контекст) на мъж, описано плътско желание от страна на героите мъже и жени, завоалирани намеци за случващ се секс и т.н. - явно синдромът на безполовите герои и свят, който господства в руската литература и до сега, я е споходил някъде след написването на Как се каляваше стоманата.
Ако човек е поне малко запознат с историята на СССР и направи поне леко критически прочит и се опита да отсее пропагандата, може да види разказ от почти първа ръка за неуспешната борбата на Украйна и успешната борба на Полша (която болшевиките искат да направят съветска република) срещу съветските сили. Също така, може да си направи пряк паралел с организацията, идеологията, методите и междучовешките отношения в комунистическото революционно движение и левите движения по света в днешния ден.
Литературната стойност на Как се каляваше стоманата е ... да речем спорна - започва що годе добре, но след първата една трета става досадно монотонна, повтаряема и се губи всякаква интрига. От нея могат да се направят ценни наблюдения върху събитията, вижданията на хората и цялостното положение по време на тия бурни времена.
Тя е забележителна и с това, че е първата и засега единствена руска книга, която съм чел, където има някакви намеци за сексуалността на героите - нищо хардкор, просто подхвърлена мисъл за "едрите гърди" на жена или "широките гърди" (в романтичен контекст) на мъж, описано плътско желание от страна на героите мъже и жени, завоалирани намеци за случващ се секс и т.н. - явно синдромът на безполовите герои и свят, който господства в руската литература и до сега, я е споходил някъде след написването на Как се каляваше стоманата.
December 1, 2015
Yet another merde of propaganda, making heroes out of the idiots and idiots out of the readers.
No need to mention that this trite tale of heroic deeds of late blind cretin Pavka Korchagin can excite only a very simple proletarian mind that ready to dash for some vague idea, lusting to "expropriate expropriated" and enthrone mediocrity at the global level.
No need to mention that this trite tale of heroic deeds of late blind cretin Pavka Korchagin can excite only a very simple proletarian mind that ready to dash for some vague idea, lusting to "expropriate expropriated" and enthrone mediocrity at the global level.
November 30, 2011
This is one of those books, that shaped my childhood dreams.
Nikolai Ostrovsky is definitely my all time hero ...
Nikolai Ostrovsky is definitely my all time hero ...
February 28, 2018
Everybody should read it. I mean EVERYBODY. It's not about an ideology though the book was famously written by a person with strong socialist ideological leaning and many, many people will tell you this is propaganda. Well, it's not. It's a tale of indomitable courage under the impossible odds, of a boy who was born and brought up in poverty and squalor and ignorance and how he rises above his station through sheer force of will. It's even more heart-wrenching if you consider the fact the boy was Nikolai Ostrovsky himself and there is no attempt to glorify himself here. He believes himself to be the foot-soldier for a revolution that will bring massive changes to the world. No matter what your personal believes are, Nikolai believed he was a force of goodness. And you can call him stupid, blind or naive, but that doesn't make his entire life a lie: because he was illiterate and he taught himself letters and he fought his entire life against real injustices which he saw and experienced in his own way and he gave his life up for an ideal and when he was half-blind, his body destroyed by war he fought for Motherland, for a cause in which he believed in (not because it will benefit him personally but because he wanted to change the lives of those milliions of boys like him whom he didn't want to go through what he have gone through)...he wrote the book with his last remaining life-force. And he died before he reached forty. What kind of courage makes you do that? When you know you are going to die and still you spend your last days to write something which you think will bring a change, to make the world a better place for future. It's brilliant. Utterly brilliant and you must read it to realise how far that poor, illiterate boy who was beaten up by his father regularly came and how really the steel was tampered. Please give it a read and you will see what I mean.
December 12, 2025
Nikolai Ostrovsky’s How the Steel Was Tempered stands as one of the defining texts of Soviet socialist realism—an ideological epic of endurance, self-sacrifice, and revolutionary purpose. It is difficult not merely because of its length or stylistic rigidity but because of its unyielding obsession with ideological purity.
To read it fully is to grapple with a worldview that elevates collective struggle above individual fulfillment, often to austere extremes.
The protagonist, Pavel Korchagin, is a working-class youth transformed by the revolutionary upheavals of early Soviet Russia.
His journey—from rebellious boy to disciplined Bolshevik fighter to physically broken yet spiritually unshaken hero—embodies the archetype of the “new Soviet man.” Ostrovsky’s portrayal of Pavel is powerful but intentionally idealised.
The emotional intensity derives from the author’s own life: writing while paralysed and blind, Ostrovsky poured his suffering and conviction into Pavel’s unbreakable will.
What makes the novel challenging is its fusion of personal tragedy with political dogma. Pavel’s psychological complexity is often sacrificed to ideological symbolism.
His near-messianic devotion to the Party can feel both inspiring and suffocating. The narrative is filled with scenes of hardship—war, hunger, illness—rendered with stark, sometimes brutal clarity. Yet these hardships are framed not as human disasters but as moral trials that forge revolutionary character.
The prose of socialist realism is intentionally transparent, emphasising clarity and purpose. But beneath the surface lies a pervasive emotional violence: the expectation that individuals must suppress personal desires for collective ideals.
Readers may struggle with this moral absolutism. Modern sensibilities, shaped by individualism, find Pavel’s world both alien and eerily compelling.
What redeems the novel is its sincerity. Ostrovsky is not writing propaganda cynically; he is writing from the depths of belief and suffering.
How the Steel Was Tempered demands a confrontation with a historical moment where ideology functioned as faith, purpose, and identity. To understand it is to understand the emotional power—and cost—of revolutionary idealism.
Recommended.
To read it fully is to grapple with a worldview that elevates collective struggle above individual fulfillment, often to austere extremes.
The protagonist, Pavel Korchagin, is a working-class youth transformed by the revolutionary upheavals of early Soviet Russia.
His journey—from rebellious boy to disciplined Bolshevik fighter to physically broken yet spiritually unshaken hero—embodies the archetype of the “new Soviet man.” Ostrovsky’s portrayal of Pavel is powerful but intentionally idealised.
The emotional intensity derives from the author’s own life: writing while paralysed and blind, Ostrovsky poured his suffering and conviction into Pavel’s unbreakable will.
What makes the novel challenging is its fusion of personal tragedy with political dogma. Pavel’s psychological complexity is often sacrificed to ideological symbolism.
His near-messianic devotion to the Party can feel both inspiring and suffocating. The narrative is filled with scenes of hardship—war, hunger, illness—rendered with stark, sometimes brutal clarity. Yet these hardships are framed not as human disasters but as moral trials that forge revolutionary character.
The prose of socialist realism is intentionally transparent, emphasising clarity and purpose. But beneath the surface lies a pervasive emotional violence: the expectation that individuals must suppress personal desires for collective ideals.
Readers may struggle with this moral absolutism. Modern sensibilities, shaped by individualism, find Pavel’s world both alien and eerily compelling.
What redeems the novel is its sincerity. Ostrovsky is not writing propaganda cynically; he is writing from the depths of belief and suffering.
How the Steel Was Tempered demands a confrontation with a historical moment where ideology functioned as faith, purpose, and identity. To understand it is to understand the emotional power—and cost—of revolutionary idealism.
Recommended.
April 6, 2008
This is a book by a person who"burnt the candle of his life from both ends." One of the greatest biography written in a novel form. I read this book in English, Hindi and Marathi.
Want to read
August 18, 2020Unbewertbar aber durchaus lesenswert als Beispiel von Sozialistem Realismus: Kampf-, Aufbau- und Propagandaliteratur.
Interessant und einen zweiten Lesedurchgang wert sind die ähnlichen Erzählformen im Vergleich zum Neuen Testament. Es finden sich Märtyrertod, Keuchheit, Verfolgung, ja sogar eine Wiederauferstehungsgeschichte.
Interessant und einen zweiten Lesedurchgang wert sind die ähnlichen Erzählformen im Vergleich zum Neuen Testament. Es finden sich Märtyrertod, Keuchheit, Verfolgung, ja sogar eine Wiederauferstehungsgeschichte.
November 8, 2012
think of inspiration and this is one of few books that come to my mind.
a very good description of building of socialist russia and the spirit behind it. but moreover this also entails a great autobiographical adventurous journey of the author. it has so many incidents that we could only wish for, right from the childhood to the youth of the author. more importantly it is a story of endless energy, strength, and spirit to achieve something dear to ones heart. it is story which teaches you how the odds are to be won and move on......
a very good description of building of socialist russia and the spirit behind it. but moreover this also entails a great autobiographical adventurous journey of the author. it has so many incidents that we could only wish for, right from the childhood to the youth of the author. more importantly it is a story of endless energy, strength, and spirit to achieve something dear to ones heart. it is story which teaches you how the odds are to be won and move on......
August 7, 2020
এই বইটারে অনেক বোদ্ধা পাত্তা দেয় না। কিন্তু বলশেভিক বিপ্লবের সময়কার ঘটনার উপর লেখা বইগুলার মধ্যে এইটা অন্যতম ভালো বই।
May 20, 2015
: The most precious thing is life and we only have life once. The person's life should be spent this way: When he looks back, he does not regret for wasted years, not because of mediocrity and shame —the quote from the book How the steel was tempered.
Speaking of Paul, my admiration can not help that he was a hero, he is a stubborn man when he had to withdraw from the battlefield wounded occasion, he still kept trying to contribute in the rear. When he was diagnosed with the nerve had trouble, he did not flinch, as always, work for the community and selfless dedication. He has been struggling with his legs paralyzed, blind, but he still did not give up, determined to pick up the pen, and the fate of combat. So these just make me think about sometimes when you feel like you will fail and just keep telling you “ you can do it and don’t give up, you close to the succeed.”
Speaking of Paul, my admiration can not help that he was a hero, he is a stubborn man when he had to withdraw from the battlefield wounded occasion, he still kept trying to contribute in the rear. When he was diagnosed with the nerve had trouble, he did not flinch, as always, work for the community and selfless dedication. He has been struggling with his legs paralyzed, blind, but he still did not give up, determined to pick up the pen, and the fate of combat. So these just make me think about sometimes when you feel like you will fail and just keep telling you “ you can do it and don’t give up, you close to the succeed.”
June 19, 2015
ক্লাস সেভেন থেকে ���াইন, এর মধ্যে কোন এক সময় পড়েছিলাম ইস্পাত। মূল বই নয়, অনুবাদ ছিল সেটা। তাও কম করে হলেও দুই যুগ আগের কথা। বিপ্লবী সংগ্রাময় জীবন সম্পর্কে সব চাইতে স্পষ্ট ধারনা তৈরি হয়েছি এর পরেই। তারপর এমন ঝোক তৈরি হল যে রুশ বিপ্লব সংক্রান্ত যা পেতাম তাই গ্রোগ্রাসে গিলতাম। নিজেকে অনেক সুখী মনে হয় আমার ছোটবেলা নীলসাদা আর কম্পিউটার এর স্ক্রিনের সামনে না হয়ে কেটেছে এমন কিছু অসাধারণ রচনার মাঝে বুদ হয়ে।
September 13, 2022
"মৃত্যুর পরেও মানুষের জন্যে কাজে লাগা - এর চেয়ে সুন্দর আর কি হতে পারে!"
- নিকোলাই অস্ত্রোভস্কি
পাভেল কোরগাচিন। কমিউনিস্ট বিপ্লবের ফলে সৃষ্ট নতুন এক মানুষ। অথবা উল্টো করে বলা যায়, কমিউনিস্ট বিপ্লব পাভেল এবং তাঁর মত আরো অগুনতি বীরের সম্মিলিত প্রচেষ্টায় বাস্তব রূপ পায়। এমন একজন ব্যক্তি আমাদের 'পাভলুশা' যে নিজ ব্যক্তিগত জীবন সম্পূর্ণ উৎসর্গ করে নিজেকে বিলিয়ে দেন বৃহত্তর স্বার্থে।
অনেকেই এই বইটি অল্প বয়সে পড়েছেন। নিকোলাই অস্ত্রোভস্কির 'How the Steel was Tempered' উপন্যাসটির সার্থক অনুবাদ করেছেন রবীন্দ্র মজুমদার। বাংলা ভাষায় যারা 'ইস্পাত' পড়েছেন তাদের প্রায় সবাই এই অনুবাদটির মধ্য দিয়েই মানব ইতিহাসের এক অধ্যায়ে ভ্রমণ করেছেন। আমার জানা মতে ১৯৯২ থেকে ২০১৯ পর্যন্ত চতুর্দশ মুদ্রণ পর্যন্ত এগিয়েছে গ্রন্থটি।
এই উপন্যাস যেন অস্ত্রোভস্কির নিজের জীবনেরই এক সম্পাদিত রূপ। রবীন্দ্র মজুমদারের অনুবাদ এত চমৎকার ঝরঝরে যে পড়তে বসলে মনে হয় 'ইস্পাত' যেন বাংলায় লিখা কোন মৌলিক উপন্যাস। বিভিন্ন ইউক্রেইন এবং রাশিয়ান চরিত্রের খটমটে নামগুলো বারবার মনে করিয়ে দিচ্ছিলো যে এটি একটি অনুবাদকর্ম।
মানুষের গল্পই বলেছেন নিকোলাই অস্ত্রোভস্কি। বলশেভিক আন্দোলনের সেইসব অগ্নিঝড়া দিন, যে দিনগুলো সময়ের সাথে পাল্টে দিয়েছিল একটি ভূখন্ডের মানুষজনকে, সেই উপাখ্যানই ফুটে এসেছে এখানে।
মানুষে মানুষে বৈষম্য ঘোচাতে জারের উৎখাত, কমিউনিস্ট শাসন, কসমোসলের বিভিন্ন কার্যক্রম, অনিবার্য সংঘর্ষ, প্রচন্ড বৈরী পরিবেশে মানুষের সংগ্রাম, এসমস্ত কিছুই প্রাঞ্জল ভাষায় লিখিত আছে 'ইস্পাত' এ।
পাভেল কোরগাচিনের সামান্য হোটেলে ছোট্ট কাজ থেকে শুরু করে কয়লা খনিতে শ্রমিকের কর্ম এবং সময়ের স্রোতে একজন গুরুত্বপূর্ণ পার্টি সভ্যে পরিণত হওয়ার অমানুষিক গল্প আছে বইয়ের ছত্রে ছত্রে। আরো আছে নিখাদ বন্ধুত্বের গল্প। ঝুখরাইয়ের মত বন্ধু, এবং আরো অনেকে যারা ব্যক্তিস্বার্থের উর্ধ্বে স্থান দিয়েছেন সমষ্টিগত স্বার্থকে, বিপ্লবের প্রয়োজনে, কমিউনিজমের প্রয়োজনে।
ব্যক্তিগতভাবে বলশেভিকদের অনেক কর্মকান্ড আমার পছন্দ না তবে বিপ্লবের পূর্ণ যৌবনদানের জন্য একদল নিস্বার্থ নারীপুরুষের তীব্র চেতনা এই বইয়ের পাতায় পাতায় আছে অনেকটা মুগ্ধ করার মতই। পাভেল কোরগাচিনের ব্যক্তিগত ত্যাগ, নৈতিকতা, একরোখা জেদের সাথে সাথে অনেক সীমাবদ্ধতার কথাও বলে গেছেন লেখক।
ইস্পাত দ্রুত পঠনের বই নয়। বৃষ্টির দিনে গরম চায়ের কাপে চুমুক দিতে দিতে অথবা বিষন্ন কোন নিঃসঙ্গ দুপুরে অথবা অন্য যেকোন সময়ে ধীরেসুস্থে এই বইয়ের অসাধারণ যাত্রার মধ্য দিয়ে যাওয়াটা বেশি সুন্দর হবে।
উত্তরাধুনিকতার এক অদ্ভুত যুগে বাস করছি আমরা। কেউ কেউ বলেন পোস্ট-ট্রুথ জমানা এটি। বিপ্লব হয়তো একসময় গিয়ে ব্যর্থ হয়েছে। তবে বিপ্লব তো হয়েছিলো একসময়। বিপ্লবকে শেষ ধাপ মনে না করে প্রথম ধাপ মনে করাটাই বেশি যুক্তিসঙ্গত মনে হয় আমার কাছে।
পৃথিবী ব্যাপক পাল্টে গেছে। ঝুনো মাথার পন্ডিতরা হয়তো কমিউনিস্ট বিপ্লবের বিভিন্ন ত্রুটি নিয়ে অনেক আলোচনা করে যাবেন। বলশেভিকদের অমানবিকতা এবং দোষত্রুটি এবং ভূরাজনীতির অনেক দিক তো তখন ছিল, এখনো আছে, ভবিষ্যতেও থাকবে।
আরো একটি বিষয় মনে হয় থাকবে। পাভেল কোরগাচিনের মত ক্রমাগত জ্বলতে থাকা মানুষের 'ইস্পাতে' পরিণত হওয়া।
বুক রিভিউ
ইস্পাত
( ১ম ও ২য় খন্ড )
লেখক : নিকোলাই অস্ত্রোভস্কি
অনুবাদ : রবীন্দ্র মজুমদার
প্রকাশনা : ন্যাশনাল বুক এজেন্সি প্রাইভেট লিমিটেড
প্রচ্ছদ : পূর্ণেন্দু পত্রী
জনরা : সমাজতান্ত্রিক বাস্তবতা
রিভিউয়ার : ওয়াসিম হাসান মাহমুদ
- নিকোলাই অস্ত্রোভস্কি
পাভেল কোরগাচিন। কমিউনিস্ট বিপ্লবের ফলে সৃষ্ট নতুন এক মানুষ। অথবা উল্টো করে বলা যায়, কমিউনিস্ট বিপ্লব পাভেল এবং তাঁর মত আরো অগুনতি বীরের সম্মিলিত প্রচেষ্টায় বাস্তব রূপ পায়। এমন একজন ব্যক্তি আমাদের 'পাভলুশা' যে নিজ ব্যক্তিগত জীবন সম্পূর্ণ উৎসর্গ করে নিজেকে বিলিয়ে দেন বৃহত্তর স্বার্থে।
অনেকেই এই বইটি অল্প বয়সে পড়েছেন। নিকোলাই অস্ত্রোভস্কির 'How the Steel was Tempered' উপন্যাসটির সার্থক অনুবাদ করেছেন রবীন্দ্র মজুমদার। বাংলা ভাষায় যারা 'ইস্পাত' পড়েছেন তাদের প্রায় সবাই এই অনুবাদটির মধ্য দিয়েই মানব ইতিহাসের এক অধ্যায়ে ভ্রমণ করেছেন। আমার জানা মতে ১৯৯২ থেকে ২০১৯ পর্যন্ত চতুর্দশ মুদ্রণ পর্যন্ত এগিয়েছে গ্রন্থটি।
এই উপন্যাস যেন অস্ত্রোভস্কির নিজের জীবনেরই এক সম্পাদিত রূপ। রবীন্দ্র মজুমদারের অনুবাদ এত চমৎকার ঝরঝরে যে পড়তে বসলে মনে হয় 'ইস্পাত' যেন বাংলায় লিখা কোন মৌলিক উপন্যাস। বিভিন্ন ইউক্রেইন এবং রাশিয়ান চরিত্রের খটমটে নামগুলো বারবার মনে করিয়ে দিচ্ছিলো যে এটি একটি অনুবাদকর্ম।
মানুষের গল্পই বলেছেন নিকোলাই অস্ত্রোভস্কি। বলশেভিক আন্দোলনের সেইসব অগ্নিঝড়া দিন, যে দিনগুলো সময়ের সাথে পাল্টে দিয়েছিল একটি ভূখন্ডের মানুষজনকে, সেই উপাখ্যানই ফুটে এসেছে এখানে।
মানুষে মানুষে বৈষম্য ঘোচাতে জারের উৎখাত, কমিউনিস্ট শাসন, কসমোসলের বিভিন্ন কার্যক্রম, অনিবার্য সংঘর্ষ, প্রচন্ড বৈরী পরিবেশে মানুষের সংগ্রাম, এসমস্ত কিছুই প্রাঞ্জল ভাষায় লিখিত আছে 'ইস্পাত' এ।
পাভেল কোরগাচিনের সামান্য হোটেলে ছোট্ট কাজ থেকে শুরু করে কয়লা খনিতে শ্রমিকের কর্ম এবং সময়ের স্রোতে একজন গুরুত্বপূর্ণ পার্টি সভ্যে পরিণত হওয়ার অমানুষিক গল্প আছে বইয়ের ছত্রে ছত্রে। আরো আছে নিখাদ বন্ধুত্বের গল্প। ঝুখরাইয়ের মত বন্ধু, এবং আরো অনেকে যারা ব্যক্তিস্বার্থের উর্ধ্বে স্থান দিয়েছেন সমষ্টিগত স্বার্থকে, বিপ্লবের প্রয়োজনে, কমিউনিজমের প্রয়োজনে।
ব্যক্তিগতভাবে বলশেভিকদের অনেক কর্মকান্ড আমার পছন্দ না তবে বিপ্লবের পূর্ণ যৌবনদানের জন্য একদল নিস্বার্থ নারীপুরুষের তীব্র চেতনা এই বইয়ের পাতায় পাতায় আছে অনেকটা মুগ্ধ করার মতই। পাভেল কোরগাচিনের ব্যক্তিগত ত্যাগ, নৈতিকতা, একরোখা জেদের সাথে সাথে অনেক সীমাবদ্ধতার কথাও বলে গেছেন লেখক।
ইস্পাত দ্রুত পঠনের বই নয়। বৃষ্টির দিনে গরম চায়ের কাপে চুমুক দিতে দিতে অথবা বিষন্ন কোন নিঃসঙ্গ দুপুরে অথবা অন্য যেকোন সময়ে ধীরেসুস্থে এই বইয়ের অসাধারণ যাত্রার মধ্য দিয়ে যাওয়াটা বেশি সুন্দর হবে।
উত্তরাধুনিকতার এক অদ্ভুত যুগে বাস করছি আমরা। কেউ কেউ বলেন পোস্ট-ট্রুথ জমানা এটি। বিপ্লব হয়তো একসময় গিয়ে ব্যর্থ হয়েছে। তবে বিপ্লব তো হয়েছিলো একসময়। বিপ্লবকে শেষ ধাপ মনে না করে প্রথম ধাপ মনে করাটাই বেশি যুক্তিসঙ্গত মনে হয় আমার কাছে।
পৃথিবী ব্যাপক পাল্টে গেছে। ঝুনো মাথার পন্ডিতরা হয়তো কমিউনিস্ট বিপ্লবের বিভিন্ন ত্রুটি নিয়ে অনেক আলোচনা করে যাবেন। বলশেভিকদের অমানবিকতা এবং দোষত্রুটি এবং ভূরাজনীতির অনেক দিক তো তখন ছিল, এখনো আছে, ভবিষ্যতেও থাকবে।
আরো একটি বিষয় মনে হয় থাকবে। পাভেল কোরগাচিনের মত ক্রমাগত জ্বলতে থাকা মানুষের 'ইস্পাতে' পরিণত হওয়া।
বুক রিভিউ
ইস্পাত
( ১ম ও ২য় খন্ড )
লেখক : নিকোলাই অস্ত্রোভস্কি
অনুবাদ : রবীন্দ্র মজুমদার
প্রকাশনা : ন্যাশনাল বুক এজেন্সি প্রাইভেট লিমিটেড
প্রচ্ছদ : পূর্ণেন্দু পত্রী
জনরা : সমাজতান্ত্রিক বাস্তবতা
রিভিউয়ার : ওয়াসিম হাসান মাহমুদ
March 28, 2017
بافل كورتشاغين , الرفيق المثالي , ما يجب أن يكونه المناضل , نكران الذات في أقصى حالاته البشرية , و الكفاح في أصعب رهاناته , هذه الرواية ملحمة ضمن ملاحم الأدب "الواقعي" و الأدب "النضالي"
كثير من المقتطفات و الحوارات الرائعة و العميقة في الرواية تمنيت أن تكون هناك خاصية تحميل الصور كي أقوم بنشرها مع التعليق
كثير من المقتطفات و الحوارات الرائعة و العميقة في الرواية تمنيت أن تكون هناك خاصية تحميل الصور كي أقوم بنشرها مع التعليق
November 19, 2017
Mình đọc quyển này với 1 sự háo hức và kỳ vọng khá cao. Cuốn sách nổi tiếng, và trong trí nhớ của mình thì hồi bé có từng xem 1 series trên TV, rất lôi cuốn và cảm động.
Nhưng cuốn sách này thì dở tệ.
Cuốn sách được chia làm 2 phần: phần 1 nói về tuổi thơ của Paven, những bất công mà Paven và những người lao động Nga phải gánh chịu, cho tới những ngày cách mạng tháng Mười nổ ra, và Paven và những thanh thiếu niên đã đi theo cách mạng như nào; phần 2 nói về những năm tháng đầu cách mạng, tôi chưa đọc hết phần này.
Vậy hãy nói về phần 1. Paven và những thiếu niên ưu tú của cách mạng, có những đặc điểm gì?
+ Những con người bạo lực: tôi không chắc là người Nga vốn ưa bạo lực hay không (dù nhiều khi rất thơ, nhưng đọc các bài trên mạng thì cảm giác người Nga rất ưa bạo lực, một kiểu bạo lực vô tổ chức. Chắc chỉ có tới Nga tôi mới biết thực hư hehe); nhưng với thiếu niên Paven, mọi bất hòa đều được cậu ta muốn giải quyết bằng bạo lực. Chuyện gì xảy ra, cậu ta cũng chỉ muốn lao vào đấm nhau. Nhưng mà cũng đúng, cộng sản tôi biết thì đề cao bạo lực mà (cộng sản tôi biết có thể cách xa 1 vạn 8 ngàn dặm so với cs thực tế, hehe)
+ Tự ti: cậu trai Paven và những người khác mang nhiều cái tự ti, mà rất điển hình là tự ti giai cấp. Sự tự ti giai cấp dẫn tới nhiều thứ rất buồn cười, ví như cậu chỉ muốn dùng bạo lực để giải quyết vấn đề, vì cậu nào biết con đường khác? Cậu ta chẳng học hành, biết 1 tý đàn, tiếp nhận 1 mớ kiến thức ba chấm. Nhưng mà bạo lực không giải quyết được tận gốc sự tự ti này. Nó cũng là 1 vấn đề lớn, kiểu như: ghét người giàu nhưng muốn mình giàu. Sự tự ti này cũng dẫn tới việc muốn hủy diệt những luồng ý kiến trái chiều, ví như không muốn người khác ăn mặc đẹp, diện mạo đẹp, sống tự do.
Hy sinh cho lý tưởng cao đẹp mà thiếu suy nghĩ, nghe thì hay mà thực ra thì đéo vui đâu.
Nhưng cuốn sách này thì dở tệ.
Cuốn sách được chia làm 2 phần: phần 1 nói về tuổi thơ của Paven, những bất công mà Paven và những người lao động Nga phải gánh chịu, cho tới những ngày cách mạng tháng Mười nổ ra, và Paven và những thanh thiếu niên đã đi theo cách mạng như nào; phần 2 nói về những năm tháng đầu cách mạng, tôi chưa đọc hết phần này.
Vậy hãy nói về phần 1. Paven và những thiếu niên ưu tú của cách mạng, có những đặc điểm gì?
+ Những con người bạo lực: tôi không chắc là người Nga vốn ưa bạo lực hay không (dù nhiều khi rất thơ, nhưng đọc các bài trên mạng thì cảm giác người Nga rất ưa bạo lực, một kiểu bạo lực vô tổ chức. Chắc chỉ có tới Nga tôi mới biết thực hư hehe); nhưng với thiếu niên Paven, mọi bất hòa đều được cậu ta muốn giải quyết bằng bạo lực. Chuyện gì xảy ra, cậu ta cũng chỉ muốn lao vào đấm nhau. Nhưng mà cũng đúng, cộng sản tôi biết thì đề cao bạo lực mà (cộng sản tôi biết có thể cách xa 1 vạn 8 ngàn dặm so với cs thực tế, hehe)
+ Tự ti: cậu trai Paven và những người khác mang nhiều cái tự ti, mà rất điển hình là tự ti giai cấp. Sự tự ti giai cấp dẫn tới nhiều thứ rất buồn cười, ví như cậu chỉ muốn dùng bạo lực để giải quyết vấn đề, vì cậu nào biết con đường khác? Cậu ta chẳng học hành, biết 1 tý đàn, tiếp nhận 1 mớ kiến thức ba chấm. Nhưng mà bạo lực không giải quyết được tận gốc sự tự ti này. Nó cũng là 1 vấn đề lớn, kiểu như: ghét người giàu nhưng muốn mình giàu. Sự tự ti này cũng dẫn tới việc muốn hủy diệt những luồng ý kiến trái chiều, ví như không muốn người khác ăn mặc đẹp, diện mạo đẹp, sống tự do.
Hy sinh cho lý tưởng cao đẹp mà thiếu suy nghĩ, nghe thì hay mà thực ra thì đéo vui đâu.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
May 8, 2019
Así se templó el acero es la historia de su propio autor, Nikolái Ostrovski. Escritor y soldado bolchevique, sufrió una grave enfermedad de columna vertebral que le dejó en parálisis y ciego, pero eso no mermó sus ganas de vivir.
Pável Korcháguin (en realidad el propio Ostrovski) es un joven entusiasta bolchevique que relata su vida, desde que se unió al movimiento bolchevique a comienzos de la creación de la Unión Soviética y la guerra civil contra los blancos, pasando por los diversos comités comarcales de Járkov (Ucrania) hasta su invalidez final. En el relato hay pasajes amorosos, como su amor imposible con Tonia, sus amistades con otros camaradas y sus enfrentamientos morales con bolcheviques que en nada honraban a la buena denominación que él consideraba.
Así se templó el acero es, sin duda, una novela autobiográfica de realismo socialista imperante en ese momento en la Unión Soviética, con marcado fin propagandístico, pero con interesantes toques a lo Doctor Zhivago en sus relaciones con Tonia. En ocasiones, entre trincheras, comités y demás reuniones del Partido, el relato se hace algo monótono e intrascendente al público general. Pero las ganas de vivir de Pável pese a su enfermedad al final de la novela, su titubeo en Crimea que le llega a ponerse una pistola para acabar con su vida y su alegato en favor de continuar luchando fueron enternecedores. Novela similar a El momento de la verdad, de Vladimir Bogomolov.
Pável Korcháguin (en realidad el propio Ostrovski) es un joven entusiasta bolchevique que relata su vida, desde que se unió al movimiento bolchevique a comienzos de la creación de la Unión Soviética y la guerra civil contra los blancos, pasando por los diversos comités comarcales de Járkov (Ucrania) hasta su invalidez final. En el relato hay pasajes amorosos, como su amor imposible con Tonia, sus amistades con otros camaradas y sus enfrentamientos morales con bolcheviques que en nada honraban a la buena denominación que él consideraba.
Así se templó el acero es, sin duda, una novela autobiográfica de realismo socialista imperante en ese momento en la Unión Soviética, con marcado fin propagandístico, pero con interesantes toques a lo Doctor Zhivago en sus relaciones con Tonia. En ocasiones, entre trincheras, comités y demás reuniones del Partido, el relato se hace algo monótono e intrascendente al público general. Pero las ganas de vivir de Pável pese a su enfermedad al final de la novela, su titubeo en Crimea que le llega a ponerse una pistola para acabar con su vida y su alegato en favor de continuar luchando fueron enternecedores. Novela similar a El momento de la verdad, de Vladimir Bogomolov.
July 29, 2020
Kỳ thực, trước khi đọc cuốn sách này, mình đã không kỳ vọng gì nhiều. Với danh nghĩa "thánh kinh của thanh niên cộng sản", mình đã nghĩ cuốn sách này thể hiện một khí thế "xông lên bất chấp khó khăn, bất chấp gian khổ", chắc chắn giành chiến thắng trong mọi tình huống.
Nhưng mình đã nhầm. Quả thực tinh thần chung của cuốn sách là một cuộc đấu tranh không ngừng nghỉ, nhưng xuyên suốt là những khó khăn chồng chất khó khăn, là sự cố gắng hết mặt này tới mặt khác, là những lúc mất niềm tin.
Mình cứ nghĩ cuốn sách sẽ khen các Đảng viên hết mực, nhưng nó lại đề cập tới những thực tế hết sức phũ phàng, rằng đôi khi có những người lợi dụng vào Đảng để trở nên tha hóa, và cái đẹp thực sự của Đảng là ở chính những con người trong tập thể đó.
Nhìn chung, cuốn sách như một tác phẩm nghị luận xã hội, đầy trung lập và nghiêm khắc, và cũng hết sức nhân văn. Nhìn rộng ra, tác phẩm nói về vẻ đẹp con người và vai trò của con người trong tập thể (bất cứ tập thể nào, không chỉ là trong Đảng Cộng Sản Xô Viết), với một cái nhìn trung dung, rất thực tế và tình người. Mình nghĩ có lẽ nếu cuốn sách ít được tuyên truyền dưới màu cờ chính trị, nó sẽ tới được nhiều người đọc hơn, với những đôi mắt rộng mở hơn, và điều đó sẽ ảnh hưởng tới tất cả mọi người theo hướng tích cực mà thôi.
Đoạn kết hơi có chút hụt hẫng, một kết truyện chưa thực sự hoàn hảo. Hẳn không phải là một tiểu thuyết hay nếu xét về mặt kết cấu, nhưng là một thước phim tài liệu chân thực, đem đến nhiều cảm hứng cho người đọc.
Nhưng mình đã nhầm. Quả thực tinh thần chung của cuốn sách là một cuộc đấu tranh không ngừng nghỉ, nhưng xuyên suốt là những khó khăn chồng chất khó khăn, là sự cố gắng hết mặt này tới mặt khác, là những lúc mất niềm tin.
Mình cứ nghĩ cuốn sách sẽ khen các Đảng viên hết mực, nhưng nó lại đề cập tới những thực tế hết sức phũ phàng, rằng đôi khi có những người lợi dụng vào Đảng để trở nên tha hóa, và cái đẹp thực sự của Đảng là ở chính những con người trong tập thể đó.
Nhìn chung, cuốn sách như một tác phẩm nghị luận xã hội, đầy trung lập và nghiêm khắc, và cũng hết sức nhân văn. Nhìn rộng ra, tác phẩm nói về vẻ đẹp con người và vai trò của con người trong tập thể (bất cứ tập thể nào, không chỉ là trong Đảng Cộng Sản Xô Viết), với một cái nhìn trung dung, rất thực tế và tình người. Mình nghĩ có lẽ nếu cuốn sách ít được tuyên truyền dưới màu cờ chính trị, nó sẽ tới được nhiều người đọc hơn, với những đôi mắt rộng mở hơn, và điều đó sẽ ảnh hưởng tới tất cả mọi người theo hướng tích cực mà thôi.
Đoạn kết hơi có chút hụt hẫng, một kết truyện chưa thực sự hoàn hảo. Hẳn không phải là một tiểu thuyết hay nếu xét về mặt kết cấu, nhưng là một thước phim tài liệu chân thực, đem đến nhiều cảm hứng cho người đọc.
August 6, 2023
Socialist Realism is deeply misunderstood in the US. The stereotypes about rigid, propagandistic "artists in uniform" (Max Eastman's phrase) don't hold water if you actually read the books and poems themselves. HTSWT is widely agreed by all critics to be the representative work of socialist realism, and it has a sparkling sense of humor, three dimensional characters struggling against tragedy, and (surprise) scathing critiques of communist bureaucracy. I fear this book is cut from US curriculum for purely political reasons completely unrelated to artistic merit. Especially in this hypocritical time when our culture czars clamor for more Ukrainian "representation" in our curriculum (I teach middle school ELA, and before that high school), how could they ignore one of the greatest Ukrainian authors and novels of all time? Answer: Ostrovsky was a communist; when the aforementioned czars cry out for "representation" they mean they only want Ukrainian puppets who echo their own sick views. So who is being censorious and rigid again? Reading socialist realism classics like HTSWT will hopefully teach more of us the valuable lesson that slander about socialism (especially in the realm of arts and letters) is mostly deluded projection. Given current events, that lesson is just as valuable today as it was a century ago.
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