You Must Know Everything

by Isaac Babel

Book by Babel, Isaac

Genres: Short Stories, Russia, Fiction, Audiobook

Paperback

First published January 1, 1915

About the author

Isaak Emmanuilovich Babel (Russian: Исаак Эммануилович Бабель; 1894 - 1940) was a Russian language journalist, playwright, literary translator, and short story writer. He is best known as the author of Red Cavalry, Story of my Dovecote and Tales of Odessa, all of which are considered masterpieces of Russian literature. Babel has also been acclaimed as "the greatest prose writer of Russian Jewry."

Loyal to, but not uncritical of, the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, Isaak Babel fell victim to Joseph Stalin's Great Purge due to his longterm affair with the wife of NKVD chief Nikolai Yezhov. Babel was arrested by the NKVD at Peredelkino on the night of May 15, 1939. After "confessing", under torture, to being a Trotskyist terrorist and foreign spy, Babel was shot on January 27, 1940. The arrest and execution of Isaak Babel has been labeled a catastrophe for the world of literature.

Reviews

[Jamie · Rating 4 out of 5]

You Must Know Everything is one of Babel's earliest stories and even here you can see his masterful talent at storytelling, guiding the reader through what on the surface seems mundane but giving it the edge of reality and the unexpected that come with it.

[Luis Agustín Txanpongile Münasteriotar · Rating 4 out of 5]

Dicen los mandamientos: "no matarás". Por eso Stone, que era cuáquero, se había enrolado como conductor. Servía a su país sin cometer el terrible pecado de matar. Con su educación y sus medios hubiera podido conseguir una posición más digna, pero, esclavo de su conciencia, aceptaba con humildad este mísero trabajo y la compañía de personas a quienes consideraba groseras.
¿Cómo era Stone? Una cúpula pelada en lo alto de un mástil. El Señor le había dado un cuerpo solo para que elevara sus pensamientos sobre las triviales cuitas de este mundo. Cada uno de sus movimientos era nada menos que una victoria de la mente sobre la materia. Al volante de su automóvil, no importa cuán calamitosa fuera la situación, se conducía con la inamovible rigidez de un predicador en el púlpito. Nadie le había visto reír jamás.

[Someone · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wow... This story is almost like looking at fine art. It's not just about the story itself, but the whole scene that the author draws is so well done. When I finished reading the story, I was left with the same feeling and the mood that the story itself was set at. It's a big love hate relationship, just like what the character had with his grandmother. He hated it there, but at the same time wanted it to never end. Everything was set at such extremes. The grandmother seemed very caring at some moment and the next she's a harsh impulsive woman. I couldn't tell what caused what. Was the grandmother harsh in the first place to chase others away? Or did her isolation cause the grandmother to be harsh.
Anyways, this is a wonderful piece and it's very short so I suggest everyone to give this short piece a try.

[Boody Saad]

good

[Harry · Rating 3 out of 5]

I just don't get the Russian cultural references. Most of these short stories are quite depressing.

[Emilie]

atmospheric ànd mellow, sullenly recounting that whvih is already known 😊

[ingrid · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is more than a quick read despite most of the stories being only 3 pages long. Because of the prologue and all of the appendices and afterwords, which were insightful, it is a scholarly journey to read it.
The subject matter is serious and sad overall. Babel lived before, during and after the Czarist era and into the Stalinist era. He was silenced, censored and ultimately executed by Stalinists. He could not bring himself to leave Russia.
He has been called the finest Jewish/Russian writer ever. Short stories of 3 pages can become forgettable if you read them one after another. Someone told him a short story is defined by being about an "unusual occurrence" as opposed to a novel, and thus not needful of being any longer. My favorite, however, was the longest short story, "The Jewess", probably because it was 15 pages long (and may have been unfinished) , and allowed for development of a plot.

[Mary Rude · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a rather disjointed collection of stories and articles, since it has works by Babel that were previously lost or unpublished, plus some articles about him personally. Some stories I really enjoyed, and others not so much. A few are unfinished. But this is worth taking a look at if you're a diehard Babel fan and need to read everything there is to read!

[Josef Miyasato · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is for the title story only.

[Michael Klein · Rating 4 out of 5]

Title story was excellent.

[Emily · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this story it is a slice of life story about a Jewish kid growing up in Russia studying for school at his grandmother’s and not being all that excited about being there. (I never particularly enjoyed going to either sets of my grandparents’ houses either so I can relate) It was interesting to see her attempt an interest in his learning as it is clear that what he is studying is beyond her educational background and literacy level in Russian. The writing style of this piece reminded me of other Russian literature that I have read in that it had a highly descriptive writing style and wasn’t a cheerful story (a past death is described) The unexpected conflicts in the story kept my interest and helped me enjoy this story more than some other pieces of Russian literature that I’ve read. This was good for a quicker read.

[Janet · Rating 4 out of 5]

Isaac Babel short stories from various eras in his career, 1915-1937, from manuscripts preserved, or published before he fell under Stalin's tread. Another hard one to review--these aren't his strongest stories, but weak Babel is still Babel. They will stay with me longer than good stories that don't break my nose they hit me so hard.

[Cooper Renner · Rating 3 out of 5]

A miscellany of stories and articles otherwise uncollected, along with an interview with Babel and some remembrances of him by colleagues who survived the Stalin purges.

[Steven · Rating 2 out of 5]

Tales of my mean and eccentric GrandFather ...

[Gabriela Pistol · Rating 4 out of 5]

Such a vivid description, I could completely see every detail even if I had the audiobook version (which I normally hate).

[Cindy DeLong · Rating 4 out of 5]

poignant story about a boy's memory of his grandma.

[Aya El_Tabey · Rating 3 out of 5]

Do not trust people <But we can not know everyhting >>>>