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The Odessans
This novel recounts the story of three families in Odessa, Ukraine, and the friendship that sustains them through war, famine, political struggle, and incredible hardship.
410 pages, Hardcover
First published April 18, 1996
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99 people want to read
About the author
Irina Ratushinskaya
19 books27 followersIrina Ratushinskaya was born in Odessa, Ukraine. Her father was Boris Leonidovich, an engineer, and her mother was Irina Valentinovna Ratushinsky, a teacher of Russian literature. Her mother's family originated from Poland, and her grandfather was deported to Siberia shortly after the January Uprising, a Polish uprising against forced conscription in the Russian Army in 1863.
Irina was educated at Odessa University and was graduated with a master's degree in physics in 1976. Before her graduation she taught at a primary school in Odessa from 1975–78.
On September 17, 1982, Irina was arrested for anti-Soviet agitation. In April 1983, she was convicted of "agitation carried on for the purpose of subverting or weakening the Soviet regime", sentenced to seven years in a labor camp followed by five years of internal exile. She was released on October 9, 1986, on the eve of the summit in Reykjavík, Iceland between President Ronald Reagan and Mikhail Gorbachev.
While imprisoned, Irina continued to write poetry. Her previous works usually centered on love, Christian theology, and artistic creation, not on politics or policies as her accusers stated. Her new works that were written in prison, which were written on soap until memorized and then washed away, number some 250. They expressed an appreciation for human rights; liberty, freedom, and the beauty of life. Her memoir, Grey is the Colour of Hope, chronicles her prison experience. Her later poems recount her struggles to endure the hardships and horrors of prison life. Irina is a member of International PEN, who monitored her situation during her incarceration.
In 1987, Irina moved to the United States, where she received the Religious Freedom Award from the Institute on Religion and Democracy. In the same year she was deprived of Soviet citizenship by Politburo. She also was the Poet in Residence at Northwestern University from 1987–89. She lived in London, UK until December 1998, when she returned to Russia to educate her children in Russian school after a year of procedures to restore Russian citizenship.
She lives in Moscow with her husband, human rights activist Igor Gerashchenko, and two sons.
(from Wikipedia)
Irina was educated at Odessa University and was graduated with a master's degree in physics in 1976. Before her graduation she taught at a primary school in Odessa from 1975–78.
On September 17, 1982, Irina was arrested for anti-Soviet agitation. In April 1983, she was convicted of "agitation carried on for the purpose of subverting or weakening the Soviet regime", sentenced to seven years in a labor camp followed by five years of internal exile. She was released on October 9, 1986, on the eve of the summit in Reykjavík, Iceland between President Ronald Reagan and Mikhail Gorbachev.
While imprisoned, Irina continued to write poetry. Her previous works usually centered on love, Christian theology, and artistic creation, not on politics or policies as her accusers stated. Her new works that were written in prison, which were written on soap until memorized and then washed away, number some 250. They expressed an appreciation for human rights; liberty, freedom, and the beauty of life. Her memoir, Grey is the Colour of Hope, chronicles her prison experience. Her later poems recount her struggles to endure the hardships and horrors of prison life. Irina is a member of International PEN, who monitored her situation during her incarceration.
In 1987, Irina moved to the United States, where she received the Religious Freedom Award from the Institute on Religion and Democracy. In the same year she was deprived of Soviet citizenship by Politburo. She also was the Poet in Residence at Northwestern University from 1987–89. She lived in London, UK until December 1998, when she returned to Russia to educate her children in Russian school after a year of procedures to restore Russian citizenship.
She lives in Moscow with her husband, human rights activist Igor Gerashchenko, and two sons.
(from Wikipedia)
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Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
February 21, 2021
The Odessans by Irina Ratushinskaya, translated by Geoffrey Smith, Sceptre Books
The first impression is that of a novel about war and death, family and friendship. Enticing themes on their own, especially when the canvas is early 20th-century Russia. Even more so when the writer was dissident poet Irina Ratushinskaya, sentenced to seven years in a labour camp, allegedly for trying to weaken the Soviet regime. You immediately realise you are in for a riveting story.
Reading on, it dawns on you this is a novel
about history in the making! Starting with the Russo -Japanese War, we then become witnesses of the 1917 October Revolution, the Russian Civil War and the first years of the Stalin era. Fascinating as the historic background is, it never overshadows the stories of the characters in what is to become modern Ukraine (Russian, Polish, Jewish familes). The narrative is powerful and free from tedious details so that prominence is given to small and big revolutions. The liminal point where regimes succeed regimes and loyalties shift irrevocably fits in a single vigorous image, that of tearing down flags; the historic moment when enemies succeed enemies finds its place in a single telling sentence: 'what a time they'd picked to go shooting at our own fellow country-men!'
And then another layer reveals itself: the different impact war has on men and women. You reread the book as an account of gendered perspectives on war, revolution, heroism and violence. Only very soon stereotypes crumble. A woman 'pining over a lot of nonsense' understanding nothing of the 'momentous events..unfolding', will later justify the need for terror in terms of pain and blood as the only means to give birth to the new Soviet regime. Men officers do their duty defending Russia but confess: 'I've no idea what I'm supposed to be doing'. Myths collapse at the same time as traditions give way. Fighting men, protectors of women, children and their cities, get told off by 'their' women: ' You all think Russia is like a fish-bowl with goldfish in it, and that at any moment it'll be smashed to bits...don't go inventing great missions for yourself'. Against all odds, women find the way to survive a 'savage revolution' and a 'total absurdity', even if they brandish no weapons against 'these people who were rampaging about the city like devils'; even if they have to use Flaubert with its golden binding as firewood.
Intriguing though the themes are, it is the atmosphere of The Odessans that is truly unparalleled. The terror that infiltrates life, the 'accumulated malice' and the frustration with the once revered regime would make any book depressing. The Odessans are far from depressing though. The heroes wonder about the value of dignity and human life at such wretched times but it is significant that they do so. It won't be long before compassion and humanity emerge in all their glory: an estranged sister will save her brother and a beggar's dying baby will be given a chance to live. The cycle of violence and revenge is broken in a poetic way (after all, Irina Ratushinskaya was predominantly a poet) and, for me, this modern Odyssey is an exultation of love and humanity.
..................................................................................
Deprived of paper, she would scratch her poems on bars of soap, commit them to memory, erase them and reconstitute them when eventually paper came to hand. Somehow she smuggled them out to Igor, and he relayed them to the world.
From Irina Ratushinskaya obituary in The Guardian, 9 July 2017
The first impression is that of a novel about war and death, family and friendship. Enticing themes on their own, especially when the canvas is early 20th-century Russia. Even more so when the writer was dissident poet Irina Ratushinskaya, sentenced to seven years in a labour camp, allegedly for trying to weaken the Soviet regime. You immediately realise you are in for a riveting story.
Reading on, it dawns on you this is a novel
about history in the making! Starting with the Russo -Japanese War, we then become witnesses of the 1917 October Revolution, the Russian Civil War and the first years of the Stalin era. Fascinating as the historic background is, it never overshadows the stories of the characters in what is to become modern Ukraine (Russian, Polish, Jewish familes). The narrative is powerful and free from tedious details so that prominence is given to small and big revolutions. The liminal point where regimes succeed regimes and loyalties shift irrevocably fits in a single vigorous image, that of tearing down flags; the historic moment when enemies succeed enemies finds its place in a single telling sentence: 'what a time they'd picked to go shooting at our own fellow country-men!'
And then another layer reveals itself: the different impact war has on men and women. You reread the book as an account of gendered perspectives on war, revolution, heroism and violence. Only very soon stereotypes crumble. A woman 'pining over a lot of nonsense' understanding nothing of the 'momentous events..unfolding', will later justify the need for terror in terms of pain and blood as the only means to give birth to the new Soviet regime. Men officers do their duty defending Russia but confess: 'I've no idea what I'm supposed to be doing'. Myths collapse at the same time as traditions give way. Fighting men, protectors of women, children and their cities, get told off by 'their' women: ' You all think Russia is like a fish-bowl with goldfish in it, and that at any moment it'll be smashed to bits...don't go inventing great missions for yourself'. Against all odds, women find the way to survive a 'savage revolution' and a 'total absurdity', even if they brandish no weapons against 'these people who were rampaging about the city like devils'; even if they have to use Flaubert with its golden binding as firewood.
Intriguing though the themes are, it is the atmosphere of The Odessans that is truly unparalleled. The terror that infiltrates life, the 'accumulated malice' and the frustration with the once revered regime would make any book depressing. The Odessans are far from depressing though. The heroes wonder about the value of dignity and human life at such wretched times but it is significant that they do so. It won't be long before compassion and humanity emerge in all their glory: an estranged sister will save her brother and a beggar's dying baby will be given a chance to live. The cycle of violence and revenge is broken in a poetic way (after all, Irina Ratushinskaya was predominantly a poet) and, for me, this modern Odyssey is an exultation of love and humanity.
..................................................................................
Deprived of paper, she would scratch her poems on bars of soap, commit them to memory, erase them and reconstitute them when eventually paper came to hand. Somehow she smuggled them out to Igor, and he relayed them to the world.
From Irina Ratushinskaya obituary in The Guardian, 9 July 2017
March 27, 2022
Part
WAR AND PEACE
, part
GULAG ARCHIPELAGO
, part brilliant originality. A page turning tale that parallels world events at the time of my reading. Ratushinskaya has a brilliancy of writing style, poetically painting images that, while sometimes horrific to imagine, are beautiful to behold in a literary sense.
"What will come of them, Lord, what will come of us all."
"What will come of them, Lord, what will come of us all."
January 28, 2018
”But their deaths were somehow easier to understand, and were in the nature of grown-up losses. They were not the sort you cry over – rather, they came to you during sleepless nights as you stared with dry eyes up at the ceiling of a Parisian flat, or at the roof of your dug-out, or at the naked sky over your shattered, retreating detachment.”
This is not a happy book. After all, it takes place in a rather unhappy time period. But it is a powerful one – and it does not mean there isn’t happiness in it. It is an epic story, spanning decades and relating the lives and fates of three Odessan families during perhaps the most devastating period in Russian history.
Ratushinskaya alternates between emotional descriptions of tragic events, like a death of a character (I don’t count this as a spoiler, because with such a big cast there is no way all of them will be alive at the end – remember where we are), or short, detached accounts of the same. Which is probably a good thing – rationing your emotions. Writing emotionally about every single horrible thing would quickly drain any reader and consequently make them numb to the rest. Quite the opposite, by alternating in this fashion, she manages to make every event seem even more tragic and brutal; the detached manner somewhat disgusts you, but also makes you aware of just how much tragedy there is, and the emotional one makes you feel the pain of it all.
When I turned the last page, I felt a sense of regret that I was leaving these characters – a feeling that was probably heightened by the unresolved ending – which I always take as a sign that the book got to me. It did suffer slightly from being a translation, resulting in some phrases that seemed a little out of place (of course, this could just be the author, but I usually suspect the translator, having worked with a few myself), and the introductory part of the book - roughly the first 1/4 - could seem a little fragmented and rushed, as if some necessary elements needed to be put in, in order to tell the more important story later. But it is exactly the later story that becomes powerful and worth it.
One thing I need to mention, though, is that I knew a fairly good deal about what transpired in this time period before reading this book, and this no doubt helped my understanding. There were many things mentioned without any explanation, e.g. Rasputin; I suspect this is because it would already be somewhat familiar to a Russian reader (and it is a translated book). I would recommend getting to know the country’s 20th century history (if you don’t already), at least superficially, before going in. Much of my knowledge comes from reading the non-fiction book Former People: The Final Days of the Russian Aristocracy by Douglas Smith, which I highly recommend if you have any interest in learning more, and also The Romanov Sisters: The Lost Lives of the Daughters of Nicholas and Alexandra and The Last Days of the Romanovs: Tragedy at Ekaterinburg by Helen Rappaport, for more detailed knowledge on the last tsar and his family, who are also mentioned a fair few times (and who were, of course, crucial to the way events unfolded before, during, and after the revolution).
I hope you feel inclined to pick this up!
/NK
This is not a happy book. After all, it takes place in a rather unhappy time period. But it is a powerful one – and it does not mean there isn’t happiness in it. It is an epic story, spanning decades and relating the lives and fates of three Odessan families during perhaps the most devastating period in Russian history.
Ratushinskaya alternates between emotional descriptions of tragic events, like a death of a character (I don’t count this as a spoiler, because with such a big cast there is no way all of them will be alive at the end – remember where we are), or short, detached accounts of the same. Which is probably a good thing – rationing your emotions. Writing emotionally about every single horrible thing would quickly drain any reader and consequently make them numb to the rest. Quite the opposite, by alternating in this fashion, she manages to make every event seem even more tragic and brutal; the detached manner somewhat disgusts you, but also makes you aware of just how much tragedy there is, and the emotional one makes you feel the pain of it all.
When I turned the last page, I felt a sense of regret that I was leaving these characters – a feeling that was probably heightened by the unresolved ending – which I always take as a sign that the book got to me. It did suffer slightly from being a translation, resulting in some phrases that seemed a little out of place (of course, this could just be the author, but I usually suspect the translator, having worked with a few myself), and the introductory part of the book - roughly the first 1/4 - could seem a little fragmented and rushed, as if some necessary elements needed to be put in, in order to tell the more important story later. But it is exactly the later story that becomes powerful and worth it.
One thing I need to mention, though, is that I knew a fairly good deal about what transpired in this time period before reading this book, and this no doubt helped my understanding. There were many things mentioned without any explanation, e.g. Rasputin; I suspect this is because it would already be somewhat familiar to a Russian reader (and it is a translated book). I would recommend getting to know the country’s 20th century history (if you don’t already), at least superficially, before going in. Much of my knowledge comes from reading the non-fiction book Former People: The Final Days of the Russian Aristocracy by Douglas Smith, which I highly recommend if you have any interest in learning more, and also The Romanov Sisters: The Lost Lives of the Daughters of Nicholas and Alexandra and The Last Days of the Romanovs: Tragedy at Ekaterinburg by Helen Rappaport, for more detailed knowledge on the last tsar and his family, who are also mentioned a fair few times (and who were, of course, crucial to the way events unfolded before, during, and after the revolution).
I hope you feel inclined to pick this up!
/NK
May 24, 2022
I read Grey is the Colour of Hope, a story of her imprisonment in Soviet Moldova under anti Soviet laws, and was gripped by Irina's voice so read The Odessans first in 1996. Given the situation in Ukraine currently I took The Odessans back off the bookshelf and read it again.
A story of families brought up in the Russian Empire and yet seeing themselves as different from the majority, extending from the Russian Japanese War disaster at Port Arthur through to the German invasion of Russia in Operation Barbarossa this follows the ups, downs; Lives and deaths of The Petrovs, the Geibers and the Teslenkos.
Set 100 years before and written 50 years after, Irina Ratushinskaya clearly sets out a non Russian thinking. Even almost 30 years after publication it would seem that the painful memories of the Red Terror, Stalin's Pogroms, the Ukrainian famine are embedded in Ukraine's memory for good and bad
A story of families brought up in the Russian Empire and yet seeing themselves as different from the majority, extending from the Russian Japanese War disaster at Port Arthur through to the German invasion of Russia in Operation Barbarossa this follows the ups, downs; Lives and deaths of The Petrovs, the Geibers and the Teslenkos.
Set 100 years before and written 50 years after, Irina Ratushinskaya clearly sets out a non Russian thinking. Even almost 30 years after publication it would seem that the painful memories of the Red Terror, Stalin's Pogroms, the Ukrainian famine are embedded in Ukraine's memory for good and bad
April 28, 2024
The novel follows the story of three different Russian families from the end of the 19th Century to the thirties. Although I was initially engaged I increasingly found myself overwhelmed by the narratives and so lost empathy for the individual characters. The writer is primarily a poet which may be relevant.
April 6, 2019
A sweeping, Tolstoy like, Russian history of the end of the Tsar and Revolution for two Ukrainian families from Odessa. Enjoyed its ambition and touching family stories.
January 10, 2023
Interesting saga about a group of inter-related families and friends in Odessa during World War I, the Russian Civil War and leading up to World War II.
October 28, 2012
I so wanted to like this book. Ratushinskaya has written some wonderful memoirs of her time in Soviet Russia, and is to be applauded for her courage in standing up to the regime. And this is indeed a very good account of life between the 1905 revolution and World War II. If you want to know what life was like for ordinary citizens during those years, then this book will tell you. But as a piece of fiction it just doesn't work, and unless it is the translation that is at fault, I found this book quite hard to get involved with.
October 27, 2014
I guess I expected more.
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews