Иго войны

by Leonid Andreyev

لِئانید آندری یف، در رمان یوغ جنگ زوایای تاریک روح انسانی را می‌شکافد و عمیق‌ترین لایه‌های پنهان روح آدمی و تشویش درونی‌اش را بر صفحهٔ کاغذ خود پیاده می‌کند.
او در سال‌های نخستین جنگ جهانی اول (۱۹۱۶)، این اثر را خلق کرد که در حقیقت پژواک وجدان انسانی در برابر ویرانی، تاراج و مرگ است. این رمان نه فقط سندی از مصایب جنگ میان آلمان و روسیه که بیانیه‌ای از درد و اندوه جانکاه انسان در مواجهه با خشونت و یأس است.
آندری یف در مقابل بحران جنگ با دیدگانی اشک بار و سرشار از وحشت
به عمق فاجعه می‌نگرد، چراکه او جنگ را نه فقط پدیده‌ای سیاسی که اسارتی برای روح بشر می‌داند.
او بر پیروزی یا شکست تمرکز ندارد، بلکه سقوط و تباهی فکر، اندیشه و جنبه‌های مختلف زندگی انسانی را در خلال جنگ به نمایش می‌گذارد.
چراکه او مدام گوشزد می‌کند جنگ نه قهرمان می‌شناسد و نه قربانی؛ تنها چیزی که می‌شناسد ویرانی است.

66 pages, Unknown Binding

About the author

Leonid Nikolayevich Andreyev (Russian: Леонид Николаевич Андреев; 1871-1919) was a Russian playwright and short-story writer who led the Expressionist movement in the national literature. He was active between the revolution of 1905 and the Communist revolution which finally overthrew the Tsarist government. His first story published was About a Poor Student, a narrative based upon his own experiences. It was not, however, until Gorky discovered him by stories appearing in the Moscow Courier and elsewhere that Andreyevs literary career really began. His first collection of stories appeared in 1901, and sold a quarter-million copies in short time. He was hailed as a new star in Russia, where his name soon became a byword. He published his short story, In the Fog in 1902. Although he started out in the Russian vein he soon startled his readers by his eccentricities, which grew even faster than his fame. His two best known stories may be The Red Laugh (1904) and The Seven Who Were Hanged (1908). His dramas include the Symbolist plays The Life of Man (1906), Tsar Hunger (1907), Black Masks (1908), Anathema (1909) and He Who Gets Slapped (1915).

Reviews

[Jose Cruz · Rating 4 out of 5]

Novela de 144 páginas, publicada en 1916, en la que el protagonista relata, en forma de diario, los inicios de la Primera Guerra Mundial, y lo que significó para su país, Rusia, y sobre todo en su propia vida cotidiana. Gracias a su edad, no entra en el cupo de incorporación a filas. Sin embargo, sus pensamientos se debaten entre el pacifismo y sus remordimientos al sentirse menospreciado frente a los graves eventos que sufre el país. Una novela histórica de muy recomendada lectura.

[Eugene · Rating 5 out of 5]

My god, never thought it was possible to express so much in four hours, narration is amazing, this one will stay with you for a long time.

[Dima · Rating 5 out of 5]

Written in the form of a man's diary, this is an account of the impact of war on the middle class, and the quotidien life of a family living under the shadow of war, and trying to survive. Through a series of small events and some pivotal ones, we see our protagonist's life unravel and his psychological evenness falter and finally fall apart. It is perhaps the most powerful depiction of the horrors of war on civil population, without any shots fired in the process. In my view, it ranks among the top anti war pieces of literature ever written. Some memorable quotes [my own translation]:

And why should I suffer, who benefit from this? Judge me if you want, but if only I had the strength ... enchant myself, mesmerise, I would, without compunction, do so and would not look back even once in the direction of war. Who needs me, someone who doesn't even participate in the war effort, to also suffer, lose sleep, harm my health, and affect my ability to work?

.

Andrei Vasilievich, the future reader of my diary, just received two Georgian Crosses concurrently. Sashneka [my wife], being friends with Andrei Vasilievich, is infinitely proud of this fact, and I only dare to wonder: how happy are you, yourself, Andrei Vasilievich?

How much stupidity is there in this arithmetic of theirs: counting people by the millions, like grain for sale. They are only fooling themselves with this count: millions! It's grain and cucumbers that you should count, but for a man there is no number. This is devil's foolery. Anyone who calls people not by their name, but by the number, is a devil's servant and a fool: lies to himself and fools others - the moment you start counting people, you immediately lose all mercy, all sanity.

[Аня Чан · Rating 4 out of 5]

Dudé en leerlo. Mucho se ha escrito sobre el tema, y ya he leído a otros rusos que narran extraordinariamente las atrocidades de la guerra.

No sabría decir si aporta ideas nuevas, pero es una novela bien escrita, de fácil lectura por su formato de diario, y que deja ver el talento del autor para exponer el alma humana, como buen ruso. En lo personal me gustó, me estrujó el corazón varias veces y me hizo llorar y reírme también.