Soul by Andrey Platonov
Born in Central Asia Chagataev, the hero, goes on to be educated in Moscow. As an adult he is sent back to his birthplace as a kind of missionary, believing his people are 'lost in the desert' he goes to rescue them and lead them towards Communism. His mission becomes a search for happiness and, ultimately, Chagataev discovers that he needs their help as much as they need his. Platonov's style is that of myth and fable. Chagataev is an epic hero, a 20th century Moses leading his people to freedom and battling against the powers of darkness and yet, at the same time, he is lost and vulnerable, uncomfortable with the responsibility he tries to shoulder. In trying to release the people from one ruling power, he himself fills the role of another. This is ultimately a story about being in possession of your own life. Platonov weaves together Zoroastrian myth, Sufism, Communism and Freud creating a work of psychological and philosophical complexity.
Andrey Platonov was born near Voronezh in 1899. From 1918 he published articles in the "thick" Moscow journals before becoming a war correspondent during the Great Patriotic War of 1941-45. He died in 1946 and it was not until the 1980s that his great novels The Foundation Pit and Chevengur were finally published in Russia.
| SKU | Unavailable |
| ISBN 13 | 9781843430384 |
| ISBN 10 | 184343038X |
| Title | Soul |
| Author | Andrey Platonov |
| Condition | Unavailable |
| Binding Type | Paperback |
| Publisher | Vintage Publishing |
| Year published | 2003-04-03 |
| Number of pages | 192 |
| Prizes | Commended for Rossica Translation Prize 2005 |
| Cover note | Book picture is for illustrative purposes only, actual binding, cover or edition may vary. |
| Note | Unavailable |