Engineers Of The Soul by Frank Westerman

Engineers Of The Soul by Frank Westerman

Engineers of the Soul is the riveting story of two journeys - one literal, one imaginary - through contemporary Russia and through Soviet-era literature. Travelling through present and past, Frank Westerman draws the reader into the wild euphoria of the Russian Revolution, as art and reality are bent to radically new purposes. Writers of renown, described by Stalin as 'engineers of the soul', were encouraged to sing the praises of canal and dam construction under titles such as Energy, The Hydraulic Power Station and Onward, Time! But their enthusiasm - spontaneous and idealistic at first - soon becomes an obligatory song of praise. And as these colossal waterworks lead to slavery and destruction, Soviet writers labour on in the service of a deluded totalitarian society. Combining investigative journalism with literary history, Westerman examines both the landscape of 'Oriental despotism' and the books - and lives - of writers caught in the wheels of the system. 'It is easy to die a hero's death,' wrote Konstantin Paustovsky, 'but it is difficult to live a hero's life.' Engineers of the Soul sweeps the reader along to the dramatic dénouement: the final confrontation between writers and engineers that signalled the end of the Soviet empire.

Westerman is a very fine writer and his stories, characters and digressions are as delicately wrought as a watch mechanismHe reminds me of Bruce Chatwin and the Polish journalist Ryszard Kapuscinski. Like them, he has elevated the authorial journalist-traveller into a brilliant, magic storyteller; like them he seeks out the smaller, human-sized epics that play out their tragedies against the backdrop of history. * Sunday Times *
Engagingly written and extensively researched, the book covers compelling historical and literary ground. * Financial Times *
Endlessly fascinating, breathtaking. Engineers of the Soul is surprising and original, not to mention meticulously researched and well-written * de Volkskrant *
A beautifully written, well-documented, extraordinarily fascinating book, full of wonderful anecdotes * Vrij Nederland *

Engineers of the Soul is a brilliant fusion of travel writing and Soviet history by one of Europe's most gifted young writers. Frank Westerman was born in 1964 and lived and worked in Moscow from 1997 to 2002 as correspondent for the leading Dutch NRC Handelsblad newspaper. Westerman is the author of five books. His work has been published in more than ten languages and has won many prizes.

SKU	Unavailable
ISBN 13	9781843431008
ISBN 10	1843431009
Title	Engineers Of The Soul
Author	Frank Westerman
Condition	Unavailable
Binding Type	Paperback
Publisher	Vintage Publishing
Year published	2010-05-06
Number of pages	320
Cover note	Book picture is for illustrative purposes only, actual binding, cover or edition may vary.
Note	Unavailable