{"id":4658,"date":"2018-03-08T21:08:07","date_gmt":"2018-03-08T20:08:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.lesestunden.de\/?p=4658"},"modified":"2020-05-30T22:10:17","modified_gmt":"2020-05-30T20:10:17","slug":"naechtliche-wege-gaito-gasdanow","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.lesestunden.de\/en\/2018\/03\/night-roads-gaito-gazdanov\/","title":{"rendered":"Night Roads \u2022 Gaito Gazdanov"},"content":{"rendered":"\r\n

Some authors can consistently impress and completely captivate me \u2014 and Gaito Gazdanov belongs to this category without any reservation. His book The Phantom of Alexander Wolf<\/em> is a wonderful classic that I consider one of the great titles of world literature. When I looked for more of his works, I was disappointed to find that there are not many available in German. Fortunately, the Hanser Verlag has taken it upon itself to gradually unearth and retranslate these treasures. When I discovered Night Roads<\/em> on the Hanser Verlag website<\/a>, my joy was immense. It was a book that didn\u2019t have to wait long on my pile of unread books.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

Gaito Gazdanov, born in 1903 in St. Petersburg, joined the White Army as a soldier when he was just sixteen. After their defeat, he fled from the Bolsheviks in 1923 along with many other Russian \u00e9migr\u00e9s to Paris. There, he worked various jobs, survived through casual labor, and later spent many years as a night taxi driver. At the same time, he attended lectures at the Sorbonne, particularly on literature. All the novels I\u2019ve read by him so far deal with his own past \u2014 his wartime experiences, his service on an armored train, but also his time in Paris and how he perceived exile. In An Evening with Claire<\/a>, the war and his past were central themes.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

In Night Roads<\/em>, he recounts his experiences as a night taxi driver, describing the nightlife of 1930s Paris, the people he encounters, and episodes from their lives and his own. The novel doesn\u2019t have a clear plot; instead, the reader listens to his stories \u2014 a mosaic of encounters and observations of the people the nameless protagonist meets and how he perceives and judges them. This reveals much about the narrator himself, as his impressions are always subjective and colored by emotions that often fluctuate. The way Gazdanov tells his stories \u2014 the depth of his thoughts, his inner conflict, and sense of homelessness \u2014 are recurring themes throughout his works. I find this style gripping, with its smooth and fluid language and thought processes that never seem fully resolved but always reveal something of his emotional life. His writing, always profound and introspective, deeply fascinates me.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

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The reader encounters a variety of characters from the nocturnal underworld of Paris: prostitutes, alcoholics, demi-mondaines, taxi drivers, and laborers \u2014 all representatives of a social milieu that Gazdanov was forced to move within. They are portrayed vividly, with beautiful language and philosophical reflection. The narrator is an observer \u2014 anything but neutral \u2014 yet he never intervenes in the fates of those around him. The sense of homelessness, longing, and a hint of emerging madness reveal a displaced, melancholic, yet highly intelligent man who observes his surroundings with keen perception. Gazdanov brings this world to life with remarkable precision.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

“In nocturnal Paris, I felt during my work, day after day, like a sober man among drunkards. This entire life was alien to me and stirred in me nothing but disgust or pity \u2014 all those friends of night bars or certain establishments, these lovers in their own way […] whose shamelessness resembled that of monkeys in the zoo \u2014 the whole thing turned my stomach […]” (p. 239)<\/p><\/blockquote>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

The book is complex and conveys thoughts and emotions on many levels. There is Paris and its nightlife, its people and their portraits. Translator Christian K\u00f6rner sees clear connections between Gazdanov\u2019s style and that of the existentialists, particularly Camus. The blurb even refers to him as the \u201cRussian Camus.\u201d The comparison is apt \u2014 Gazdanov constantly grapples with the question of the meaning of life in the existences he portrays. Yet this question remains open, unanswered \u2014 left for the reader to ponder. I found that artistic and effective \u2014 another layer through which one can experience this book. Interwoven with that are the narrator\u2019s reflections, memories, and the lingering influence of war and exile, which shape his emotions and worldview. The longing for home and a constant sense of nostalgia run through the novel, expressed in many small scenes \u2014 in the music, in the figure of a fallen demi-mondaine, in memories, and in the many Russian \u00e9migr\u00e9s who were once generals and high-ranking men. The blending of French nightlife figures with the world of Russian \u00e9migr\u00e9s creates a deeply subjective portrayal of Gazdanov\u2019s environment.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

“And at the same time, my old fear returned, born of long and sad experience, which essentially came down to the thought that this baleful and miserable Paris, crisscrossed by endless nocturnal roads, was merely a continuation of my almost always half-delirious state \u2014 into which, strangely and incomprehensibly enough, fragments of living reality were inserted, yet surrounded by a dead architecture in darkness, by music resounding through a desolate and impenetrable space, and by those human masks whose falseness and pretense were probably obvious to everyone except me.” (p. 249)<\/p><\/blockquote>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

While reading, I constantly had the feeling that Gazdanov was writing autobiographically \u2014 and that\u2019s probably true. According to the afterword, most of the characters were based on real people he knew. His thoughts, emotions, and conclusions feel authentic. He comes across as a subtle and reflective person, yet surprisingly harsh toward others. It\u2019s a strange contrast \u2014 on one hand, I imagined him as a calm, well-educated gentleman; on the other, as someone inwardly distant and aloof.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

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At 280 pages, the book isn\u2019t particularly long, yet it took me unusually long to read. That\u2019s because of Gazdanov\u2019s long, beautifully written sentences \u2014 reading them is pure pleasure. This is not a book to rush through; it must be read slowly, letting the words flow through the mind. There\u2019s a calmness, a strength, and a deep resonance in them, which \u2014 through context and the author\u2019s personality \u2014 take on a second layer of meaning. It\u2019s a bit like listening to a melody.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

With this edition, Hanser Verlag once again proves its mastery of book design. The dark blue dust jacket, featuring cars from the period and muted colors, perfectly captures the tone of the text. The circular cutout on the jacket reveals the book\u2019s gray-yellow cover beneath, which continues the design \u2014 almost as a metaphor for Gazdanov\u2019s approach of showing a fragment and illuminating a part of the nocturnal world around him. Wonderfully done.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

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The book, like Gazdanov\u2019s other works published by Hanser Verlag, feels pleasant in hand. I really like it, although it unfortunately lacks a ribbon marker and thread binding.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

Conclusion:<\/strong> Night Roads<\/em> is a wonderful book, quintessential of Gaito Gazdanov\u2019s style. With a steady yet gentle sense of melancholy, the reader accompanies the narrator through the social world of Parisian nightlife in the 1930s. With masterful sentences, Gazdanov describes episodes from the lives of workers, prostitutes, taxi drivers, and lost, alcohol-dependent souls \u2014 interpreting what he sees, exploring his own emotions, and portraying a protagonist who, intelligent yet misanthropic, observes a lost society from a disillusioned, seemingly neutral stance. A fascinating read that I will certainly revisit, as it contains so many thoughts and feelings that one reading is not enough. The edition, with its cut-out circle, is beautifully designed \u2014 a perfect visual match to the story\u2019s atmosphere. This book is undoubtedly one of the highlights of the year and brings a remarkable work by an equally remarkable author to a wider audience.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

Book information:<\/strong> Night Roads \u2022 Gaito Gazdanov \u2022 Hanser Verlag \u2022 288 pages \u2022 ISBN 9783446258112<\/p>\r\n\r\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Some authors can consistently impress and completely captivate me \u2014 and Gaito Gazdanov belongs to this category without any reservation. His book The Phantom of Alexander Wolf is a wonderful classic that I consider one of the great titles of world literature. When I looked for more of his works, I was disappointed to find … <\/p>\n

Continue reading “Night Roads \u2022 Gaito Gazdanov”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":7599,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"slim_seo":{"title":"N\u00e4chtliche Wege \u2022 Gaito Gasdanow - lesestunden","description":"Manche Autoren k\u00f6nnen durchg\u00e4ngig \u00fcberzeugen und mich v\u00f6llig in ihren Bann ziehen und zu dieser Kategorie geh\u00f6rt Gaito Gasdanow ohne Einschr\u00e4nkung. Sein Buch&nb"},"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[10,20],"tags":[155,76],"class_list":["post-4658","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-classics","category-reviews","tag-christiane-koerner","tag-gaito-gasdanow"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.lesestunden.de\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/03\/naechtliche_wege_beitrag_2.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lesestunden.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4658","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lesestunden.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lesestunden.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lesestunden.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lesestunden.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4658"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.lesestunden.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4658\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lesestunden.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/7599"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lesestunden.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4658"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lesestunden.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4658"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lesestunden.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4658"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}