{"id":7388,"date":"2020-05-02T12:40:48","date_gmt":"2020-05-02T10:40:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.lesestunden.de\/?p=7388"},"modified":"2025-11-11T13:10:55","modified_gmt":"2025-11-11T12:10:55","slug":"die-pilger-gaito-gasdanow","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.lesestunden.de\/en\/2020\/05\/die-pilger-gaito-gasdanow\/","title":{"rendered":"Die Pilger \u2022 Gaito Gasdanow"},"content":{"rendered":"\r\n

There are authors whose language is so polished and fluid that reading their books sounds like music to my ears. At many points I truly feel as if I\u2019m listening to a melody rather than reading written words. I couldn\u2019t say exactly why that is\u2014on closer inspection, the sentence structures don\u2019t seem particularly unusual or intricate enough to explain the effect. Nor does the content have a structure that would justify it. Perhaps it\u2019s the overall composition, the way the author reveals his world of thought to the reader, and his unique way of thinking and expressing those thoughts. And perhaps it also depends on the reader, whose own thought patterns must resonate with the author\u2019s so that these inner strings begin to vibrate. One author who manages to do this for me with every one of his books is Gaito Gazdanov. He wrote nine novels, four of which have been newly translated and published by Hanser Verlag. Since then, I\u2019ve been keeping an eye out for new Gazdanov translations. Just last week I checked again\u2014and indeed, a new book of his appeared. But from a completely unexpected corner, one where I never would have expected a book by him.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

The publisher for The Pilgrims<\/em> turned out to be Books on Demand, or BoD for short. I actually only know BoD from the self-publishing scene, where anyone can publish their book with little effort and cost, complete with ISBN and full availability in bookstores. That\u2019s where The Pilgrims<\/em> by Gaito Gazdanov appeared, advertised as a newly translated late work. The book was translated and annotated by J\u00fcrgen Barck, who seems to be a newcomer, as there\u2019s virtually no trace of him online or in literary databases. So I wondered whether Barck himself had uploaded the book to BoD. To find out more, I contacted BoD directly, and they quickly replied\u2014confirming that yes, J\u00fcrgen Barck had published the book himself via BoD.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

I was able to get in touch with J\u00fcrgen Barck, and he kindly answered a few of my questions. A publication of Gazdanov\u2019s novel Awakening<\/em> is planned for mid-year. While Awakening<\/em> also belongs to his late works, next year will see Gazdanov\u2019s second novel, The Story of a Journey<\/em> (1934\/35), appear. When Barck discovered The Return of the Buddha<\/em> in its German translation a few years ago, he was so enthralled after just a few pages that he continued reading it in the original Russian. Unfortunately, Hanser Verlag did not translate any more of Gazdanov\u2019s novels, likely for business reasons\u2014his last translated work, Night Roads<\/a>, apparently didn\u2019t sell as well as expected. So Barck decided to fill that gap himself by translating the novel. A demanding task requiring deep knowledge of Russian, and Barck, true to the standards of modern translators, aimed for a highly faithful rendering. In my view, the result holds up well and is definitely on par with the quality one expects from established publishing houses.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

The novel originally appeared in the 1950s and tells the story of Robert, the wealthy son of a factory owner who, though educated and well-read, suffers from aimlessness and ennui amid his wealth. In Paris\u2019s red-light district he meets the young Jeanine and falls in love with her. But her feared pimp, Fred, regards her as his property, and conflict ensues. So the novel begins like a crime story, but then takes a rather unexpected turn.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

\"\"<\/figure>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

The narrative style is typically Gazdanov. His works available in German are usually a blend of autobiography and fiction. Gazdanov, who fought in the Russian Civil War on the White side during his youth, fled Russia after the Bolshevik victory and, after several stops, settled in Paris. There he lived in involuntary exile, and his novels radiate that atmosphere\u2014depicting Russian \u00e9migr\u00e9s stranded abroad, always somehow lonely and lost. People at odds with themselves, gazing deeply at the world around them, trying to abstract, cultured yet perpetually outsiders. None of that is present in this book. Here, Gazdanov seems truly to have arrived in Parisian society. All the characters are of French origin and firmly rooted in their environment. He creates a range of figures, described with nuance yet representing familiar archetypes: the rich industrialist\u2019s son, the poor young woman on the brink of prostitution, the petty criminal from a similarly harsh background. Every character follows a typical life trajectory, and Gazdanov raises the question of whether this must be so\u2014whether people\u2019s lives are predetermined by their circumstances, or whether one can break free and shape one\u2019s own fate.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

Within this framework, the question of life\u2019s meaning arises again and again, giving the novel a distinctly existentialist tone, very much in keeping with the modern spirit of its time\u2014and reminiscent of Camus, who explored similar philosophy in The Stranger<\/em>. Gazdanov, too, arrives at a conclusion: his characters find meaning through caring for others, through compassion, and only in that do they perceive a purpose in their lives. I found that a bit simplistic and one-dimensional, even if the sentiment itself is beautiful.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

Gazdanov\u2019s prose is, once again, magnificent, and I love following the thoughts of his characters\u2014seeing how they wrestle with the questions that eventually confront everyone, how they reflect on life and existence. No other author, in my opinion, conveys so well how fruitless such pondering can be, and yet how vital it remains to ask what it\u2019s all about\u2014to watch how answers dissolve in thought, because it\u2019s far more important to ask than to find a clear response. He wraps all this in beautifully crafted sentences.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

\u201cOnly now and then would a translucent sadness suddenly come over him\u2014precisely because everything was so wonderful. Then he would reflect on how vast the distance was between all the tragic and negative notions that once shaped his view of the world and human life, and what he now felt\u2014a distance that had somehow been overcome and fit no theory.\u201d (p. 140)<\/p><\/blockquote>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

As with all his novels, the story itself entertained me, but it\u2019s just one facet among many. Taken on its own, it\u2019s rather unspectacular; yet within the whole composition, it works beautifully. I devoured the book again. The tension curve is uneven, but I was always captivated\u2014sometimes by the characters and their introductions, sometimes by a suspenseful plot element, and at other times by the philosophical musings. Gazdanov simply could write, and if someone asked me why, I couldn\u2019t answer. Perhaps because his way of thinking and seeing the world resonates so well with my own.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

The book\u2019s production quality isn\u2019t impressive\u2014a cheap glued binding, average print, type, and cover design. Still, the price is fair, and in the end, content is what counts. The translation and text quality are excellent, easily matching what one would expect from major publishers. I also really liked the notes and afterword: Barck doesn\u2019t ramble, but clearly and concisely highlights the differences between Gazdanov\u2019s late work and his more famous novels.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

Conclusion:<\/strong> With this unexpectedly released first translation of Gazdanov\u2019s The Pilgrims<\/em>, I\u2019m presenting a real hidden gem. I love Gazdanov\u2019s books, and although this one doesn\u2019t quite reach the level of his greatest works, I found it beautifully written, engaging, pleasantly philosophical, and still full of tension. Readers shouldn\u2019t expect an extraordinary plot, but rather a well-rounded composition that asks what defines a human life, where meaning might lie, and what role culture plays for the individual. The book itself isn\u2019t particularly elegant in design, but it\u2019s reasonably priced and worth every cent. It bears the subtitle \u201cLate Work I,\u201d so I\u2019m already looking forward to the continuation\u2014and I\u2019ll definitely buy every new Gazdanov translation. I simply love his style and the melody of his words.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

Book Information: <\/strong>Die Pilger \u2022\u00a0Gaito Gasdanow \u2022 BoD\u00a0\u2022 236 pages\u00a0\u2022 ISBN 9783753422183<\/p>\r\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

There are authors whose language is so polished and fluid that reading their books sounds like music to my ears. At many points I truly feel as if I\u2019m listening to a melody rather than reading written words. I couldn\u2019t say exactly why that is\u2014on closer inspection, the sentence structures don\u2019t seem particularly unusual or … <\/p>\n

Continue reading “Die Pilger \u2022 Gaito Gasdanow”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":7391,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"slim_seo":{"title":"Die Pilger \u2022 Gaito Gasdanow - lesestunden","description":"Es gibt Autoren, die haben eine so sch\u00f6ne geschliffene und geschmeidige Sprache, dass die Lekt\u00fcre ihrer B\u00fccher in meinen Ohren wie Musik klingt und ich dann an"},"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[10,20],"tags":[246,76],"class_list":["post-7388","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-classics","category-reviews","tag-die-pilter","tag-gaito-gasdanow"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.lesestunden.de\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/die_pilger_beitrag.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lesestunden.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7388","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=7388"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.lesestunden.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7388\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":11327,"href":"https:\/\/www.lesestunden.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7388\/revisions\/11327"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lesestunden.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/7391"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lesestunden.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7388"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lesestunden.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7388"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lesestunden.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7388"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}