Isolde by Irina Odoevtseva
Translated by Bryan Karetnyk and Irina Steinberg
… and as we limp towards the end of the summer and #WITMonth (well, at least I do!), I have read the final book I planned to for this month – which is actually something of an achievement. Go, me! 😀 The book is “Isolde” by Irina Odoevtseva, and it was recently published by the lovely Pushkin Press (who seem to be specialising in translations of Russian emigre writers – more of which later…) I’ve encountered the author before, as pieces by she and her husband, poet Georgy ivanov, were featured in “Russian Emigre Short Stories”, masterminded by translator Bryan Karetnyk. Her story “The Life of Madame Duclos” was one I found to be particularly memorable, and so I was very keen to read her novel – which has very shockingly never been translated into English before.
“Isolde” was published in 1929 and is set in the France of the 1920s. The book opens in Biarritz where fourteen year old Russian exile Liza is staying with her brother Nikolai and mother Natalia Vladimirovna. However, it’s clear from the start that this is something of a disfunctional family; the father was killed in the Revolution, and mother Natasha is in pursuit of lovers and money (no doubt the only practical way for her to survive in exile). She refuses to publicly acknowledge that she’s the children’s mother, instead pretending they’re cousins; and while she follows her own inclinations, Liza and Nikolai are very much left to their own devices, with devastating results… On the beach, Liza encounters the slightly older English boy, Cromwell; the latter is dazzled by Liza, christening her Isolde, and pursuing her. As he has money and a car, the neglected siblings are happy to hang around with him (even though Liza claims to be in love with a fellow Russian, Andrei, who’s back in Paris); and the three have a fine time with restaurants, jazz bars and plenty of champagne. And back in Paris the three Russians continue to sponge off Cromwell, until his mother cuts off the funding. At the same time, the distant and disinterested Natasha takes off, leaving her children with little money and no support; and dark forces begin to tempt the Russians towards dramatic acts, exacerbated by drink and lack of cash. The consequences are explosive…
Co-translator Bryan Karetnyk provides an excellent introduction which puts “Isolde” firmly into context, and it’s not hard to understand how controversial it was when it was issued. As he points out, it inhabits the same milieu as Coctea’s “Les Enfants Terribles” (which I love), a book that was published the same year and which features another pair of isolated siblings. Underlying both stories is the stress of adolescence and the effects of the changes the characters are going through; what perhaps makes “Isolde” stand apart is its frank acknowledgement of the burgeoning sexuality of Liza in particular. I can’t help thinking there’s a tendency nowadays to forget that teenagers are beset by all sorts of new desires and needs that they don’t quite understand and which they don’t know how to deal with; cotton wooling them isn’t going to help… Odoevtseva captures the undercurrents brilliantly in her portraits of the youngsters, driven by forces they can’t really control and without anyone there to guide them. And that is I think one of the most important points in the book; these are teenagers, in effect abandoned and left without guardians or help, and exiled from their country of birth. They’re susceptible to all sorts of influences, which at one point allows what is perhaps a little dig at Dostoevsky and his effect on young and impressionable minds. The young people have no moral compass and what happens to them, the actions they take, are tragic but inevitable.
Liza went through to her room and sat down on the light blue divan. Outside, wet auburn leaves spun silently down – like wet dead butterflies. The trees’ thin, dark branches quivered pitifully. Rain hit the windows at an angle and ran down the panes in thin streams. The wet, shiny glass made this familiar scene appear strange – cruel and hopeless.
It’s particularly clear from Odoevtseva’s wonderful writing that Liza suffers dreadfully from the lack of maternal love, and there are passages of genuine anguish where she shows how the girl has been damaged by the indifference of her mother-who-would-be-her-cousin. The unsettled state she finds herself in, the lack of a sense of belonging, and her failure to grasp what’s going on around her, lead her to build up the idea of Russia and returning there in her mind in very naive ways which allows her to be persuaded into foolish actions. Her youth and vulnerability are made clear at several points; she is in danger of becoming prey of men like her mother’s lover Boris, or Cromwell’s older cousin. However, in the end her naivety is exploited in a different way bringing tragedy to all. The end of the book is heartbreaking, and it reminds you that these are in the end just children who have been set adrift and lost.
“Isolde” is a marvellous and moving read, and a wonderful addition to the range of new emigre translations Pushkin have been bringing out. The blurb for the book describes it as a portrait of “a lost generation of Russian exiles”; it certainly does seem that there is a whole range of authors who wrote whilst banished from their country of birth and whose work has been lost since. I have to applaud the translators, and particularly Bryan Karetnyk who seems to be on a one man crusade to bring us the cream of Russian emigre literature – well done that man! 😀 I have to confess to ending my read of “Isolde” very emotionally affected by the story, and I hope more of Odoevtseva’s works make it into English!
Review copy kindly provided by the publisher, for which many thanks! Kudos to both translators for their work on the book; I’ve mentioned Bryan Karetnyk’s contributions above, but want to acknowledge too Irina Steinberg, who also co-translated two wonderful Teffi volumes from Pushkin Press! 😀
Aug 23, 2019 @ 06:50:08
Stories of exile and being a fish out of water are forever appealing. Why oh why do you always tempt me so?
Aug 23, 2019 @ 18:17:24
Sorry, not sorry. This one warrants the temptation! 😀
Aug 23, 2019 @ 07:32:18
This is so *you*! A very fitting end to your #WITMonth reading. I can see the parallels with Les Enfants Terribles, although I only know it by way of Melville’s film adaptation of the original novel.
Kudos to Pushkin Press for supporting this translation – they really do publish some very interesting books!
Aug 23, 2019 @ 18:17:04
It was the perfect read for me really – so good! And a wonder end to #WITMonth – I’m glad I stuck to my plans. Pushkin put out some wonderful books – one of my favourite publishers!
Aug 23, 2019 @ 07:39:57
Not the cheerful novel I’m looking for, I think. Your description of it puts me in mind of Colette, too – she’s also interested in the tangled emotions of the young
Aug 23, 2019 @ 18:16:10
Ermmm, no – not a cheery one, really! And yes, I see what you mean about Colette – she writes young love very brilliantly too.
Aug 23, 2019 @ 09:06:08
I’m long overdue some Russian fiction and youve sold me on this one. That mother sounds a thoroughly heartless person – we can sort of justify her actions to get a sugar daddy just to keep body and soul together but to abandon her children, what kind of mother does that?
Aug 23, 2019 @ 18:15:12
It’s really good and very readable. The mother is just – well, damaged, basically although I suppose you can justify it a bit because of losing her husband to the revolution and having to flee. But her lack of care for her children is shocking, and Liza in particular really needs her mother’s guidance.
Aug 23, 2019 @ 09:37:38
This sounds amazing and powerful and well done for managing your WIT book plans!!
Aug 23, 2019 @ 18:13:52
It was – the end was very affecting. And yay, I stuck to my plans – that’s a rarity! 😀
Aug 23, 2019 @ 16:50:49
Ooh this one sounds brilliant. A brilliant end to your #WITMonth reading. I have read fewer #wit books than I intended because I have been distracted by books from my #20booksofsummer pile among other things.
Aug 23, 2019 @ 18:13:12
It really was good and I was pleased that I managed to get the books I planned read! There are usually so many distractions, but I think I was realistic in my choices which helped!
Aug 24, 2019 @ 00:37:23
Such an i teresting sounding book. Interesting how it survived so many years and then translated.
Aug 24, 2019 @ 18:53:14
i know. I guess we forget that for every book translated there are probably a dozen which aren’t. I do love all these authors Pushkin bring out.
Aug 26, 2019 @ 01:00:22
Impossible to keep up with but I do think of all the books out there that are inaccessible due to not being in English.
Aug 26, 2019 @ 13:06:27
Very true. I often regret not being able to speak in many languages…
Aug 29, 2019 @ 03:23:09
I always said if I had 3 wishes it would be to speak all languages, play all musical instruments and fly first class for free where ever I wanted to go. Haha
Aug 29, 2019 @ 08:36:35
Oh, I wish…. 🤣
Aug 25, 2019 @ 20:19:18
Like Tredynas Days I thought this sounded very reminiscent of Colette – so very tempting! Pushkin get it so right, don’t they?
Aug 25, 2019 @ 21:10:36
Yes, Colette, Cocteau – maybe it’s just Paris! And Pushkin do bring out some really wonderful books (plus they look lovely…)
Aug 27, 2019 @ 12:47:54
Another temptation, you naughty girl! My bookshelves already overflow and my deadlines are fast approaching, but what’s that old saw about resisting everything but temptation? I’m afraid I really must check this out! Although this novel is so clearly (and uniquely) a Russian emigré work, I did find myself thinking of that whole 1920s American expatriate, lost generation type stuff that Fitzgerald did so well. Totally different of course but . . . the same time period and same sense of being morally adrift in a shifting world . .
Aug 27, 2019 @ 16:01:38
Sorry (not sorry) to be a bad influence. And I can never resist bookish temptation myself either. Isolde is a wonderful atmospheric read, and the south of France parts do have that expat feel to them. However, the Parisian sections have more of a Cocteau/Colette vibe which is equally wonderful. But the book stands on its own and I did love it.
Aug 27, 2019 @ 20:36:07
I’ve just finished this. I entirely agree – it paints a very realistic and sensitive portrait of adolescence despite being almost 100 years old. Sadly the mother’s character is not obsolete either!
Aug 27, 2019 @ 20:49:11
You’re right – working in education you do tend to come across that type of mother… =:o
Aug 28, 2019 @ 00:54:56
This sounds like a fascinating read! I’ll put it on my list as I enjoy emigre writing. Thanks for the great review!
Aug 28, 2019 @ 12:22:59
Welcome! I did love this one very much – it certainly lingers in the mind, and I hope I get a chance to read more of her work!
Dec 31, 2019 @ 07:53:46