'I shall write to you only about
what my eyes have seen'
One of the most powerful short-story writers of the twentieth century, Isaac Babel (1894-1940) expressed his sense of inner conflict through disturbing tales that explored the contradictions of Russian society. Babel was torn throughout his life by an unyielding refusal to compromise his art, by personal ties and by the moral dilemmas of revolution and war. Whether reflecting on anti-Semitism in stories such as 'Story of My Dovecote' and 'First Love', or depicting Jewish gangsters in his native Odessa, Babel's eye for the comical laid bare the ironies of history. His masterpiece, 'Red Cavalry' (1926), set in the Soviet-Polish war, is one of the classics of modernist fiction. At times flamboyant and restrained, this collection of Babel's best-known stories vividly expresses the horrors of his age.
This translation is based on the complete, original text taken from an unexpurgated Russian edition of Babel's stories. The introduction, by David McDuff, explores the relationship between Babel's life and work.
'A distinct voice... his prose is sharp and laconic' - V. S. Pritchett
