Review of Bit-Yunan, Y. and Feldman, D. (2016). Vasily Grossman: A literary biography in a historical-literary context. Moscow: NEOLIT. 248 pages.

Abstract

The book by Yury Bit-Yunan and David Feldman Vasily Grossman: A Literary Biography in a Historical-Literary Context is an attempt to reconstruct the writer’s biography. Using copious evidence from archives, the authors set out to demythologize the pervading image of a non-conformist writer. They also try to reveal on whose accusations his novel was confiscated by the authorities. The reviewer examines the arguments supplied by Bit-Yunan and Feldman, and criticizes them for their invectives against earlier biographers, in particular, Semyon Lipkin.