Uralsky, M. (2018). Gorky and the Jews. St. Petersburg: Aleteya; Uralsky, M. (2018). Bunin and the Jews. St. Petersburg: Aleteya

Abstract

The two books by Mark Uralsky discussed in this review bring together vast amounts of information about the relationships that two leading Russian writers of their day had with Jewish figures. The topic ‘Bunin and the Jews’ is the less expected, since Bunin had very little connection with Jews before the Revolution. However, afterward — first in Odessa and then in France — he was in regular contact with a number of figures who offered him support in various ways, while he in turn provided protection to several Jews during World War II. The general outlines of Gorky’s extensive interest in Judaism and in Jewish writers are better known, but here too Uralsky makes accessible materials that were either widely scattered or not previously published. Both books suffer somewhat from a seeming haste in their preparation, resulting in minor errors and some structural awkwardness, but these factors do not seriously detract from their value.