‘I am begging you for a to-the-point response…’ Letters to M. A. Sholokhov from his readers (1929-1955)

Abstract

This collection of readers’ letters addressed to a single author is the first such publication in Russian studies of literature. The book features various readers’ feedback on M. Sholokhov’s novels And Quiet Flows the Don [ Tikhiy Don] and Virgin Soil Upturned [Podnyataya tselina], as well as several chapters of They Fought for Their Country [ Oni srazhalis za Rodinu]. The introduction details the social background of the correspondents: industrial and agricultural workers, Red Army soldiers, teachers, and Russian émigrés. To compensate for Sholokhov’s missing responses, the book quotes his thoughts about the reader, whom he contrasted with official literary critics. The book concludes with N. Kornienko’s article arguing that in the 20th c., the reader becomes directly and meaningfully involved in the literary process. The reviewer finds that the book offers a stereoscopic view of the reader’s attitude towards these outstanding works of 20th-c. literature.