Sergei Lebedev was born in Moscow in 1981 and worked for seven years on geological expeditions in northern Russia and Central Asia. Lebedev is a poet, essayist and journalist. His novels have been translated into many languages and received great acclaim in the English-speaking world.
A novel like an enchanting train ride that takes us deep into Russian history and national identity through the story of one exceptional family, passing through the graveyards of the past and upending a few bones in the process. The Goose Fritz comes on strong as a lyrical confrontation with a sometimes sinister, always fascinating, history.
This revelatory novel shows why Karl Ove Knausgaard has likened its celebrated Russian author to an "indomitable ... animal that won't let go of something when it gets its teeth into it." The book tells the story of a young Russian named Kirill, the sole survivor of a once numerous clan of German origin, who delves relentlessly into the unresolved past. His ancestor, Balthasar Schwerdt, son of a prominent surgeon, migrated to the Russian Empire in the 1830s, where he practiced alternative medicine, landing in the court of Catherine the Great. Schwerdt became captive to an erratic nobleman who supplied midgets, hunchbacks from Africa, and magicians to entertain the empress. Kirill鈥檚 investigation takes us through centuries of turmoil during which none of the German鈥檚 nine children or their descendants can escape their adoptive country鈥檚 cruel fate. Intent on uncovering buried mysteries, Kirill searches archives and cemeteries across Europe, while pressing witnesses for keys to understanding. The Goose Fritz illuminates both personal and political history in a passion-filled family saga about an often confounding country that has long fascinated the world. (less)
Review:
I never heard of Sergei Lebedev before ( for obvious reasons I become quite ignorant of the Russian literature of the last two decades - trying to make myself *less* ignorant of English and American literature took most of my free time :)), when I read the review in WSj I decided to give this one a try. It is a book that resonated with me deeply, however for a while I was not sure if that was because author and myself are more or less of the same generation and were born in the same part of the world, so what he would write was bound to reso0nate. However now when I am done I am pretty sure that in large part it was because the author possesses superb writing skill. I could not stop reading this book and while this is not the first book I could not stop reading in my life, it is one of the few ( and off the top of my head I really cannot remember that many ) where the "show not tell" maxim is really not applicable in my opinion.
Our narrator Kirill a historian who learned about his German ancestry from his grandmother is writing a book about his family and most of the characters we see through his eyes, he tells us his stories. He learns the stories from his research - both from reading books and talking to people. Some of the events of the past though he imagines, sort of connects the dots that he learns and supposedly he has a gift of imagining the past correctly. My point is that all that Kirill does is tells us, tells us, tells us and as I said, I was so engrossed in his telling. Bravo author, because as I said I rarely like a book written this way.
Of course through researching/ imagining his ancestors' stories, the good and bad, joys and pain (so much pain) they went through in the country who should have treated them far less cruelly Kirill learns more about himself, but I am pretty sure I cared far more about people whose lives he shared with us than about him. I am sure it was by design .
Themes of this book as I interpreted them were both uniquely Russian and sadly universal. Let's treat Russians of German identity horribly during the wars with Germany because *of course* they would betray Russia and start serving Germany. Of course :(. Revolutions, wars, Stalinism - Kirill's family went through all of this and almost nobody survived.
Accidentally this book has a couple of the most memorable descriptions of the soldiers with PTSD.
"鈥淔irebrands,鈥� whispered the colonel. 鈥淭hey were like firebrands. Then, at New Year鈥檚. I can鈥檛 stand the sight of fire since then. I can鈥檛 eat shashlik, I instantly see that. But, but ... once a year... I go far away. Alone. To the village where I was born. There鈥檚 no village anymore, just three houses. I have a field there. When we were children we had a bonfire there when we pastured the horses. At the riverbank. A pure, good river. So there ... I gather branches. And have a fire. Just a fire. Alone under the sky. And I think I feel better.鈥�
The colonel stopped talking, staring into the mouth of the Eternal Flame. Kirill felt a cast-iron exhaustion; but through it came a vague image suggested by the colonel鈥檚 words. The tanks moved on into the blizzard, as if they had never been there. The snow covered their tracks, and Kirill realized that this had been a rehearsal of the annual parade celebrating the end of the battle; the colonel had been remembering his winter storming of Grozny, his first battle, in the winter of 1994鈥�1995, when the Chechen grenade throwers burned the tank columns that entered the city without cover."
I will leave you to discover the meaning of the title on your own.
I am still thinking about the ending. I think it is supposed to be good thing for Kirill, but who knows.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Russia has a history of producing great writers and Sergei Lebedev appears to be following in this fine tradition. This is the third book I've read of his and they have all been exceptional. First I'd like to note that the opening several pages of this book in which Lebedev recounts the story of the Sergeant and the Goose Fritz would be one of the finest short stories I've ever read if it were not used simply as the introduction and a metaphor for the rest of the book. The lyrical quality is absolutely sensational. The book is, basically, about Russians of German heritage living in Russia in the years following the war and about the main protagonist Kirill tracing his own German ancestry back through several generations and telling the story of some of his ancestors. It's another great read by Lebedev and highly recommended if for no other reason than to read the opening several pages.
Dok艂adnie tak, jak si臋 spodziewa艂am, kiedy pierwszy raz us艂ysza艂am o tej ksi膮偶ce, by艂a niesamowita. I tak, jak rozmawia艂am dwukrotnie na Wroc艂awskich Targach Dobrych ksi膮偶ek z przedstawicielem wydawnictwa wydaj膮cego Lebiediewa, to jest innego wymiaru literatura najwy偶szej pr贸by.
J臋zyk "Dzieci Kronosa" to majstersztyk. Pi臋kno zda艅 i ich melodia mnie osobi艣cie powali艂y na kolana. Do tego fabu艂a, cho膰 nie jest dynamiczna, to wspania艂a historia odkopywania z gruz贸w pami臋ci historii rodzinnej i w臋dr贸wka za losem bohater贸w uwik艂anych w dzieje. To per艂a w morzu literatury, kt贸r膮 odkrywa si臋 niespiesznie, smakuj膮c zdania, do kt贸rych wielokrotnie si臋 powraca, by za ka偶dym czytaniem wybrzmia艂y jeszcze dobitniej.
Ja nie potrafi臋 nie kocha膰 literatury rosyjskiej, je艣li na takich autor贸w jak Lebiediew trafiam. Przede mn膮 jeszcze "Granica zapomnienia" i "Debiutant".
" (...) od samego pocz膮tku drzema艂a w nich niezale偶na od wysi艂k贸w w艂a艣cicieli zdolno艣膰 przetrwania; zdolno艣膰 sprzeciwiania si臋 rozproszeniu, bez zatracania si臋 w sprzeciwie."
"I mimo to czu艂, 偶e los mo偶e istnie膰 niezale偶nie od tego, komu by艂 dany za 偶ycia; los mo偶e trwa膰 nawet poza 艣mierci膮".
"Lecz on widzia艂, jak ludzie przez dziesi臋ciolecia wycinali, wyskrobywali z siebie kawa艂ki biografii, dokonywali aborcji przesz艂o艣ci ".
"I jedyny sens w sferze nonsensu polega na przerwaniu tego bezsensu (...)".
呕eby ksi膮偶k臋 roku przeczyta膰 ledwo w jego sz贸stym tygodniu!??
Czuj臋 przez sk贸r臋, 偶e z ksi膮偶ek wydanych w 2019 i 2020 roku - "Dzieci Kronosa" (chyba lepszy tytu艂 ni偶 oryginalny "G膮sior Fryc") b臋d膮 raczej poza konkurencj膮. I w sumie to bez znaczenia, w jakiej b臋dzie startowa膰 kategorii. Bo czy znajdzie si臋 taki m膮dry, by okre艣li艂 literacki gatunek, jakim por臋cznie da si臋 t臋 ksi膮偶k臋 zaklasyfikowa膰? 呕ycz臋 powodzenia.
Niezwyk艂ej urody i m膮dro艣ci jest ta ksi膮偶ka (wyrazy uznania dla polskiego t艂umacza - czyta si臋 bajecznie!). Co kilkana艣cie stron przypomina艂em sobie, z jak膮 niewiarygodn膮 wy偶szo艣ci膮 traktowano w Polsce Rosjan (Bia艂orusin贸w, Ukrai艅c贸w ...). Wy艣miewaj膮c ich kultur臋, dorobek, tradycj臋, histori臋 ... i - nazwijmy rzeczy po imieniu- niewyobra偶alne cierpienia, przez jakie na przestrzeni tych stu lat ten nar贸d przeszed艂. 呕e zara偶a艂 niemal nimi swoich s膮siad贸w - nie miejsce o tym pisa膰 - ale i o tym jest ta ksi膮偶ka. Dzie膰mi Kronosa jeste艣my w jakim艣 stopniu tutaj wszyscy. Dziedziczymy to jak skaz臋, pokolenie po pokoleniu. Nie potrafimy si臋 z tego wypl膮ta膰. Czy czego艣 historia uczy Polak贸w, Rosjan i Ukrai艅c贸w? Wsp贸lna historia - o czym coraz cz臋艣ciej si臋 pisze, ale wci膮偶 za ma艂o m贸wi i uczy. Rozdrapujemy w艂asne rany, nie wiedz膮c, nie przeczuwaj膮c, 偶e te naszych s膮siad贸w mog膮 by膰 jeszcze straszniejsze...
Tyle ... wstrz膮sn臋艂a mn膮 ta ksi膮偶ka. Naprawd臋, nie bardzo wiem co tutaj "wypada" o niej napisa膰 ...
鈥淕randmother gave him more than unexpected ancestors. The world of another culture appeared before him, a silent but living world to which he belonged by inheritance, by the right of wild, inexhaustible blood in which all eras and the starry sky flowed.鈥�
I have wondered over the years, why I have not heard of many contemporary Russian authors, so discovering this sprawling, family saga, was a joy. This novel focuses on a young Russian man, with German origins, looking back at his family history, inspired by his late grandmother's passing. It goes back generations, (into the 19th century) so the reader gets an informative overview of Russian history, right through the modern age. It appears that plenty of deep research went into this story and the prose is strong and fluid. It also is a solid translation. I will have to seek out this author's earlier work.
Kirill, the protagonist of Sergei Lebedev鈥檚 erudite The Goose Fritz, has a gift for imagining the past. Symbols on a tombstone or the sounds of thunder will transport him across time so that he can experience a bit of what his ancestors鈥� felt or saw. It鈥檚 a useful trick for a historian, especially as Kirill has decided to write the history of his German-Russian family from the 1830s, through the Russo-Japanese War, the Revolution, the Great Terror, and the Great Patriotic War...
Read the rest of my review at . I received a free copy of this book from the publisher via Edelweiss, for review consideration.
Serge Lebedev on growing up German in Russian history
Fritz is generic for German, And Russia鈥檚 changing attitude towards its citizens who came to Russia, but were never quite Russian enough. Lebedev is a writer who grabs the reader with history and makes it personal. I liked all three of his novels, but perhaps Oblivion is the best, dealing with Grandfather II, who was once a Gulag Commandant and was now a neighbor.
鈥淕randmother gave him more than unexpected ancestors. The world of another culture appeared before him, a silent but living world to which he belonged by inheritance, by the right of wild, inexhaustible blood in which all eras and the starry sky flowed.鈥�
I have wondered over the years, why I have not heard of many contemporary Russian authors, so discovering this sprawling, family saga, was a joy. This novel focuses on a young Russian man, with German origins, looking back at his family history, inspired by his late grandmother's passing. It goes back generations, (into the 19th century) so the reader gets an informative overview of Russian history, right through the modern age. It appears that plenty of deep research went into this story and the prose is strong and fluid. It also is a solid translation. I will have to seek out this author's earlier work.
Difficult to follow in places because it moves so quickly through events in Russian history due to an assumed shared knowledge by the author and reader, but this is why we should read more translated books, right? An incredible look at Russian history and the impact/toll it takes on one family tree, a German family tree.
via my blog: 'Something happened with her that Kirill had never seen. It was as if ghosts of terrible unimaginable catastrophes, wars, fires, floods, were nipping at her heels.'
Russian born Kirill is the last member of his family, descendant of Balthasar Schwerdt who came to Russia from Germany in the 1800鈥檚. An author who collects other鈥檚 people鈥檚 life stories, fearfully avoiding his own. It is time to tell the story of his family, with papers, archives he will chase the 鈥榯hreads of memory鈥� and 鈥榩reserving the misunderstood and the unseen.鈥� It is the only way Kirill can flee the fate of the family. As a child he sees a stone book in the German cemetery where his family plot lies, chosen as he is to be his grandmother鈥檚 constant companion on these visits. Naturally the visits isn鈥檛 something any of them talk about outside the confines of home. The book, blank as if an omen of what he must one day fill, is always waiting there for him as he comes of age.
Why, he wondered, was his Russian great-grandmother buried in the German cemetery anyway? With the adults 鈥榦missions about the past鈥� he learned to create stories as explanation. It isn鈥檛 until his grandmother Lina reveals, speaking in German, the name of his great-great-great grandfather while at his headstone, that he knows the bold truth of their German ancestry. Vile German blood, much like the Goose Fritz symbolized to the villagers, strangled to death by the harmless old Seargant in his drunken rage on the anniversary in July when he was wounded in the Battle Kursk. The goose, in the old man鈥檚 war ravaged mind, a German soldier. German, the stuff his family is made of.
Why did they not carry the surname Schwerdt, what fate befell his ancestors, a 鈥榮cattered people鈥� bones buried in soil far from their fatherland? It鈥檚 always been easier for him to dig into stranger鈥檚 families than disrupt the rest of his own, and what would revelations mean for his own blind future? Is he destined to walk a path forged by those who came before him? Why can鈥檛 he guide his own future, be no one鈥檚 son, grandson? A crack in the headstone of his beloved, deceased grandmother, separating surname from birth name, birth date from death date seems to beg from the beyond their stories be told.
Balthasar鈥檚 life took a strange turn from that of medical doctor, working as his father鈥檚 assistant, to that of practitioner of homeopathic medicine, a 鈥榟eretic鈥檚 career鈥�. Thwarting his father鈥檚 plan, trembling with his newfound passion, Balthasar left his fractured world for a larger one, with the knowledge of his 鈥榯ravels鈥�, Kirill needs to understand the why of it all. Pieces in museums and visiting cities doesn鈥檛 always lend an emotional landscape to history, it鈥檚 hard for him to imagine being born in the cities of his ancestors. There were seven daughters, and a son- there were wars, assassins, disease, even an early feminist who 鈥榚xcited men鈥檚 strife.鈥� Worse the strangest fate of all will befall the brilliant boy when as a man he encounters cannibals.
Kirill is blind to his own future but revisionist of his family鈥檚 past, able to look upon it with a godlike eye, see the impending doom as well as lucky escapes that his ancestors couldn鈥檛. With one family member a migrant to Russia, they cannot be native nor accepted as such, forced to hide their German blood as if a stain, as evident by Kirill not even realizing he wasn鈥檛 fully Russian, born under the hammer and sickel, loyal as the rest of his family to their country.
This novel is about political history as much as family history, how it affects us all. Are you allowed to be a nationalist when your ancestors were enemies? There are many stories about all of the characters but it is rich in history, perfect for historical fiction lovers. I adored the relationship between Kirill and his beloved grandmother Lina. It鈥檚 incredible to think about what our ancestors suffered through, how they could still cling to hope, love and laugh. Personal history too can give birth to strange fears and rituals. The deepest shame is having to hide our blood for fear of persecution. Yes, read it.
In the beginning of this novel, the narrator, Kirill, recounts an episode from his childhood in which a Soviet veteran of World War II flies into an alcohol-fueled halucinatory rage during which he sees a neighbor's goose as an enemy German and kills it. The scene is both vivid and touching and, when the narrator later discovers that his family had emigrated from Germany to Russia generations earlier (subsequently changing their last name) serves as a catalyst for the narrator's exploration into his family's history, their early successes and their later suffering when Germans became the enemy during two World Wars. Although the narrative provides interesting insights into the persecution of established families who, through no fault of their own, were classed with evil "others", the story is slow going when Kirill's narration turns to historical research and speculation that is largely expository. As Kirill's investigations bring him closer to the present and include interviews with survivors who remember aspects of his family history involving the generations of his grandparents and parents--those who suffered the decline of their fortunes and status and the brutality of Stalin's purges--the novel regains much of its compelling forcefulness.
This book is hard work, with its huge cast of characters, each with their individual stories, joined together by tangled threads. Tracing the couple of centuries of his Volga German ancestors, Kirill seems to find the answer as to why the stone book on their tombstone in the German cemetery in Moscow had no writing on it - they had all been eradicated because of their origins, in spite of their loyalty to the various Russian regimes they lived through. Russian history is full of horrors, but this story is seldom told. The translation flows flawlessly but it's a claustrophobic book laden with the weight of history and fate.
Jag l盲ste den l氓ngsamt och eftert盲nksamt, och b枚rjade sedan genast l盲sa om den f枚r att vara s盲ker p氓 att jag inte hade missat n氓got. Det 盲r verkligen en bok som t氓l att l盲sas m氓nga g氓nger. S氓 gripande och tragisk, rekommenderas!