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This book is a classic example of the great gorge between the western and eastern mentality. Most people from western countries have read this book for the sole purpose of elevating themselves "culturally" because it's considered one among'st many of Russia's classic works. So, when I see a review stating that they don't get it, or, the characters are barbaric, anti-Semitic etc, I say "of course you don't get it, you've missed the point, you don't understand the context or historical significance. How could you?". The book was written for the Russian audience to stir a sense of brotherhood and romanticism due to the suffering of past generations. The characters portray antisemitism because this occurred hundreds of years before 'The Holocaust' and it wasn't politically incorrect to have such views back then. The human mind under those conditions didn't think about how the "enlightened" of the world would comment on his thought process. Did this book have any influence on the tragic events that would follow? I highly doubt it. Would a book be considered less sociably acceptable today if it contained a bunch of rednecks being racist to the African-american community in a historical setting? Xenophobia and racism exist to this very day let alone centuries ago.

Taras Bulba is a story of a people known for their warrior tradition and the injustices they thought had been done onto them. Anyone reading more into it than that was reading with walls already built in his or her mind. The very opposite of what "enlightened" readers should be doing.