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Natasha's Dance: A Cultural History of Russia
 
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Natasha's Dance: A Cultural History of Russia (Paperback)

by Orlando Figes (Author)
4.6 out of 5 stars See all reviews (32 customer reviews)
RRP: £12.99
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Natasha's Dance: A Cultural History of Russia + A People's Tragedy: Russian Revolution, 1891-1924 + The Whisperers: Private Life in Stalin's Russia
Price For All Three: £30.18

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Product details

  • Paperback: 768 pages
  • Publisher: Penguin; New Ed edition (4 Sep 2003)
  • Language English
  • ISBN-10: 0140297960
  • ISBN-13: 978-0140297966
  • Product Dimensions: 19.4 x 13 x 3.6 cm
  • Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars See all reviews (32 customer reviews)
  • Amazon.co.uk Sales Rank: 15,247 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

    Popular in these categories:

    #89 in  Books > History > Social & Economic History
    #92 in  Books > Society, Politics & Philosophy > Social Sciences > Cultural Studies

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  • See Complete Table of Contents

Product Description

Amazon.co.uk Review
As epic and ambitious as his first book A People's Tragedy, Orlando Figes's Natasha's Dance is a sweeping panorama of Russian culture over the centuries. It takes its title from a scene in War and Peace in which the upper-crust Natasha Rostov, visiting her countrified "Uncle", falls instinctively into the rhythms of a peasant dance. Figes finds in this scene an ideal metaphor for his book's central theme--the perpetual see-sawing between the European cultural ideals of the aristocracy in St Petersburg and an "authentic" Russianess, usually seen as embodied in the peasantry and the country. The great debate in Russian culture has been between those who have seen it as a naturally "Western" society and those who have seen its destiny as lying in the East and its vast hinterland.

Around this supporting central theme, Figes has constructed an imposing edifice. The range of his knowledge and the sureness with which he deploys it are very impressive. Whether writing about the music of Stravinsky and Shostakovich or the novels of Tolstoy and Dostoevsky, the buildings of St Petersburg or the poetry of Akhmatova, he has something new and original to say. The great cultural achievements of Russia often seem, for those who have only a little knowledge of Russian history, like giant mountains suddenly rising out of featureless terrain. Figes's excellent book gives them a context and fills out many of the details of the surrounding landscape.--Nick Rennison --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Independent on Sunday, October 6, 2002 (by Robin Buss)
"One of those books that, at times, makes you wonder how you have so far managed to do without it."

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Customer Reviews

32 Reviews
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Average Customer Review
4.6 out of 5 stars (32 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
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23 of 23 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars A unique and brilliant book, a must read if you want to understand Russia, 8 May 2007
By Petrolhead (Hong Kong) - See all my reviews
  
Natasha's Dance is in a class of its own. It is the only book that takes in the whole sweep of Russian culture and history, linking literature, theatre, dance, opera and more. Although I studied Russian language, literature and history and I was living in Moscow, there were many things that I just couldn't understand: why were Russians like they were? How did they be so boorish one moment but so cultured and romantic the next? What really happened when the Mongols invaded? Where did those matrioshka dolls come from? Why does Russian music sound different to western European music? What was life like in feudal peasant Russia? or in Siberian exile? How did one country produce peasants, communists, oligarchs, Tolstoy, Tchaikovsky and a whole lot of spies? In Russian literature, why was there so much about wet-nurses, religion, name days, icons, duelling, Decembrists, noble serfs and mystic fools? Who were the Cossacks? Did the entire Russian noble class really speak French to each other? Why didn't the peasants revolt earlier? And why did exiles harbour such a longing for their homeland, even though it was full of communists, corruption and subzero temperatures?
Natasha's Dance tells you all this and far more, much more than I can recall in one go. The name of the book, which is rather offputtingly esoteric, refers to a scene from War and Peace, which indicates what level of reader it is pitched at.
This book is not a light read. There is so much information, you may find you need to stop to take a thinking break after every page just to take it all in. It is so rich that you may be overwhelmed if you haven't got at least a passing knowledge of Russia. If you're not vaguely familiar with at least a handful of names such as Tolstoy, Pushkin, Chekhov, Stravinsky or Akhmatova, you might find Natasha's Dance is a bit of an uphill struggle, and it might be better to start with a gentler climb, like Anna Karenina or Doctor Zhivago.
But for those who know something about Russia and want to supercharge their understanding of the place and its people, this book is undeniably, uniquely, wonderful: a treasure trove.
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12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Absolutely Fantastic, 3 Nov 2004
By Alison Ramage "tamarindos402" (Barcelona) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   
This really is one of the best books I have ever read. It has an enormous, if not terrifying scope, but Orlando Figes pulls everything together in a totally coherent and interesting way. I am not surprised it took him years to write! For many years I have had an interest in Russian culture, mainly the literature, and I have also read histories of Russia, but by taking culture as the central theme, the book provides an incredibly vivid picture of the history in general. I particularly enjoyed the chapter about the "east". It is superbly written, easy to follow, which is a rarity these days amongst general academic books. The final chapter, which deals with people alive in my lifetime I found particularly poignant and I was desperately sad when I had finished the book, although I now have a very long list of cds to buy! Thank you Orlando Figes for an amazing work of scholarship, which is also a joy to read!
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40 of 43 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Russia, after this book I want to get to know you better., 16 Dec 2003
This is an excellent book. Though it is arranged thematically rather than chronologically, timelines are not confusing. The great debates of Russian culture - between East and West, between peasant and aristocrat, between Orthodoxy and the Old Belief - are presented vividly and clearly. The countryside and cities come alive with characters, not just of the great figures of Russian literature and art but of the nameless millions and their beliefs, culture, attitudes and preoccupations. Natasha's Dance made me want to learn much more about Russia, its people, its history, its literature and art. And that, to me, is the measure of success of a cultural history such as this.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews

4.0 out of 5 stars A fascinating read...
I've never really known much about Russian history - everything I know is either from War and Peace or studying the Russian Revolution and the Cold War at school. Read more
Published 26 days ago by C. Ball

5.0 out of 5 stars Great History
Recently having watched Natasha dancing in Bondarchuks epic 'War and Peace', I was drawn back to this book. Read more
Published 1 month ago by Phil

4.0 out of 5 stars Natasha's Dance - Hardback
Nice Dealing with you. Item v .good, good value, as described, and delivery was punctual - what more could you ask for?
Published 3 months ago by Mr. M. E. Hughes

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent Book
I have a "thing" for Russia and love to read books about it. This is one of the very best. I have lived in Russia for a year and have some command of the language and I find that... Read more
Published 11 months ago by Uncle Vodka

5.0 out of 5 stars Amazing Russia
Let There Be A City and there was St Petersburg. Thus starts this incredible story and the next 600 pages (take heed) carry you on a breathtaking journey through Russia, its... Read more
Published 15 months ago by demola

5.0 out of 5 stars Fine, imaginative piece of historical writing
A very imaginative, richly informative piece of scholarship and a pleasure to read. A great book by one of the great historians of his generation.
Published 18 months ago by Dr Gautam Sen

3.0 out of 5 stars Figes is one of the most accessible and intelligent historians around
This is a cultural history of Russia over the past three centuries. Somehow Orlando Figes manages to draw together disparate concepts and unite them into a coherent view of a... Read more
Published on 12 April 2007 by Sam J. Ruddock

5.0 out of 5 stars A fine cultural history
I first read this book whilst on my gap year in Moscow for 6 months. It was gripping (not a word I would normally apply to a history book! Read more
Published on 13 Dec 2006 by studenttraveller

4.0 out of 5 stars A great book, if you don't mind its bias
If you are interested in Russian history and culture, this book is definitely worth reading. If you, like me, read every volume of classical Russian literature you can get your... Read more
Published on 9 Jan 2006 by Petr Mores

5.0 out of 5 stars A wonderful read
This is one of the best books I have ever read. It is beautifully written, passionate, engaging, astonishingly well researched, but not in the slightest "academic" or dry in any... Read more
Published on 10 Dec 2005 by Alice Reynolds

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