Life and Fate Reading Guide [PDF]

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Orange Inheritance Reading Guide Life and Fate by Vasily Grossman Chosen by Linda Grant ‘One of the greatest masterpieces of the twentieth century’ Times Literary Supplement ‘It is only a matter of time before Grossman is acknowledged as one of the great writers of the twentieth century... Life and Fate is a book that demands to be talked about’ Guardian About Life and Fate Books shape our lives and transform the way we see ourselves and each other. The best books are timeless and continue to be relevant generation after generation. Vintage Classics asked the winners of The Orange Prize for Fiction which books they would pass onto the next generation and why. Linda Grant chose Life and Fate: ‘I have urged all my friends to read it... I want others to feel as I have done - that they are entering the heart of the twentieth century, touching its pulse’. This is an epic tale of a country told through the fate of a single family, the Shaposhnikovs. As the battle of Stalingrad looms, Grossman’s characters must work out their destinies in a world torn apart by ideological tyranny and war. From the complex series of narratives and sub-plots, three major strands emerge which unify the novel and provide an overarching drive to the narrative: the fate and fortunes of the Shaposhnikov family, the build up to and aftermath of the battle of Stalingrad and life in the camps of Soviet Russia and Nazi Germany. Viktor Shtrum is a talented physicist who lives with his wife, Lyudmila, and daughter, Nadya. His relationships with his family are fractious and this tension is exacerbated by problems with his research. Viktor feels guilt at the fact that his mother is facing death in a Jewish ghetto because his wife refused to have her live with the family. His wife, Lyudmila, is torn apart by grief that her son by a previous marriage, the Tolya, has been killed in the war. Viktor finds himself involved in anti-Soviet conversations at his colleague, Sokolov’s house, partly to impress Sokolov’s wife, Marya (Lyudmila’s only friend). He later regrets these discussions out of fear that he will be denounced by the Party. Following a moment of inspiration Viktor has an idea which constitutes a major breakthrough in his work. He is initially lauded by his colleagues but criticism follows soon after, from those who perceive his discoveries to be anti-Leninist. Viktor’s Jewish identity appears to

be a factor in this backlash. Having refused to publicly repent, Viktor is forced to resign, until a call from Stalin himself sees him reinstated. Later, Viktor signs a letter denouncing two innocent men as the murderers of Gorky and is racked by guilt. A further source of guilt for Viktor is the mutual (albeit unconsummated) love he discovers for Marya Ivanova. The events based around the battle of Stalingrad focus on Yevgenia Shaposhnikova (Lyudmila’s sister), Krymov (her former husband), and Novikov (her lover). While she has promised to marry Novikov, Yevgenia is consumed by thoughts of her first husband. Novikov is the commander of a Soviet tank corps and is involved in the planning and execution of the counter-assault on Stalingrad. Krymov, (a Commissar) is injured during a mission to investigate the rebel stronghold House 6/1, where a small group of self-ruling soldiers have held off German attacks for weeks, despite being surrounded. Despite his staunch Party beliefs, Krymov is accused of being a traitor (perhaps by Novikov) and finds himself in prison in Moscow. Realising the strength of her love for Krymov, Yevgenia rejects Novikov and returns to Moscow where she eventually manages to get a parcel through to him. On receiving the parcel Krymov understands that Yevgenia still loves him but despairs of ever leaving the prison. The third strand which runs throughout the novel is of life in prison camps, both in Soviet Labour camps and Nazi death camps. The focus here is not so much on the trajectories of individual characters (although we do follow the fortunes of the Old Bolshevik Mostovoskoy and the young doctor Sofya Levinton) but rather on the recurring themes of hardship, hunger, human compassion and the struggle to retain one’s personal and political integrity, especially under interrogation. Points for Discussion Human Nature: ‘Does human nature undergo a true change in the cauldron of totalitarian violence? Does man lose his innate yearning for freedom? The fate of both man and the totalitarian state depends on the answer to this question.’ Do you agree with Grossman that human nature itself is our best defence against totalitarian regimes? Moral Cowardice and fear of the state: Viktor Shtrum’s decision to sign the letter denouncing Doctors Plentyov and Levin as the assassins of Gorky (mirroring Grossman’s own decision to sign a letter calling for the punishment of the Jewish doctors alleged with involvement in a plot against Stalin’s life) could be seen as an act of moral cowardice. Does this reveal more about Viktor, or about the power of the Soviet State? Guilt and atonement: Could the criticisms the novel levels at both Fascism and Soviet anti-semitism be seen as an attempt on Grossman’s part to atone for his guilt that his mother was killed by the Germans? (Grossman’s wife had also maintained there was not room for her to live with them in their Moscow flat).

Compassion: Grossman paints incredibly moving portraits of compassion throughout the novel - as in his description of the rehabilitation of the starving Semyonov by Khristya Chunyak: ‘She wiped the tears from his eyes with a towel and dried his hair and shoulders... She spread a sheepskin jacket over the stove, covered it with a piece of striped cloth, and put a large pillow at one end. Then she lifted Semyonov into the air, as easily as if he were a chicken, and laid him out on the stove.’ Discuss other examples of kindness and self-sacrifice presented in the novel, for instance the story of Sofya Levinton and the boy David. Could Grossman be using these fragmentary snapshots of human decency to build a sense of piecemeal resistance to totalitarianism through the novel? Hunger: The basic need for food is a recurring theme throughout Life and Fate - Grossman describes starving prisoners chewing their leather belts and shoes in a desperate search for sustenance and we learn that during the great famine ‘When there were no more nettles, we ate earth... Every last grain of corn was taken away.’ Why is so much emphasis placed on food in the novel and what is the significance of the descriptions of the famine of 1930-33 in particular? The concept of ‘good’: Grossman explores the idea that our search to define the concept of ‘good’, and to impose our specific version of ‘good’ on our fellows has in fact been the scourge of humanity. Can most of the world’s evils be reduced to the history of one man’s attempt to impose his version of the collective good upon another? Love and loyalty: Discuss the complex interplay between love and loyalty in the relationships between: Viktor and Lyudmila, Viktor and Marya Ivanova, Yevgenia Nikolaevna and Novikov and Yevgenia Nikolaevna and Krymov. How does Grossman explore the theme of fidelity through the novel? Leadership: Getmanov and Novikov are in many ways juxtaposed in Life and Fate. In what ways do they represent different styles of leadership? Why do you think Novikov felt compelled to deny his sense of compassion towards the new recruits? Science: The nuclear physicist Viktor Shtrum is in many ways a self-portrait of Vasily Grossman, a chemist himself. Grossman’s excitement about science pervades the novel: ‘the logic of mathematics, itself quite unconnected with the world, had become reflected and embodied in a theory of physics; and this theory had fitted with divine accuracy over a complex pattern of dotted lines on photographic paper’. How does Grossman explore political issues through his presentation of Viktor’s career as a scientist and in what other ways does the theme of science enhance the novel? Legacy: Linda Grant chose Life and Fate as an Inheritance Classic because she wanted others to feel ‘that they are entering the heart of the twentieth century, touching its pulse’. What aspects of Life and Fate, in your view, make it a worthy ‘Inheritance Classic’? What legacy does Grossman pass down to the reader through the novel?

Language: ‘What power lies in the word! In the unfettered, carefree word! The word that is still spoken in spite of one’s fears?’ How does Grossman celebrate the power of language through the novel, both in the concept of freedom of speech and the beauty of the written word? About the Author Vasily Grossman was born in 1905. In 1941 he became a correspondent for the Red Army newspaper, Red Star, reporting on the defence of Stalingrad, the fall of Berlin and the consequences of the Holocaust, work collected in A Writer at War. In 1960 Grossman completed his masterpiece Life and Fate and submitted it to an official literary journal. The KGB confiscated the novel and Grossman was told that there was no chance of it being published for another 200 years. Eventually, however, with the help of Andrey Sakharov, a copy of the manuscript was microfilmed and smuggled out to the West by a leading dissident writer, Vladimir Voinovich. Grossman began Everything Flows in 1955 and was still working on it during his last days in hospital in September 1964.

Main characters. Viktor Pavlovich Shtrum: Viktor Shtrum is the central figure in Grossman’s novel. Although there is a multitude of characters in Life and Fate, much of the novel’s plot revolves around Shtrum and his family. Shtrum is married to Lyudmila. He works as a nuclear physicist and is a member of the Academy of Sciences. A crucial aspect of Shtrum’s character is his academic work. He is constantly thinking about his exploration of nuclear physics. This obsession with his work is obvious from the very start of the novel through the thoughts of Lyudmila. Lyudmila and Viktor have drawn apart. Lyudmila acknowledges this disconnect, for she realizes that her husband no longer shares his work with her – something that he used to do constantly. Previous to the war, Shtrum’s family had been living in Moscow, yet the city’s evacuation caused them to move into Kazan. Throughout the novel, Shtrum hints at his opposition to the oppressive government. The war also forces Shtrum to come to terms with his Jewish heritage. Lyudmila Nikolaevna Shaposhnikova: Lyudmila is married to Viktor Shtrum and has a daughter with him named Nadya. This is her second marriage. She was originally married to Abarchuk, who has been sent to a Soviet Labour Camp. In the beginning of the novel, it is clear that Lyudmila and Viktor have drifted apart. Although their estrangement is not expressed openly by each character, it is evident through Lyudmila’s discussion of her eldest son, Tolya, who she had with Abarchuk. Lyudmila discusses how Viktor and his mother, Anna Semyonovna, always showed a preference to Nadya and ignored Tolya. Lyudmila describes this best when she says “Nadya, Nadya, Nadya…Nadya’s got Viktor’s eyes…Nadya’s absent-minded, Nadya’s quick-witted, Nadya’s very thoughtful.” Lyudmila’s separation and apathy towards Viktor and Nadya grow greater after the death of Tolya. Yevgenia (‘Zhenya’) Nikolaevna Shaposhnikova: Yevgenia is Lyudmila’s younger sister. She was originally married to Nikolay Grigorevich Krymov, but when the reader is introduced to her in the novel, she is in a relationship with Colonel Pyotr Pavlovich Novikov. After moving to Kuibyshev, Yevgenia lives with an old German woman named Jenny Genrikovna - a woman who had once worked as the Shaposhinikov family’s governess. Yevgenia had a good relationship with this pleasant lady, but after the old woman is taken to the Far North with other Germans living in Kuibyshev, Yevgenia begins to live alone. Although she is a beautiful and charming woman, Yevgenia has much trouble acquiring a residence permit or a ration-card. After many run-ins with Grishin, the head of the passport department, she is finally able to get these documents using societal connections. She receives aid in acquiring official documentation from Limonov, a man of letters, and Lieutenant-Colonel Rizin, her boss at the design office – both of whom are romantically interested in her. Dementiy Trifonovich Getmanov: Getmanov is the secretary of an obkom and is appointed commissar to Novikov’s tank corps. He is described as having large and distinct features: “his shaggy, greying head, his broad forehead, and his fleshy nose.” Getmanov is married to Galin Terentyevna. He has two daughters and a young son. His family lives in Ufa, where his comrades take care of them when Getmanov is away. Getmanov comes off as a strong supporter of the party. His prime objective in life is to move up in the party’s hierarchy. Thus, he is very cautious about what he says and what who are associated with him say,

because he does not want to offend the party or Stalin in anyway. This is obvious when he is discussing politics with his friends before leaving for the front. When one man discusses how his young son once abused a picture of Stalin, Getmanov is overly critical and says that this behaviour, even from a youngster, should not be tolerated. Getmanov is also quite arrogant. He feels insulted at being appointed the commissar to only a tank corps. It may be possible to see Getmanov as a portrait of Khrushchev. Abarchuk: Abarchuk is Lyudmila’s first husband. He was arrested in 1937 and sent to a Soviet Labour Camp. Abarchuk is a strong supporter of the party. He feels as though he has been wrongly imprisoned, yet does not fault the party for its actions. He believes that such erroneous arrests are justifiable in the large scheme of party stability. Abarchuk works with tools and materials in the camp. He works with a criminal named Barkhatov, who blackmails many people and even kills one of Abarchuk’s friends, Abrasha Rubin. Abarchuk’s actions are shaped by his need of approval by the party. He refuses to even allow Tolya to take his surname, for Abarchuk believes that this might hurt his standing and party image. Pyotr Lavrentyevich Sokolov: Sokolov is a mathematician in Viktor’s laboratory. In the beginning of the novel, Sokolov and Viktor are good friends. They love talking about their academic work and often get together at Sokolov’s home to discuss life and politics. As the novel progresses, however, it is evident that Viktor and Marya Ivanovna Sokolova, Sokolov’s wife, have feelings for each other. As Sokolov becomes aware of this, his relationship with Viktor obviously changes. They became even more competitive academically and are less friendly with each other. Mikhail Sidorovich Mostovskoy: Mostovskoy is an Old Bolshevik in a German Concentration Camp. He is the first major character that the reader is introduced to and he appears in the very beginning of the novel. Mostovskoy was involved in the Russian Revolution of 1917 and had strong ties to the Bolshevik party. Before his imprisonment, he was exiled in London and Switzerland. Although the living conditions in the camp are horrible, Mostovskoy is reasonable and optimistic. He says that the great mixture of prisoners in the camps, all from different ethnic, political and religious backgrounds, leads to an interesting environment. He can use his knowledge of foreign languages in the camp and he can attempt to understand new perspectives. Those inside the camp, including Mostovskoy, are extremely interested in what is going on in the war. Grossman uses Mostovskoy’s character to reveal the philosophical tension that pervaded Europe during WWII. Mostovskoy is constantly involved in philosophical arguments with fellow prisoners such as Major Yershov and Ikonnikov, a former Tolstoyan. Sofya Osipovna Levinton: When the reader first meets Levinton, she is in a train on the way to a German death camp. We later find out that she is an army doctor and an old friend of Yevgenia. On the train, Levinton meets a small boy named David. She soon realizes that he has no relatives with him. He was separated from his family before the war and his grandmother died in a Jewish ghetto. Over the course of the novel, Levinton grows to love David as a son. When, at the camp, the Germans offer to spare certain prisoners of value (such as doctors), she does not save herself; rather, she stays with David and heads with him to the gas chamber to die. This sequence of events in Life and Fate is especially powerful. It demonstrates how human compassion can rise above the atrocities that defined WWII.

Captain Grekov: Grekov is the ‘house-manager’ in House 6/1 – a Soviet stronghold surrounded by German troops. He is the emotional leader in this house and is highly respected. As a fierce and courageous soldier, he can truly inspire those around him to keep fighting in the direst situations. Tension forms between Krymov and Grekov as the novel progresses, because Grekov desires to act independently. He does not want Krymov to command him or control his actions, even if Krymov is the acting commissar. In this way, Grekov is a stubborn leader. Nikolay Grigorevich Krymov: Krymov is Yevgenia’s former husband. He is the commissar - a political functionary and is in control of the region in which House 6/1 is located. While Krymov seems to be a good communist, he has had a history of run-ins with party officials. Thus, he must watch everything that he does and says. Although Yevgenia claims to be over Krymov, she constantly thinks about him. Later in the novel, Yevgenia and Krymov reunite and rekindle their love. Krymov, however, is soon arrested and interrogated for unclear connections to ‘anti-party’ activity. Colonel Pyotr Pavlovich Novikov: Novikov is Yevgenia’s lover and the commanding officer of a Soviet Tank Corps. At the front, Novikov interacts with Getmanov. In many ways, Grossman juxtaposes these two characters in the novel. Novikov’s relationship with Yevgenia is focused on throughout Life and Fate. While he believes that he is getting closer to Yevgenia, the reader realizes that Yevgenia is slowly drifting away from him and growing closer to Krymov, her former husband.