And Quiet Flows the Don

I have always had a pull to water. Whether the sea or a river, the draw of water flowing has ever made my soul long to be a part of it. TS Eliot's Wasteland was the first time I felt this draw expressed in literature, and somehow, a book that is based around that attraction has always wormed its way into my psyche. On the other hand, despite having studied Russian for A level, I have always found the literature difficult: navel gazing in extremis and having to master all those names and patronymics. Reading just the character list of War and Peace was confusing en0ugh so I was really surprised when I picked this to be my next read.

I was even more surprised when I found myself really enjoying it. Based around the river Don, Shokholov makes the reader feel the attraction, the fundamental connection that the Cossack feels towards the river and land of his birth. He uses a charismatic heroic Cossack in particular, Gregor Melekhov and traces his life, affairs and marriage through the Russian revolution, first against the Tsar and then by the Soviet Red Guards against the Cossacks in the Ukraine who are fighting against the division of land. And, at the beginning and the end of every chapter, the writer traces the Don's changes through the seasons, the Don's unchanging ebb and flow against the seasonal tide of the men around it.

A beautiful book, beautifully written that examines the futility and mutability of war.

Minerva