Afterthoughts on the U.S.S.R. by Andre Gide
Author: Andre Gide, translated by Dorothy Bussy
Publisher: The Dial Press, New York 1938
Hardcover
Page Count: 142
This book is an early example of the humanist rejection of the Soviet state and the Soviet approach to government and society. Gide, a historically important writer who won the Nobel Prize for Literature in the 1940s, was, like many, ardently pro-Soviet at first. He saw them as the necessary antidote to Czarist autocracy and obscurantism. But for him and others like him, that did not mean the Soviets had a blank check. The induced famines, the oppression of the peasantry, the dreadful living conditions of the industrial workers, the dictatorship, the fawning adulation of Stalin, and then the capstone of the purges and the Great Terror in the late 1930s showed that these aspects were permanent features and not temporary deviations. Gide was one of the first to publicly repudiate his own past positions in his book Thoughts On The USSR, in 1936. This book is a follow up, hence the title Afterthoughts, and it is part of what became his enduring battle with Stalinism.
While a case can be made here for Gide’s humanism, it also has to be recalled that he forthrightly admitted to child rape. Unlike his pro Soviet positions, he never repudiated his actions towards children.
Condition: Fair to good. The dustjacket was removed by a prior owner and the inside flaps are taped into the inside front and rear covers, but the outside parts of the jacket are gone. The book was stamped by a prior owner. However, the actual covers and pages are in good condition throughout.
Author: Andre Gide, translated by Dorothy Bussy
Publisher: The Dial Press, New York 1938
Hardcover
Page Count: 142
This book is an early example of the humanist rejection of the Soviet state and the Soviet approach to government and society. Gide, a historically important writer who won the Nobel Prize for Literature in the 1940s, was, like many, ardently pro-Soviet at first. He saw them as the necessary antidote to Czarist autocracy and obscurantism. But for him and others like him, that did not mean the Soviets had a blank check. The induced famines, the oppression of the peasantry, the dreadful living conditions of the industrial workers, the dictatorship, the fawning adulation of Stalin, and then the capstone of the purges and the Great Terror in the late 1930s showed that these aspects were permanent features and not temporary deviations. Gide was one of the first to publicly repudiate his own past positions in his book Thoughts On The USSR, in 1936. This book is a follow up, hence the title Afterthoughts, and it is part of what became his enduring battle with Stalinism.
While a case can be made here for Gide’s humanism, it also has to be recalled that he forthrightly admitted to child rape. Unlike his pro Soviet positions, he never repudiated his actions towards children.
Condition: Fair to good. The dustjacket was removed by a prior owner and the inside flaps are taped into the inside front and rear covers, but the outside parts of the jacket are gone. The book was stamped by a prior owner. However, the actual covers and pages are in good condition throughout.
Author: Andre Gide, translated by Dorothy Bussy
Publisher: The Dial Press, New York 1938
Hardcover
Page Count: 142
This book is an early example of the humanist rejection of the Soviet state and the Soviet approach to government and society. Gide, a historically important writer who won the Nobel Prize for Literature in the 1940s, was, like many, ardently pro-Soviet at first. He saw them as the necessary antidote to Czarist autocracy and obscurantism. But for him and others like him, that did not mean the Soviets had a blank check. The induced famines, the oppression of the peasantry, the dreadful living conditions of the industrial workers, the dictatorship, the fawning adulation of Stalin, and then the capstone of the purges and the Great Terror in the late 1930s showed that these aspects were permanent features and not temporary deviations. Gide was one of the first to publicly repudiate his own past positions in his book Thoughts On The USSR, in 1936. This book is a follow up, hence the title Afterthoughts, and it is part of what became his enduring battle with Stalinism.
While a case can be made here for Gide’s humanism, it also has to be recalled that he forthrightly admitted to child rape. Unlike his pro Soviet positions, he never repudiated his actions towards children.
Condition: Fair to good. The dustjacket was removed by a prior owner and the inside flaps are taped into the inside front and rear covers, but the outside parts of the jacket are gone. The book was stamped by a prior owner. However, the actual covers and pages are in good condition throughout.