The Story of Sonechka - Paperback

by Marina Tsvetaeva (Author), I. B. Fishbeyn (Translator), C. D. C. Reeve (Translator)

It is 1918 in Moscow. The communist revolution is in full swing. Food is scarce, living conditions harsh. Two women meet on the stage of an empty theater. One is the now famous twenty-six-year-old poet Maria Tsvetaeva, the other the twenty-four-year-old actress Sonia Holliday (Sonechka).The Story of Sonechka, written almost twenty years later, is a vivid account, at once comic and tragic, of their love for each other. A previously untranslated masterpiece (Dmitry Bikov calls it "one of the five best books in world literature"), it stands as a testament to the artistry with which Tsvetaeva wrote prose; the vicissitudes of her life, love, and work; and the intense dynamics of Moscow culture in the wake of the Revolution. It also constitutes an exceedingly rare and early example of queer prose literature originally written in Russian.

Author Biography

Marina Tsvetaeva (1892-1941) was a prominent Russian poet known for her passionate, innovative style and exploration of themes like love, exile, and human resilience. She lived through the upheavals of the Russian Revolution and World Wars, enduring personal tragedies, including poverty, political persecution, and the loss of a child. Despite her untimely death, Tsvetaeva's work remains a cornerstone of Russian literature, celebrated for its emotional depth and lyrical brilliance.

Inessa Fishbeyn is an independent writer and translator of Russian literature, born and educated in Kazan, Russia.

David Reeve is DKE Distinguished Professor of Philosophy at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, he specializes in ancient Greek philosophy and has translated many of the works of Plato and Aristotle and written books, commentaries, and essays on them.