Reviews for Anna Akhmatova

The average rating for Anna Akhmatova based on 2 reviews is 4.5 stars.

Review # 1 was written on 2019-02-22 00:00:00 Joseph Smetanka Amanda Haight wrote near the end of this book: "She traced the path of her own suffering without melodrama and without self pity ... Art was the mirror that made sense out of an otherwise senseless existence, the link between worlds that could reveal the greater purpose underlying apparent chaos, making it possible to bear life's suffering." pp. 194-195. These two quotes are good summaries of and tributes to a remarkable woman during a horrendous time in history. Anna Akhmatova could still love and write through it all. Amanda Haight's insights into this woman are deep, personal and eloquent treating the poet with great sensitivity and dignity. Reading Akhmatova's collected works drew me to want to know more about her, and I am not sure I could have found a better book than this one. Anna Akhmatova's life certainly was a heroic pilgrimage through the worst of hell and then quiet survival, even though one of her most compelling poems is "Poem Without a Hero". One can almost understand the devastation of this poem during the Terror, as many Russians called it, when many of the heroes were either imprisoned or killed. Yet, this book witnesses to the victory of a poet able to keep her integrity during tremendous pressures not to. Beautiful book!

Review # 2 was written on 2020-07-17 00:00:00 Matt Gemlo Great short book about Akhmatova's life. I knew basic facts about her (death of her husband, arrest of her son, meeting with Isaiah Berlin, trouble with the powers-that-be) but was not aware that she had such difficulties in her personal relationships and drew a better understanding of her poetry by knowing more about her life. The excerpts of her poems are beautifully translated. If you want to know more about Akhmatova, this book is a great place to start.