The People Immortal

Vasily Grossman's three war novels are recognizably the work of the same writer; all display his sharp psychological insights and his gift for descriptive passages that appeal to all our different senses. Nevertheless, the goals he set himself in these novels are very different. Life and Fate is not only a novel but also a work of moral and political philosophy, focusing on the question of whether or not it is possible for someone to behave ethically even when subjected to overwhelming violence. The earlier Stalingrad is primarily a work of memorialization, a tribute to all who died during the war. The still earlier The People Immortal, set during the catastrophic defeats of the war's first months, is both a work of fiction and an important contribution to the Soviet war effort.

The plot of The People Immortal is simple: A Red Army regiment wins a minor victory in eastern Belorussia but fails to exploit this success. One battalion is then entrusted with the task of slowing the German advance, even though it is understood that this battalion will inevitably end up being encircled. The novel ends with this battalion breaking out of encirclement and joining up with the rest of the Soviet forces.

The NYRB Classics edition includes not only the novel itself (supplemented with passages from Grossman's typescripts that were censored from the published version of the novel), but also a variety of background material, including appreciative letters Grossman received during the first year of the war from Soviet commissars and commanders.