The White Guard
“Nicholas Boulton gives yet another splendid narration of a Russian classic in this production of Bulgakov’s first major work...Boulton ably affects different accents for various characters—soldiers, officers, peasants, and others. His pacing and enunciation are perfect for both narration and dialogue.”
AudioFile
In the Ukrainian capital Kiev (‘the City’), life has become frightening and fragile. Bulgakov’s first full-length novel is set in the harsh and chaotic winter of 1918–19, as power struggles start to play out with brutal consequences.
Echoing Tolstoy’s approach in War and Peace, Bulgakov contrasts the concerns of domestic life with the wide-ranging and destructive historical events; but where Tolstoy’s structure is clear, Bulgakov interweaves narrative, details of military action, snatches of songs, dreams, dialogue, and fragments of thought to capture this swirl of confusion on every level, as those caught in the middle of circumstances beyond their control try to ground themselves.
Suffering, tragedy, and savagery are set out unflinchingly, but the bleakness is offset by a recognition of the resilience of the human spirit and of the qualities of loyalty and principle—all embodied by the Turbin family. The novel begins and ends with a view of the night sky: beyond the chaos, beauty is still there to see.
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