Shapes of Apocalypse

“The volume should be of interest to specialists of nineteenth- and early twentieth-century Russian literature and the arts, the Eastern Orthodox Church, or Slavic spirituality in general. While there is great variation among the authors of the ten essays, they all address their genres from a religious or spiritual point of view. As a result, the reader will find some unexpected ‘reads’ of familiar works in the literary and arts sections and an interesting variety of opinions regarding Eastern Orthodoxy and apocalypse in the philosophy section.” -- Sarah Predock Burke * The Russian Review, January 2014 (Vol. 73, No. 1) *
“For anyone concerned with or interested in the topic of the apocalypse in arts, literature and philosophy in Slavic culture this book would be invaluable and it is likely to become a primary reference source for future research in the study of religious concepts in general, and the apocalypse in particular.” -- Ayse Dietrich, Middle East Technical University, International Journal of Russian Studies Issue no. 6, Jan 2017 * International Journal of Russian Studies, January 2014 *
“William J. Leatherbarrow’s essay (previously published in 1982) on apocalyptic imagery in Dostoevskii’s The Idiot and The Devils is an outstanding model of concise, elegant and lucid analysis. Although the author modestly refers to it as a ‘working paper’ (p. 132) and draws only tentative conclusions, he succeeds in integrating his evidence into a focused and persuasive argument on Dostoevskii’s use of apocalyptic motifs to highlight the moral failure of utopianism and the dream of the Golden Age....[R]eaders will undoubtedly find unusual materials, novel approaches and stimulating ideas in this volume, which is attractively produced and pleasant to handle.” -- Pamela Davidson * Slavonic and East European Review (vol. 92, no. 3, July 2014) *
“This collection enhances our knowledge and understanding of the apocalyptic vision in Russia and Eastern Europe. It introduces experts on Russia to important figures in Bohemia, Croatia, and Poland, and it offers fresh interpretations of well-known Russian authors.” -- Bernice Glatzer Rosenthal, professor of history, Fordham University * Slavic and East European Journal, 59.1 (Spring 2015) *