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Feb 1, 2010

The Little Golden Calf

The first new translation in half a century

This new edition of The Little Golden Calf, one of the greatest Russian satires ever, is the first new translation of this classic novel in nearly fifty years. It is also the first unabridged, uncensored English translation ever, and is 100% true to the original 1931 serial publication in the Russian journal 30 Dnei. Anne O. Fisher’s translation is copiously annotated, and includes an introduction by Alexandra Ilf, the daughter of one of the book’s two co-authors.

The famous satirical sequel to The Twelve Chairs resurrects the con man Ostap Bender, “the smooth operator,” and follows him and his three hapless co-conspirators on a hilarious romp through the Soviet Russia and Central Asia of 1930.

Bender says he has “very serious differences of opinion with Soviet power. It wants to build socialism, and I don’t.” The smooth operator wants to emigrate to Rio de Janeiro, so he and his crew set off in pursuit of an underground millionaire, who, Bender is certain, “will bring me his money himself, on a little saucer with a sky-blue rim.”

One of the greatest works of Russian satire of the 20th century (the 1932 American translation billed it as “The book that’s too funny to be published in Russia!”), this lively new English translation is the first since 1961.

The Little Golden Calf stands alongside the works of Griboyedov, Pushkin, and Gogol for its profound effect on Russian language and culture. The tale overflows with trenchant catchphrases and legendary literary episodes, offering a portrait of Russian life that is as funny and true today as it was when the novel was first published. For decades, foreigners trying to understand Russia have been advised to read the adventures of Ostap. This new translation makes them more enjoyable than ever!

The authors

Ilya Arnoldovich Ilf (born Faynzilberg, 1897-1937) and Evgeny Petrovich Petrov (born Katayev, 1903-1942) were famous satirists and humorists. In the 1920s, they individually contributed many pieces to the humor newspaper Gudok. Their main co-authored works were the novels Twelve Chairs and The Little Golden Calf, and the non-fiction work One-Storied America. Ilf died of tuberculosis. Petrov died during the Second World War, while working as a war correspondent.

The translator

Anne O. Fisher first tried reading Ilf and Petrov’s Ostap Bender novels in 1995, as an undergraduate exchange student at Petrozavodsk State Pedagogical University, where patient friends spent many hours explaining the books to her. Ten years later, she defended her Ph.D. dissertation at the University of Michigan, on the novels’ reading and publishing history from 1928 to the present. She has also translated the coauthors’ account of their 1935-36 road trip through the U.S. (Ilf & Petrov’s American Road Trip, Cabinet Books and Princeton Architectural Press). She has received an NEH grant to work with Alexandra Ilf on a biography of her father, Ilya Ilf, and a translation of his diaries, as well as an NEA translation grant to support the translation from the Russian of The Joyous Science: The Selected Poetry of Maxim Amelin.

Contents

Introduction: Some words from Alexandra Ilf, daughter of author Ilya Ilf, about the novel’s history with Soviet power.

Foreword: Translator and Ilf and Petrov scholar Anne O. Fisher, Ph.D. offers important background on the history of this cultural touchstone, how it has played out in other books and media, and what the deal is with all the different versions.

From the authors: The hilarious original preface from Ilya Ilf and Evgeny Petrov.

Part One: In which we meet the resurrected Ostap Bender. He assembles his motley crew and sets his plans in motion. We also meet Alexander Koreyko, underground millionaire and swindler — a true match for Bender. The stage is set for a battle of titanic proportions. But first Bender and friends have to drive across western Russia, masquerading as part of a road rally.

Part Two: In which Bender begins his assault on Koreyko’s fortress, starts up the Horn and Hooves Bureau and unexpectedly falls in love.

Part Three: In which the novel reaches its climax, as the hero chases the anti-hero across Central Asia, fraternizes with enemy journalists and does battle with the elements en route to an unexpected ending.

Notes: Over 300 endnotes on the novel, annotating the important historic and literary allusions throughout the work.

Appendix 1: Ilf & Petrov’s Colorful Characters — a short discourse on the names the authors use to give their characters double meaning.

Appendix 2: Krylatiye frazy (Catchphrases) — some of the phrases and idioms from the book that have become integral parts of the Russian language.