Dacha Idylls: Living Organically in Russia's Countryside (Paperback) (ISBN-13: 9780520262850)

Dacha Idylls is a lively account of dacha life and how Russians experience this deeply rooted tradition of the summer cottage amid the changing cultural, economic, and political landscape of postsocialist Russia. Simultaneously beloved and reviled, dachas wield a power that makes owning and caring for them an essential part of life. In this book, Melissa L. Caldwell captures the dacha's abiding traditions and demonstrates why Russians insist that these dwellings are key to understanding Russian life. She draws on literary texts as well as observations from dacha dwellers to highlight this enduring fact of Russian culture at a time when so much has changed. Caldwell presents the dacha world in all its richness and complexity--a "good life" that draws inspiration from the natural environment in which it is situated.

Author: Melissa L. Caldwell
ISBN-10: 0520262859
ISBN-13: 9780520262850
Publisher: University of California Press
Language: English
Published: 10/28/2010
Pages: 224
Format: Paperback
Weight: 0.66lbs
Size: 8.80h x 5.90w x 0.60d

Review Citation(s):
Chronicle of Higher Education 11/29/2010 pg. 17