Searching for icons in Russia

By Vladimir Alekseevich Soloukhin

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• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0151799172
• ISBN13: 9780151799176
• Release Date: January 1
• Publisher: Harcourt College Publishers
• Length: 191 Pages
• Weight: 1.00 lbs.

Customer Reviews

one of the great books of all time

Searching For Icons in Russia is one of the great books of my lifetime. First discovering it in the 80s, I've read it many times and loved it for years. It is the story of a Russian man's unique quest recovering ancient icons in Soviet Russia, restoring them, and giving himself over to the singular beauty and mystical properties of the sacred. The author hunts these treasures across Russia - villages, hamlets, homes, churches mostly destroyed and desecrated by the Soviet authority, many of the icons rescued and worshipped by peasant believers across Russia. The characters the author meets on his journey are irreplacable, and thoroughly revealing. There is something incongruous about the book's premise - a non-believer caught up in a discovery beyond his ken, the discovery of Russia's Orthodox history embodied in the sacred icon, and his awakening to a miraculous art found only in Russia. It is a story beautifully told in plain and provocative language, coherent, magical, and utterly surprising. The last couple chapters describe the history and nomenclature of Russian iconography, useful but apocryphal. The force of the story is told in the first three-quarters of the book - a magical ride through a misunderstood and nearly forgotten piece of artistic and religious history. There is not a single false step throughout the entire book. One reads and believes. It's a beautiful contribution to history, completely free of guile, and filled with the joy of discovery. Recommended with joy and conscience! Especially rewarding is the author's authentic humility exemplified by the black and white illustrations of various icons germane to the story. If you have an interest in Russian history, don't miss this unique treasure.