Elizabeth Gilbert, Author of ‘Eat, Pray, Love,’ Pulls New Book Set In Russia
Best-selling author Elizabeth Gilbert announced Monday that she will postpone the publication of her forthcoming book indefinitely after receiving criticism online for writing a novel set in Russia.
The move comes as the Ukrainian war rages on and publishers and organizations struggle with how to treat Russian art and literature. Gilbert’s decision to drop a novel set in 20th-century Siberia has sparked controversy over how the country should be represented in fiction. .
In a video posted to Instagram, Gilbert said, “I have received an enormous amount of reactions and reactions from Ukrainian readers,” adding, “I am angry, sad and disappointed about the fact that I have chosen to publish my book in Ukraine. expressed distress,” he said. Now the world, any book, whatever the subject, is set in Russia. “
She continued: “Now is not the time to publish this book, and I do not wish to cause more harm to those who have already experienced, and continue to experience, horrific and extreme harm.”
The publication of The Snow Forest was announced last week and was scheduled for February 13, 2024, just before the second anniversary of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. The novel follows a Russian family who withdraw from society in the 1930s to resist the Soviet government.By Monday, the book had amassed hundreds of his one-star reviews on the website. good leadits website and Instagram commenters blamed the book’s Russian setting and characters.
Gilbert is a best-selling and acclaimed author whose memoir, Eat, Pray, Love, has sold millions of copies worldwide and was made into a movie starring Julia Roberts and Javier Bardem. rice field. But even for an author whose work is very well known, increased negative attention can hurt sales.
A representative for Gilbert’s publisher, Riverhead Books, said Gilbert had no further comment. She also acknowledged that the novel has been postponed indefinitely and that no decision has been made as to whether it will be revised.
Since the start of the Ukrainian war, arts groups have tried to distance themselves from Russian artists and writers, and in some cases from dissidents. In May, PEN America canceled a panel discussion featuring Russian authors at its World Voices Festival after Ukrainian authors objected. (Two Russian writers in the canceled panel, journalist Ilya Venyavkin and a novelist Anna Nemzerwho left Russia shortly after the invasion of Ukraine).
Last year, New York’s Metropolitan Opera cut ties with Russian superstar soprano Anna Netrebko, who had previously voiced her support for Russian President Vladimir V. Putin. Russian pianist Alexander Malofeyev, who has condemned the invasion, canceled a concert tour in Canada last year. The Bolshoi Ballet has lost touring performances in Madrid and London.
Yet, despite continued public pressure facing institutions to shun Russian artists and works of art, an American author has faced backlash for writing a novel set in historical Russia. It is amazing to be faced with
Other recent and upcoming novels set in Russia or featuring Russian characters have so far appeared to escape similar scrutiny and calls for cancellation. Paul Goldberg’s new novel “The Disident,” about a group of Soviet dissidents in 1970s Moscow, garnered rave reviews. review Earlier this month, The Washington Post “admired the novel’s zest, black humor, and contagious enthusiasm for Russian culture.” In October, Other Press will release The Magician of the Kremlin, a translated novel by Italian-Swiss author Giuliano da Empoli, about the fictional President Putin.
Russia has also long been a popular setting for thrillers and spy novels, in which Russians are often cast as villains. Simon & Schuster plans to publish Anna Pitniak’s novel The Helsinki Case later this year. The novel is a thriller about a CIA agent who uncovers a conspiracy after receiving information about an assassination plot from a Russian defector.
Reactions to Gilbert’s decision have been mixed, with some praising her sensitivity to the ongoing international crisis and expressing concern about the impact of pressuring novelists to avoid certain subjects and settings. There were people too.
In a statement, Suzanne Nossel, CEO of PEN America, urged Gilbert to publish the book as planned.
“Publishing a novel set in Russia should not be seen as an act of aggravating oppression,” she said. “It is the reader’s choice whether or not to read Gilbert’s book, and those who are troubled by this book should be free to express their opinions.”
