December Break: The Sistine Madonna by Grossman

The Slavic Literature Pod

29-12-2023 • 39 minutos

Show Notes:

Note: This is a re-run of Vasily Grossman's "The Sistine Madonna."


Matt and Cameron have finished reading Stalingrad, but they aren’t yet done with Grossman. This week, they tackle his short story “The Sistine Madonna.” Written before the publication of Stalingrad and after he began to write Life and Fate, “The Sistine Madonna” is a piece about beauty, desperation, and hope for the future. Oh, and thermonuclear war. It covers a lot of ground. Grab your Bibles to track the religious analogies and tune in!


Major themes: Thanking our supporters, being thankful for our back catalog, good riddance to 2023

Check out our original airing of "The Sistine Madonna" for all the time-accurate show notes.


The music used in this episode was “Старое Кино / Staroye Kino,” by Перемотка / Peremotka. You can find more of their work on Bandcamp and Youtube.


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