"No iron can pierce the human heart with the force of a full stop put at just the right place."
Babel was the writer of some of Russia's most well known literary masterpieces, such as Red Cavalry. He was tortured, forced to make a false confession and shot by firing squad in Stalin's Great Purge, his death was described by translator Peter Constantine as one of the 'greatest tragedies of twentieth century literature'. I particularly love his opinion of Vladimir Nabokov, author of Lolita, widely considered one of the greatest novels of the twentieth century. Babel commented that 'he can write, but he has nothing to say' - it's a shame he never got to read Lolita! However the first quote of his has simultaneously encouraged me to start writing again, and terrified me so much that I never want to start. We'll see!
I have never heard of him but will def keep my eyes open for some of his writing! thanks for sharing :)
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