Author Elizabeth Gilbert Postpones Publication of Novel Set in Siberia Following Criticism of Ukraine Invasion

The American writer Elizabeth Gilbert, known for having published in 2006 the best sellerEat, pray, love, which was made a successful film, announced Monday on her Twitter account that she delays the publication of her new novel due to the rejection generated in Ukraine, being set in Russia.

Last week Gilbert had announced the publication of his new book The snow forest (which can be translated as The Snow Forest), set in mid-twentieth century Russia and starring a group of hermits who decide to leave society and settle in the depths of Siberia, in order to protect nature from the advances of industrialization and resist the Soviet government.

Important announcement about THE SNOW FOREST. Please note that if you were charged for your pre-order, you will be fully refunded. Thank you so much. pic.twitter.com/OAEmrjtfJx

— Elizabeth Gilbert (@GilbertLiz) June 12, 2023

The book was expected to be released in February 2024, around two years after the Russian invasion of Ukraine, on Penguin Random House's Riverhead Books imprint, but that will no longer be the case. "Over the weekend I have received a huge and massive rain of reactions and responses from my Ukrainian readers," the writer said in the video posted on social media. "They were expressing anger, grief, disappointment and pain that I had chosen to release the book right now," Gilbert added.

The striking thing is that the rejection occurs towards any book, according to the author, regardless of the content, which is set in Russia. "I want to say I've heard and read those messages, and I respect them." The writer will initiate a process of correction and, therefore, alters the publication date, so as not to add pain to the victims of the war. It will also be dedicated to other projects it has underway. "That's the decision I've made," the writer said.

Over the weekend about 500 readers put just one star on the book, in protest, on the social network Goodreads, where readers review books. In the comments, Ukrainian readers argued that it was a way to romanticize Russia at a time when the country is accused of committing war crimes. The money raised in the presale will be returned to the buyers.

This is not the first time that cultural products related to Russia have generated rejection. In March 2022, the Spanish Ministry of Culture and Sports urged "the suspension of ongoing projects and initiatives with the Russian Federation, as well as the cancellation of those that had been planned and were still pending to start." In the Russian Museum of Malaga began to return collections to the Russian government and Russia was banned from Eurovision. But one thing is Russian institutions, connected to the government of Vladimir Putin, and another Russian culture, sedimented through the centuries. In this regard, in some places in Italy there were requests to cancel courses on the writer Fyodor Dostoevsky or tear down his statues. PEN America canceled a panel of Russian writers at its World Voices Festival over Ukrainian complaints, even though two of those writers did not support the war. Already in the popular sphere, some Spanish bars and restaurants changed, at least momentarily, the name of "Russian salad" for "Ukrainian salad".

In other cases, some cultural products have escaped such scrutiny. For example, as The New York Times points out, Paul Goldberg's latest novel, The Dissident, inspired by a group of dissidents in Soviet Russia in the 70s, has even garnered very good reviews. In October, The Wizard of the Kremlin, by Italian Giuliano da Empoli, fictionalizes the figure of Putin. The musicAeterna orchestra, sponsored by the Russian bank VTB, chaired by an oligarch close to Putin and sanctioned by the European Union, performed without problem in Zaragoza, Barcelona and Madrid.

In a statement, PEN America executive director Suzanne Nossel urged Gilbert to publish his novel The Snow Forest on schedule. "The publication of a novel set in Russia should not be regarded as an act that exacerbates oppression. The choice to read Gilbert's book rests with the readers themselves, and those who care should be free to express their views."

Russophobia? "I am quite skeptical of that word," says historian José María Faraldo, who publishes at the end of the month the book Russophobia (Cataract), "I think there are some usual prejudices with Russian culture, but I do not think it is a phobia, although sometimes we see isolated cases." As for the reaction of Ukrainians to any cultural manifestation that includes any Russian component, he finds this understandable given the suffering that the war is generating. "I don't see that there is a systematic hatred of Russia," he concludes.

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