Translator's Note [Walter Morison]: The text of this volume follows that of the 1934 Russian edition of Babel's stories, which included Red Cavalry, Tales of Odessa, and all but the last five of the group called Stories. However, certain political references, chiefly to Trotsky, which were censored in the 1934 edition, have been restored in the present version.
"The End of the Old Folks' Home" in the Stories group is taken from a collection published in 1932. "Through the Fanlight" reached the proof stage in Russia but was never published; "The Kiss" and "Line and Color" are translated from the French, the only known versions; and "Di Grasso," the last story, was published in an emigre magazine.
Translator's Note [Walter Morison]: The text of this volume follows that of the 1934 Russian edition of Babel's stories, which included Red Cavalry, Tales of Odessa, and all but the last five of the group called Stories. However, certain political references, chiefly to Trotsky, which were censored in the 1934 edition, have been restored in the present version.
"The End of the Old Folks' Home" in the Stories group is taken from a collection published in 1932. "Through the Fanlight" reached the proof stage in Russia but was never published; "The Kiss" and "Line and Color" are translated from the French, the only known versions; and "Di Grasso," the last story, was published in an emigre magazine.