Elizabeth Gilbert cancels publication of her novel “The Snow Forest”

Gilbert cited “an enormous, massive outpouring of reactions and responses from my Ukrainian readers, expressing anger, sorrow, disappointment and pain about the fact that I would choose to release a book into the world right now, any book, no matter what the subject of it is, that is set in Russia.” As a result, she said, “I am making a course correction and I am removing the book from its publication schedule.”

“The Snow Forest,” which was scheduled to be published on Feb. 13, 2024, was inspired by the true story of a religious Russian family who, in the 1930s, left Russia for a life of extreme solitude in Siberia, only to be discovered decades later by Soviet geologists, according to Gilbert’s publisher, Riverhead Books. Gilbert has described the characters as deciding to “remove themselves from society to resist the Soviet government and to try to defend nature against industrialization.” In a video message to her fans last week, Gilbert said: “This is a book that is going to take you into the deepest realms of the Siberian taiga, and into the heart and mind of an extraordinary girl born into that world, a girl of great spiritual and creative talent, raised far, far, far from everything that we call normal.”

“The Snow Forest” currently has an average one-star rating on GoodReads, with hundreds posting comments since June 10 criticizing Gilbert for romanticizing Russian culture. “It looks like Elizabeth Gilbert herself ‘lived isolated and undetected’ last few years. Because how else can you explain publishing an ‘inspiring story’ about russians, while they are committing genocide against Ukrainians at this moment?” one reviewer wrote. Others pointed out that the announced publication date fell close to the second anniversary of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

Gilbert’s announcement received a mixed reception on social media: Dozens thanked and praised Gilbert for what they called a “brave” decision, and for her integrity and empathy; others expressed skepticism.

“Putin’s Russia is a far right imperialist and terrorist state that deserves all the opprobrium directed at it. But this seems very weird to me. I mean the author’s decision but … no book should be set in historical Russia now?” novelist and critic Lincoln Michel said on Twitter. “A novel about people resisting the USSR no less? Huh?”

“Fully respect any author’s right to voluntarily withdraw their own title from publication, but this feels like an absurd over correction, and I’m baffled that it was called for in the first place,” author and journalist Otegha Uwagba wrote.

Other writers have received similar pressure after announcing books about Russia. Following Gilbert’s announcement, some Twitter users renewed their pressure on Nora Krug, who in August will publish a graphic memoir, “Diaries of War,” adapting her correspondence with a Ukrainian journalist and a Russian artist, which grew out of a series of op-eds originally published in the Los Angeles Times. The posts accused her of “whitewashing Russians” and of “spreading propaganda,” and demanded that she not proceed with the book. Krug did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Gilbert said on social media that she will now turn her attention to other book projects, and that anyone charged for a preorder would be refunded.

Reached for comment, she declined to elaborate further. A representative from Riverhead also declined to comment, except to say that the novel had been “delayed indefinitely.”