Rabelais and His World by Mikhail Bakhtin, Hélène Iswolsky (Translator)

 A Russian man takes you from slapstick moment to slapstick moment through this orgiastic saga, and relates it to the human ass and how that relates to role reversal--in all kinds of reference, like religious rituals and garb, the study of anatomy, natural cycles. And Bakhtin, as an oppressed Russian citizen, loved Rabelais... idolized the free expression of each chapter. If I recall, he says "Gargantua and Pantagruel is the bravest book ever written."

Extra doses of country respect go to the translator, who must have faced quite a challenge in deciding on the exact terminology for Bakhtin, such as his references to the "lower stratum" which occur on almost every page. I would like to have a look at the raw source material myself--educated Russians of the 19th century knew French almost as well as their own language, yet I wonder how Bakhtin chose to read Rabelais. (I have sided ultimately with the Screech translation of Rabelais. It has the most additional clarifying annotations, and while others "Screech," I am fine with an italicized page of extrapolation at the beginning of every chapter. Skip it if you don't want to learn!)  

It took me a long time to read Bakhtin's study of Rabelais-- maybe a year, as other books passed it alongside. But when I finally finished it, in that second summer breeze, I had to say, "I can't believe I finished the whole thing" with true, long-sandwich satisfaction.