P. frontalis chiripepe Posted April 9, 2014 Share Posted April 9, 2014 For the past few years, I've been reading a lot of 19th Century Russian literature [Dostoyevsky, Tolstoy, Gogol, Pushkin, etc]. Right now I'm reading The Adolescent, by Dostoyevsky. I find the satire in these books entertaining and even comical. Anyone else interesting in this era of literature? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Myshkin Posted April 9, 2014 Share Posted April 9, 2014 Never heard of 'em. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Darth Richard II Posted April 9, 2014 Share Posted April 9, 2014 Hahaha oh my LORD. Myshkin man, I just laughed so hard I think I scarred the cats. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Captain Goatf*cker Posted April 9, 2014 Share Posted April 9, 2014 Yeah, that's a real gut buster. And did you scare them, or scar them? Out of all the forums I visit, this has to be the least friendly of the lot. Why so many of y'all think you're so high and mighty is beyond me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sologdin Posted April 9, 2014 Share Posted April 9, 2014 i imagine that DR's laughter could have been so thunderous as to cause PTSD in his livestock. ergo: scarred. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Darth Richard II Posted April 9, 2014 Share Posted April 9, 2014 scar, scare, whatever. They shall remember this day! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VarysTheSpider Posted April 9, 2014 Share Posted April 9, 2014 I went through a big stint of reading these some years ago. One of the best I found, by accident at a library, was Oblomov by Ivan Goncharov. The blurb, a story about a man too lazy to change, hooked me immediately. I love plenty of other Russian books, but this was the first that really made me laugh, even if it was sometimes in a sad kind of way. The only book I read that I didn't really care for was Pushkin's Eugene Onegin. Not really sure I have an ear for poetry. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Myshkin Posted April 9, 2014 Share Posted April 9, 2014 Yeah, that's a real gut buster. And did you scare them, or scar them? Out of all the forums I visit, this has to be the least friendly of the lot. Why so many of y'all think you're so high and mighty is beyond me. Calm yourself please. My post was meant to be funny, not "high and mighty". I figured the OP, being a fan of Russian lit, would recognize my screen name and maybe get a chuckle out of it. I went through a big stint of reading these some years ago. One of the best I found, by accident at a library, was Oblomov by Ivan Goncharov. The blurb, a story about a man too lazy to change, hooked me immediately. I love plenty of other Russian books, but this was the first that really made me laugh, even if it was sometimes in a sad kind of way. The only book I read that I didn't really care for was Pushkin's Eugene Onegin. Not really sure I have an ear for poetry. Oblomov really is a great novel. And of course The Idiot is the single greatest novel ever written in the history of ever. And don't limit yourself to just the 19th century; the 20th century Soviet stuff is just as good. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Reposado Posted April 10, 2014 Share Posted April 10, 2014 For the past few years, I've been reading a lot of 19th Century Russian literature [Dostoyevsky, Tolstoy, Gogol, Pushkin, etc]. Right now I'm reading The Adolescent, by Dostoyevsky. I find the satire in these books entertaining and even comical. Anyone else interesting in this era of literature? interested or interesting? if interesting, than lermontov and turgenev, offhand Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sologdin Posted April 10, 2014 Share Posted April 10, 2014 20th century: solzhenitsyn (first circle trumps), bulgakov, shalamov. sholokhov is alright, though some folks might be annoyed by the zhdanovshchina. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
P. frontalis chiripepe Posted April 10, 2014 Author Share Posted April 10, 2014 Calm yourself please. My post was meant to be funny, not "high and mighty". I figured the OP, being a fan of Russian lit, would recognize my screen name and maybe get a chuckle out of it. Oblomov really is a great novel. And of course The Idiot is the single greatest novel ever written in the history of ever. And don't limit yourself to just the 19th century; the 20th century Soviet stuff is just as good. I did recognize your name at once, Prince. ;). Did you notice the nod to your favorite character in The Producers? I haven't read Oblomov yet, but I have heard about it, and its on my list. The Idiot may tie with The Brothers Karamazov for my favorite Dostoyevsky novel. Gogol's short stories can be hilarious. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ygrain Posted April 11, 2014 Share Posted April 11, 2014 I did recognize your name at once, Prince. ;). Did you notice the nod to your favorite character in The Producers? I haven't read Oblomov yet, but I have heard about it, and its on my list. The Idiot may tie with The Brothers Karamazov for my favorite Dostoyevsky novel. Gogol's short stories can be hilarious. Ugh, The Karamazovs were a compulsory read for a seminar and it didn't sit well with me. On the other hand, I developed a taste for Turgenev, especially Hunter's Sketches. I'd also recommend a bit neglected author - Leskov. Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk is a great read. From the 20th century lot, I liked Grossman's Life and Fate and Tendryakov's Pokushenie na mirazhi (Assassination of Illusions). And, Yesenin's Persian Motives. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
P. frontalis chiripepe Posted April 11, 2014 Author Share Posted April 11, 2014 Ugh, The Karamazovs were a compulsory read for a seminar and it didn't sit well with me. On the other hand, I developed a taste for Turgenev, especially Hunter's Sketches. I'd also recommend a bit neglected author - Leskov. Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk is a great read. From the 20th century lot, I liked Grossman's Life and Fate and Tendryakov's Pokushenie na mirazhi (Assassination of Illusions). And, Yesenin's Persian Motives. I've read a bunch of short stories by Leskov, but I haven't tried any of his longer novels yet. I liked what I've read of him so far. :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wolverine Posted April 12, 2014 Share Posted April 12, 2014 The Brothers Karamazov has what seems like a 1000 page description of a dream to Aleksei by a priest or bishop or abbot or something, right? It was a little tedious at times for me. Is there a recommended translation/translator for reading any of these authors? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Myshkin Posted April 12, 2014 Share Posted April 12, 2014 Is there a recommended translation/translator for reading any of these authors? Usually you can't go wrong with the Pevear/Volokhonsky translations. My favorite translation of The Idiot is the Henry and Olga Carlisle translation. David Magarshack's translations are also very good. For me I feel that Magarshack better captures the sense of time and place, while Pevear/Volokhonsky are more accessible for a modern reader, so take your pick depending on what you want. But whatever you do stay away from Constance Garnett. This is difficult to do because all of the free digital copies of the Russian classics will be Garnett translations, since she's in the public domain. But Garnett is now famously known for taking major liberties with the texts she translated. Nobel Prize winning Russian poet Joseph Brodsky had this to say about Garnett: "The reason English-speaking readers can barely tell the difference between Tolstoy and Dostoevsky is that they aren't reading the prose of either one. They're reading Constance Garnett." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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