September / Russia Reading Poll

[Scheherazade]

In September we will be reading a book by a Russian author.

Please post your nominations in this thread by July 31st.

~~~This poll will close on August 31st!~~~

Some information on the books:

1.The Idiot by Fyodor Dostoevsky (http://www.amazon.co.uk/Idiot-Wordsworth-Classics-F-M-Dostoevsky/dp/1853261750/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1217540823&sr=8-1)

2. Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoyevsky (http://www.amazon.co.uk/Crime-Punishment-Penguin-Popular-Classics/dp/0140621806/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1217540862&sr=1-1)

3. The Slynx by Tatyana Tolstanya (http://www.amazon.co.uk/Slynx-York-Review-Books-Classics/dp/1590171969/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1217540895&sr=1-1)

4. Dead Souls by Nikolai Gogol (http://www.amazon.co.uk/Souls-Penguin-Classics-Nikolai-Gogol/dp/0140448071/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1217540926&sr=1-1)

5. War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy
(http://www.amazon.co.uk/War-Peace-Penguin-Red-Classics/dp/0141025115/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1217540971&sr=1-1)
6. Notes From Underground by Dostoevsky (http://www.amazon.co.uk/Notes-Underground-Dover-Thrift-Dostoevsky/dp/048627053X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1217541020&sr=1-1)

7. Ugly Swans by Arkady and Boriss Strugatsky
(http://www.amazon.co.uk/Ugly-Swans-Arkady-Strugatsky/dp/0020072406/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1217541051&sr=1-1)
8. Petersburg by Bely
(http://www.amazon.co.uk/Petersburg-Andrei-Bely/dp/0253202191/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1217541094&sr=1-2)
9. We by Yevgeny Zamyatin
(http://www.amazon.co.uk/We-Penguin-Twentieth-Century-Classics/dp/0140185852/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1217541120&sr=1-1)
10. Three Sisters by Chekhov (http://www.amazon.co.uk/Three-Sisters-Methuen-Student-Editions/dp/0413771407/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1217541154&sr=1-1)

[NickAdams]

Pale Fire by Vladimir Nabokov

[Dori]

The Idiot by Fyodor Dostoevsky

[Remarkable]

Crime and Punishment~Fyodor Dostoyevsky

[Jozanny]

Tatyana Tolstanya, The Slynx. She is related to Tolstoy and when she is on being Russian seems about as bad as being American. :)

[Niamh]

The government inspector/ the inspector by gogol

[DapperDrake]

Dead Souls by Nikolai Gogol

[Dori]

Just checking in to advertise my nomination. It's never too early! :p

When the time comes, vote for The Idiot. :D

Heck, I don't even know if I'll vote for it. So many of these are in my TBR pile (or my mental wishlist ;)). Gogol and Nabokov are both authors I have yet to read; I've only read a few works from Tolstoy, Dostoevsky, and Turgenev.

[Scheherazade]

Nominations so far:

1. Pale Fire by Vladimir Nabokov

2. The Idiot by Fyodor Dostoevsky

3. Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoyevsky

4. The Slynx by Tatyana Tolstanya

6. Dead Souls by Nikolai Gogol

Niamh> Do you mean The Government Inspector by Gogol?

[Niamh]

doh! I was distracted by Dori's nomination when i was putting mine through! yes! I mean the government Inspector. :blush::lol:
can i use the excuse of being over worked and over tired for my stupidity? :p :D

[Hira]

The Brothers Karamazov by Fyodor Dostoevsky

[Brigitte]

I want to nominate Notes From Underground by Dostoevsky, but it doesn't seem fair that so many of his novels are on the list. :x! But I've really wanted to read this... ^_^

[Dori]

No one's going to nominate War and Peace? :p :lol:

[Scheherazade]

I would like to nominate One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich by Solzhenitsyn.

[vheissu]

I was going to nominate Dead Souls as well, but I've seen DapperDrake has beat me to it!

[sofia82]

I like to read a book by Nabokove, especially Lolita which is in my reading list for a long time.

[Nightshade]

No one's going to nominate War and Peace? :p :lol:
You know what? I will!
:p

( mind you I dont want to read it so actually I take that back....
Scher I would like to nominate somthing a little diiferent how about
The Night Watch by Sergei Lukyanenko

http://www.fantasticfiction.co.uk/l/sergei-lukyanenko/night-watch.htm

I doubt it will win though I dont think weve had a proper scifi/fantasy since Hyperion have we?
edit: I take that back we did read hogfather didn't we?

[Taliesin]

If I have the ability still to nominate anything, I'll nominate "Ugly Swans" by Arkady and Boriss Strugatsky

[DapperDrake]

I want to nominate Notes From Underground by Dostoevsky, but it doesn't seem fair that so many of his novels are on the list. :x! But I've really wanted to read this... ^_^

I've just read it last month... I found it a struggle to be honest, the rambling and outdated ideas were a bit tiresome for me - plus I hated the protagonist! He starts "I am a sick man... I am a spiteful man. No, I am not a pleasant man at all." and I very much agree with him :p

[NickAdams]

I've just read it last month... I found it a struggle to be honest, the rambling and outdated ideas were a bit tiresome for me - plus I hated the protagonist! He starts "I am a sick man... I am a spiteful man. No, I am not a pleasant man at all." and I very much agree with him :p

I would add that he is a funny man.

[Scheherazade]

Nominations so far:

1. Pale Fire by Vladimir Nabokov

2. The Idiot by Fyodor Dostoevsky

3. Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoyevsky

4. The Slynx by Tatyana Tolstanya

6. Dead Souls by Nikolai Gogol

7. The Government Inspector by Gogol

8. The Brothers Karamazov by Fyodor Dostoevsky

9. Notes From Underground by Dostoevsky

10. One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich by Solzhenitsyn


Since we have already got the 10 nominations required, the nominations made after this point will not be included, unfortunately.

If you would like to withdraw your nomination, please let us know as soon as possible.

[Nightshade]

:bawling: but most of those are the typical ones we ALWAYS end up having on the Russian poles......

:(

[Niamh]

you can withdraw the government inspector (even though its great fun!) and put in the Night Watch instead Scher. Variety is the spice of life after all!

[Etienne]

Oh! And I came too late to nominate Bely's Petersburg! What a shame! People correct this injustice and withdraw any nomination until this masterpiece can be included!

Not only this work is amazing (and I mean really amazing, among the greatest work of the 20th century, and no doubt about it) but would also make a most interesting discussion.

I'd read Nabokov's though if it wins, especially that I already have the book, maybe Tolstanya as well... the others I've all read...

[Virgil]

I meant to mention this. Nabakov became an American and wrote several of his novels in English. Here is a list of novels and the language he used:


Novels and novellas written in Russian
(1926) Mashen'ka (Машенька); English translation: Mary (1970)
(1928) Korol' Dama Valet (Король, дама, валет); English translation: King, Queen, Knave (1968)
(1930) Zashchita Luzhina (Защита Лужина); English translation: The Luzhin Defense or The Defense (1964) (also adapted to film, The Luzhin Defence, in 2001)
(1930) Sogliadatai (Соглядатай (Eavesdropper)), novella; first publication as a book 1938; English translation: The Eye (1965)
(1932) Podvig (Подвиг (Deed)); English translation: Glory (1971)
(1933) Kamera Obskura (Камера Обскура); English translations: Camera Obscura (1936), Laughter in the Dark (1938)
(1934) Otchayanie (Отчаяние); English translation: Despair (1937, 1966)
(1936) Priglasheniye na kazn' (Приглашение на казнь (Invitation to an execution)); English translation: Invitation to a Beheading (1959)
(1938) Dar (Дар); English translation: The Gift (1963)
(Unpublished novella, written in 1939) Volshebnik (Волшебник); English translation: The Enchanter (1985)

[edit] Novels written in English
(1941) The Real Life of Sebastian Knight
(1947) Bend Sinister
(1955) Lolita, self-translated into Russian, (1965)
(1957) Pnin
(1962) Pale Fire
(1969) Ada or Ardor: A Family Chronicle
(1972) Transparent Things
(1974) Look at the Harlequins!
(1977) The Original of Laura (Unfinished/Unpublished)[28]
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vladimir_Nabokov

[Nightshade]

you can withdraw the government inspector (even though its great fun!) and put in the Night Watch instead Scher. Variety is the spice of life after all!
NO NO NO I hadnt ever heard of that one or that author! and I know from experiance Night watch is highly unlikly town :nod:

[Scheherazade]

:bawling: but most of those are the typical ones we ALWAYS end up having on the Russian poles......

:(I agree... which is why I wanted to nominated something other than Dostoyevsky or Gogol.
I meant to mention this. Nabakov became an American and wrote several of his novels in English. Here is a list of novels and the language he used:


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vladimir_NabokovThank you, Virgil. That will be replaced by Taliesin's Ugly Swans by Arkady and Boriss Strugatsky.

If anyone would like to change our withdraw their nominations, in the light of the recent discussion, please do let us know as soon as possible.

Niamh> Are you withdrawing your nomination?

Night> Will you nominate another book?

[Hira]

I just started reading War and Peace and I like it so far. So well, I thought I would take back my nomination of 'The Brothers Karamazov' and nominate 'War and Peace' instead. I am sure I am gonna finish it by September, its sooo very long!!

Not sure if anybody will vote for it though, lol.

[Nightshade]

e.

Niamh> Are you withdrawing your nomination?

Night> Will you nominate another book?

yes yes just can I have a day to come up with something reeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeally good?

pleeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeease:p

[Niamh]

Lets just say the G I until night comes up with something or nothing. :)

[armenian]

i though the bookclub was to discover books we wouldnt have normally read, im pretty sure the majority know about crime and punishment, and multiply authors really take away a chance of reading something new.

that being said, notes from underground is the absolute best book i have ever read, id vote for it just for others to read it.

[Scheherazade]

Nominations so far:

1. The Idiot by Fyodor Dostoevsky

2. Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoyevsky

3. The Slynx by Tatyana Tolstanya

4. Dead Souls by Nikolai Gogol

5. War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy

6. Notes From Underground by Dostoevsky

7. Ugly Swans by Arkady and Boriss Strugatsky


Niamh> Since you will withdraw your nomination, I will remove it from the list now.

Night> Hurry up before all nominations are taken.


that being said, notes from underground is the absolute best book i have ever read, id vote for it just for others to read it.
The aim of the BC is not to make others read certain books but read books together and discuss them with other members. Please vote something you will read too.

I am withdrawing my nomination to make room for other nominations.

[Nightshade]

We by Yevgeny Zamyatin

:D
goyt to love the dystopian novel.

[Jozanny]

Although I can appreciate that Tolstoy and Dostoevsky are the co-czars of Russian literature, I will abstain from reading or discussing either of them anytime soon, because they float in my brain fluid like mill stones, and this is just me, but I ended up hostile to Anna Karenina (yes, I know it is not on the list) despite its trains and deaths under trains.

It soured me on restoring intimacy with the great man for any time in the foreseeable future.

With Dostoevsky I am simply somewhat saturated.

[NickAdams]

Oh! And I came too late to nominate Bely's Petersburg! What a shame! People correct this injustice and withdraw any nomination until this masterpiece can be included!

Not only this work is amazing (and I mean really amazing, among the greatest work of the 20th century, and no doubt about it) but would also make a most interesting discussion.

I'd read Nabokov's though if it wins, especially that I already have the book, maybe Tolstanya as well... the others I've all read...


Nominations so far:

1. The Idiot by Fyodor Dostoevsky

2. Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoyevsky

3. The Slynx by Tatyana Tolstanya

4. Dead Souls by Nikolai Gogol

5. War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy

6. Notes From Underground by Dostoevsky

7. Ugly Swans by Arkady and Boriss Strugatsky



Where's my headsup to nominate something new, since Pale Fire was disqaulified?

Etienne nominated Bely's Petersburg and I was going to withdraw my nomination for it. Lets go with Petersburg.

[Niamh]

We by Yevgeny Zamyatin

:D
goyt to love the dystopian novel.

hey! that sounds good! thats a good replacement for mine. might get my vote!!!!!

[Scheherazade]

Nominations so far:

1. The Idiot by Fyodor Dostoevsky

2. Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoyevsky

3. The Slynx by Tatyana Tolstanya

4. Dead Souls by Nikolai Gogol

5. War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy

6. Notes From Underground by Dostoevsky

7. Ugly Swans by Arkady and Boriss Strugatsky

8. Petersburg by Bely

9. We by Yevgeny Zamyatin


Last nomination is up for grabs!

[DapperDrake]

NO NO NO I hadnt ever heard of that one or that author! and I know from experiance Night watch is highly unlikly town :nod:

Unless I'm mistaken its a play, quite amusing in an obvious sort of fashion but perhaps a bit short for a months read?

[Etienne]

Where's my headsup to nominate something new, since Pale Fire was disqaulified?

Etienne nominated Bely's Petersburg and I was going to withdraw my nomination for it. Lets go with Petersburg.

May you live a long and healthy life, brother!

[sofia82]

you crossed out Nabokov?! Pls, Don't do that

[Nossa]

No Anton Chekhov?! If it's not too late I think I'll nominate 'The Cherry Orchard'.

Edit* After some thinking, I think I'll nominate 'Three Sisters' instead. Many people already read 'The Cherry Orchard'.

[Scheherazade]

Nominations so far:

1. The Idiot by Fyodor Dostoevsky

2. Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoyevsky

3. The Slynx by Tatyana Tolstanya

4. Dead Souls by Nikolai Gogol

5. War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy

6. Notes From Underground by Dostoevsky

7. Ugly Swans by Arkady and Boriss Strugatsky

8. Petersburg by Bely

9. We by Yevgeny Zamyatin

10. Three Sisters by Chekhov


you crossed out Nabokov?! Pls, Don't do thatHe was left out because he is officially an American and wrote some of his works in English. This month we are hoping to read a work that was written in Russian by a Russian author.

[thelastmelon]

I wanted to nominate a book by Vladimir Sorokin, but then I realized that the book in particular wasn't availiable on Amazon, so I had to leave it out. But I haven't read much literature by any Russian authors yet actually, so I think I'll be glad no matter what gets chosen. :)

[Nossa]

10. The Cherry Orchard by Chekhov


Can I nominate another play instead? As I mentioned before, I believe many people here read The Cherry Orchard, or at least it's Chekhov's most famous play. I'll replace it with his play Three Sisters. If it's not a problem.

[Scheherazade]

No problem, Nossa. I will replace your nomination.

[Nossa]

No problem, Nossa. I will replace your nomination.

Thank you :D

[sofia82]

He was left out because he is officially an American and wrote some of his works in English. This month we are hoping to read a work that was written in Russian by a Russian author.

Ok. If it is the case ... I forget about Nabokov in this thread ... a kind of exile ;)

[Jozanny]

Interesting quandary about Nabokov. To me he is the quintessential Russian expatriate, more *Anglophile* than Americanized. I doubt an American could have ever written Lolita, because it took an outsider to create such a subversive work, subversive in its critique of American culture, still relevant 50 years after its publication. I don't consider James to be English simply because he became a British citizen shortly before his death either.

More is the pity.

Still, I would have preferred that the club nominate The Defense over anything else. It seems to have been a precursor work for a novelist like Gunter Grass, whose quintessential novel The Tin Drum sits almost finished, on my book shelf, another work that virtually exhausted my mental acuity. I put it down because I need a critical companion study to help me walk through the mine field of its metaphors, but most commentary titles I have found through Google seem to be out of print.

[Scheherazade]

I agree with you that it would have been great to read Nabokov but this particular month is dedicated to read a book which was written in Russian originally. It is good to get a taste of different authors and different literatures every now and then. There are many authors we do not normally read (whatever the reasons might be).

So let's give something different a chance :)

[Jozanny]

I agree with you that it would have been great to read Nabokov but this particular month is dedicated to read a book which was written in Russian originally. It is good to get a taste of different authors and different literatures every now and then. There are many authors we do not normally read (whatever the reasons might be).

So let's give something different a chance :)

Yes ma'am!:thumbs_up

[Scheherazade]

Yes ma'am!:thumbs_up http://img368.imageshack.us/img368/9430/bestcookie20zb7.th.jpg (http://img368.imageshack.us/my.php?image=bestcookie20zb7.jpg)

[Jozanny]

http://img368.imageshack.us/img368/9430/bestcookie20zb7.th.jpg (http://img368.imageshack.us/my.php?image=bestcookie20zb7.jpg)

You've read my mind! I am munching on gourmet chocolate chip while feeding the cats:idea:

I have decided to buy The Defense, during the course of my recent thinking. I like Nabokov as a sort of slightly more textured Joseph Conrad. Both wrote in English as a second language, both were meticulous with their sentence structure, and I am not sure I want to own a copy of Lolita, but I enjoy chess stories, and I doubt Nabokov is anywhere near lazy with a meta-fictional frame. That is part of my problem with the post-modernists. Very few of them do it well.

My Joey just made a boo-boo but I am actually glad. He gets a case of nerves when I open the door and ate something off the carpet yesterday which worried me, since there is no way I could have carried him to the vet hospital.

Now I am going to get whacked for topic drift!:D

[Etienne]

The Defence is a very, very good book, I doubt you will be disappointed.

[CognitiveArtist]

In the spirit of difference I'll nominate a contemporary Russian author, Victor Pelevin, and specifically his book The Life of Insects.


There's a nice review of his book on this Strange Horizons site (http://www.strangehorizons.com/2001/20010402/life_of_insects.shtml).

Also, there is a sample of the text on the New York Times site (http://www.nytimes.com/books/first/p/pelevin-insects.html).

[icandoit]

i dont read much Russian novels but i want to nominate Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoyevsky. ITs ok to me.

[CognitiveArtist]

Apologies on my last post, I didn't notice the limit was already reached. It looks fortunate though, as everyone will probably own the elected novel.

[DapperDrake]

Apologies on my last post, I didn't notice the limit was already reached. It looks fortunate though, as everyone will probably own the elected novel.

Seriously :-/

I own 3 of them I guess, but i'd be willing to bet that most people here don't keep a book case.

[Water Nymph]

I suggest short funny stories by Mikhail Zoshchenko.

I find them very good. I allow myself to cite one of the critics:

"In his prime, satirist Mikhail Zoschenko was more widely read in the Soviet Union than either Pasternak or Solzhenitsyn. His stories give expression to the bewildered experience of the ordinary Soviet citizen struggling to survive in the 1920s and ’30s, beset by an acute housing shortage, ubiquitous theft and corruption, and the impenetrable new ideological language of the Soviet state. Written in the semi-educated talk of the man or woman on the street, these stories enshrine one of the greatest achievements of the people of the Soviet Union — their gallows humor."

[curlyqlink]

No one's going to nominate War and Peace?

I will I will!

War and Peace - Tolstoy

[eyemaker]

Crime and Punishment~ Fyodor Dostoevsky

I nominate that one. I'm currently rereading it!




--eye

[Scheherazade]

Some information on the books:

1.The Idiot by Fyodor Dostoevsky (http://www.amazon.co.uk/Idiot-Wordsworth-Classics-F-M-Dostoevsky/dp/1853261750/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1217540823&sr=8-1)

2. Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoyevsky (http://www.amazon.co.uk/Crime-Punishment-Penguin-Popular-Classics/dp/0140621806/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1217540862&sr=1-1)

3. The Slynx by Tatyana Tolstanya (http://www.amazon.co.uk/Slynx-York-Review-Books-Classics/dp/1590171969/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1217540895&sr=1-1)

4. Dead Souls by Nikolai Gogol (http://www.amazon.co.uk/Souls-Penguin-Classics-Nikolai-Gogol/dp/0140448071/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1217540926&sr=1-1)

5. War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy
(http://www.amazon.co.uk/War-Peace-Penguin-Red-Classics/dp/0141025115/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1217540971&sr=1-1)
6. Notes From Underground by Dostoevsky (http://www.amazon.co.uk/Notes-Underground-Dover-Thrift-Dostoevsky/dp/048627053X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1217541020&sr=1-1)

7. Ugly Swans by Arkady and Boriss Strugatsky
(http://www.amazon.co.uk/Ugly-Swans-Arkady-Strugatsky/dp/0020072406/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1217541051&sr=1-1)
8. Petersburg by Bely
(http://www.amazon.co.uk/Petersburg-Andrei-Bely/dp/0253202191/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1217541094&sr=1-2)
9. We by Yevgeny Zamyatin
(http://www.amazon.co.uk/We-Penguin-Twentieth-Century-Classics/dp/0140185852/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1217541120&sr=1-1)
10. Three Sisters by Chekhov (http://www.amazon.co.uk/Three-Sisters-Methuen-Student-Editions/dp/0413771407/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1217541154&sr=1-1)

[Scheherazade]

I actually wanted to vote for Ugly Swans but it is not available at my library.

[Jozanny]

If Dostoevsky wins I'll add muteness to my store of ailments :) I fully realize his importance in the advent of realism, and his influence on James technique of limited point of view is significant, but to channel Henry James in my own voice "there is little joy in Dostoevsky"--not enough to counterbalance the sheer oppression in mood and weight. I don't find The Idiot *funny* so much as ironic, with too much illness as metaphor.

Many apologies for my deflation.

[lugdunum]

I've voted for We because 1/ after reading the plot summary on Wiki it appeals to me and 2/ I've found an online version...

...And if it wins maybe it will save Jozanny from sudden muteness :D

I also liked Petersburg but it is not available around here (neither library nor bookstore). Too bad.

[Ovid Reader]

I know that Scheherazade has already nominated One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich but why not Cancer Ward, both being by Solzhenitsyn.

[Quark]

Good, Notes from the Underground is coming back.

[DapperDrake]

urgh! I can't believe Notes from the Underground is doing so well, why do you guys want to read it?
On the other I'm glad that Dostoevsky is doing well in general, I won't be sorry if a Dostoevsky book wins - unless its Notes... :)

[bazarov]

It's time to reread Idiot. But, Notes will also do it.

[Agatha]

I've wanted to read Idiot for a long time, I even bought this book long time ago, so it is good opportunity to read this :)

[DapperDrake]

Idiot it is then (casts vote), I hope it wins!

[barbara0207]

I've always wanted to read 'We' - so I hope there'll be some more votes for it!

[Pensive]

I am pretty much torn between two books.

There is Ugly Swans that I have just started today (and am finding very interesting actually, seems like I will like to discuss it here in the book-club) and then there is We that I plan and also want to read along with the discussion in September but since it appears September would be pretty much non-friendly for me regarding reading I might not be able to commit to my decision. So if it were not for the fact that Ugly Swans has got little chance of winning I might have voted for it without a second thought but now I am a bit confused. Maybe I shouldn't give up the hope that more people go for Ugly Swans or maybe I myself should go for We which has more chances of being selected! Hmmmmm. :p

[Quark]

urgh! I can't believe Notes from the Underground is doing so well, why do you guys want to read it?

For the brevity of it, if nothing else. While The Idiot certainly has its moments, I don't know if we can draw that many people to a discussion if they have to read five hundred pages. Notes from the Underground is a concise story that hits many of the usual Dostoevsky themes, and does so with humor, feeling, and social relevance. It probably makes more sense to start with the shorter story. Then, if people are hooked on Dostoevsky, they can go out and read the lengthier novels.

[Etienne]

Notes from the Underground is a very good book, but obviously, Petersburg would have been the better choice :p I can't believe everyone missing on the greatest work of the 20th century like this...

[DapperDrake]

For the brevity of it, if nothing else. While The Idiot certainly has its moments, I don't know if we can draw that many people to a discussion if they have to read five hundred pages. Notes from the Underground is a concise story that hits many of the usual Dostoevsky themes, and does so with humor, feeling, and social relevance. It probably makes more sense to start with the shorter story. Then, if people are hooked on Dostoevsky, they can go out and read the lengthier novels.


I just don't think its the best of his short stories, the protagonist rambles too much. Every other short story by Dostoevsky i've read i've found more enjoyable than Notes

[Scheherazade]

It is going to be The Idiot then?

[Nightshade]

No no no :brickwall: :bawling: why do we always end up with Dostoevsky? *sniff*

[papayahed]

Come on people there's still time!!!!! we only need 3 votes for We!!!!

[vheissu]

Only 2 votes now for We!!

[bazarov]

No no no :brickwall: :bawling: why do we always end up with Dostoevsky? *sniff*

Because he is the best?

[Janine]

Cool, I've been wanting to read "The Idiot" as well as "Notes from the Underground", so glad to see it get so many votes and it is leading so far.

[mickitaz]

haha.. the devil's advocate :lol: Both of the leading books are available on ebooks.. perfect to break in my new birthday gift.

[Janine]

haha.. the devil's advocate :lol: Both of the leading books are available on ebooks.. perfect to break in my new birthday gift.

owww, are they really? I like ebooks. How can I get a download? I see now there is a tie. Happy Birthday!

[mickitaz]

No no no :brickwall: :bawling: why do we always end up with Dostoevsky? *sniff*

hehe.. I just evened it up there Nightshade.. I voted for WE


owww, are they really? I like ebooks. How can I get a download? I see now there is a tie. Happy Birthday!

Thanks! Birthday isn't until Friday. I just got a used Sony Pr 505 (off topic, I know.. sorry). It is available from the Borders/Sony store.

I should also note, The Idiot is available in ebook format too.

[bazarov]

We is very bad, seriously. Nothing like Orwell.

[Nightshade]

Well it would be boring if it was just like orwell now wouldnt it?

We We We We We

[mickitaz]

We is very bad, seriously. Nothing like Orwell.

Not having read 1984 I have no preconceived notion of what to or what not to expect.

I merely chose the book based on critical reviews. (and the fact that is available electronically)

Thanks for the warning though ;)

[Scheherazade]

I would like to remind that only votes from members with 50+ posts will be taken into account.

[lugdunum]

Yeepeee!! We is coming back... :banana:

[Scheherazade]

I did not expect this turn of events! :D

[Taliesin]

Seems like people vote for the famous and popular books to perhaps reread them and aren't very ready to try anything new - where new means also anything newer than eighty years. It is a bit depressing how Russian literature seems to be thought to come only from the nineteenth century - at least We is a bit newer, coming from 1921, but it still is bloody old and known - the oldest of the classical dystopies.
Come on, people, where is your sense of adventure? Dostoyevsky, Chekov, Tolstoy - nineteenth century is great, yeah, but interesting things happened in Russian literature after the nineteenth century too. Yes, really.


BTW, I just realized that there are names like Bulgakov and Pelevin missing from that list, but there are three novels by Dostoyevsky. It strikes me as a bit ...symptomatic.

[Jozanny]

Seems like people vote for the famous and popular books to perhaps reread them and aren't very ready to try anything new - where new means also anything newer than eighty years. It is a bit depressing how Russian literature seems to be thought to come only from the nineteenth century - at least We is a bit newer, coming from 1921, but it still is bloody old and known - the oldest of the classical dystopies.
Come on, people, where is your sense of adventure? Dostoyevsky, Chekov, Tolstoy - nineteenth century is great, yeah, but interesting things happened in Russian literature after the nineteenth century too. Yes, really.


BTW, I just realized that there are names like Bulgakov and Pelevin missing from that list, but there are three novels by Dostoyevsky. It strikes me as a bit ...symptomatic.

I tried Talie, but will admit my knowledge of more contemporary Russian authors is fairly barren, and as I mentioned in the translation thread, I am bothered by how Tolstoy and company "come through" in English. I happened by Tatyana through that old fashioned enterprise known as a book club.:(

[hellsapoppin]

Previously I suggested the following website for hints about very good modern Soviet & Russian literature:

www.sovlit.com

A very good site!

[DapperDrake]

Seems like people vote for the famous and popular books to perhaps reread them and aren't very ready to try anything new - where new means also anything newer than eighty years. It is a bit depressing how Russian literature seems to be thought to come only from the nineteenth century - at least We is a bit newer, coming from 1921, but it still is bloody old and known - the oldest of the classical dystopies.
Come on, people, where is your sense of adventure? Dostoyevsky, Chekov, Tolstoy - nineteenth century is great, yeah, but interesting things happened in Russian literature after the nineteenth century too. Yes, really.



Its simple, you assume everyone has read the great classics by Dostoevsky, Tolstoy, etc.. but of course you're wrong, and so its only natural and perfectly understandable that people will vote for the best books.
This is one of the characteristics of a book club, everyone has different tastes, has read different books, and has different ideas about what they would like to read - hence the poll.
Personally I think its symptomatic of book clubs that the great classics get neglected. How many classics have been nominated this year and how many have we actually read?
I think you should be adventurous and break the mold by not voting for a modern book.. How about that?

[mickitaz]

When I vote for a book, most of the time, I am unfamiliar with the author/subject matters. Personally, I will try to find book reviews on the ones in question. I, myself; like to go against the grain... and read stuff most people wouldn't. I will read the book that won, and choose at least two others on the list and read them after. (Or before, depending on my current reading schedule). That way, during the discussion, I have some sort of comparrsson. Albeit a limited one, but a comparison nonetheless.

[wessexgirl]

The Idiot comes back......:lol:

[Emil Miller]

Previously I suggested the following website for hints about very good modern Soviet & Russian literature:

www.sovlit.com

A very good site!

It is a very good site. I noticed that it includes Mikhail Bulgakov's novel The White Guard, which I read in a French translation some years ago when I picked up a copy in a bookshop in Paris.
For anyone who wants to read something later than nineteenth century Russian writing, I can recommed it as a brilliant story of revolutionary Russia, or the Ukraine to be more specific, as seen from an anti-communist perspective.



"Ich beschloss aber Politiker zu werden."

Adolf Hitler
Mein Kampf

[Niamh]

I would like to remind that only votes from members with 50+ posts will be taken into account.


The Idiot comes back......:lol:

I think you will find that We is in the lead by two votes due to the fact that two of the people who voted for The Idiot, have less than 50 posts.

[DapperDrake]

I think you will find that We is in the lead by two votes due to the fact that two of the people who voted for The Idiot, have less than 50 posts.

:bawling:

But those votes will count if they make 50 before the end of the month right?

Sloan, Veva, get posting! :D

[wilbur lim]

The cost of these books is eminently prohibitive,beseeches of to perceive that I am not protesting,but just lamenting.

[aeroport]

The Idiot comes back......:lol:

They always do. :D
I guess I'll vote for that one, since I've been meaning to get around to it anyway.

[Mortis Anarchy]

I'm good with either The Idiot or Notes From Underground.

Notes From Underground...well I've been reading that one for a year...its one of those books that is good, but I get stuck and so I start reading a different book. The Idiot sounds really interesting to me though.:)

[HerGuardian]

The Idiot

[Scheherazade]

Please don't let it be a draw!

:p

[BlackPuma]

I would really like to read the idiot with the forum!!

[Weisinheimer]

I think I'll finally be able to read with the book club next month! Soooo, I'm going to vote for the Idiot because I actually haven't read it yet.

[Dobie]

Is this a closed bookclub? Or can anyone join.

[Weisinheimer]

anyone can join, but i think you have to have at least 50 posts to vote in the poll.

[mickitaz]

anyone can join, but i think you have to have at least 50 posts to vote in the poll.

Yep.. you are correct. Acutally, I think it is technically 51 before it allows you to vote. But close enough. ;)

[DapperDrake]

by "it" you mean Scheherazade I suppose? :D I don't think there is anything to physically stop you voting as there are 3 votes for Idiot at the moment that don't count because the voter has less than 50 posts.

[Weisinheimer]

there's 3? I can only see 2.

[Oniw17]

I'm in this month, if they have whatever book gets chosen at my local library.

[DapperDrake]

there's 3? I can only see 2.

Yes I think you're right, I just had it in my head that We and Idiot were tied for first place... Which means Idiot is 2 votes in the lead!! :D

[Scheherazade]

by "it" you mean Scheherazade I suppose? :D I don't think there is anything to physically stop you voting as there are 3 votes for Idiot at the moment that don't count because the voter has less than 50 posts.Actually the Forum software does not let you vote unless you have 50 posts normally.

[Weisinheimer]

Actually the Forum software does not let you vote unless you have 50 posts normally.

So, there's a glitch or something? It's happened before that ppl w/ less than 50 have voted, right? I think I remember it happening before.:idea:

[Scheherazade]

Yes, it is some sort of a glitch, I think.

[Nightshade]

No no no :brickwall: I dissapear for 4 measly days and the idiot is winning ? again!
:bawling:

[Scheherazade]

Going once...

[Scheherazade]

Going twice...

[papayahed]

Nooooooooooooo.....

[Nightshade]

Ok we actually only need one more vote and we have an hour someone vote for we pleeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeease Ive already ordere it and everything!!!!

I geuss Id better order the idiot then sigh sigh and double sigh.

[Taliesin]

Oh dear, I read The Idiot about a month or two ago - and two Idiots during such a short period is a tad too much for me.

[Jozanny]

Oh dear, I read The Idiot about a month or two ago - and two Idiots during such a short period is a tad too much for me.

The only major work of Dostoevsky's I have not read is The Brothers Karamazov. I plowed through Gutenberg's version of The Idiot last month and I apologize for what is a lazy assertion against my usual willingness to balance my critique, but I hate this work, so, I may peek in on the discussion after the fact, in the future, but I am inclined to throw Dostoevsky under the bus, of late.

I am not sure why, maybe an intrinsic distaste for dialogism. I should have stopped with Crime and Punishment years ago, but that said, to the rest of you, enjoy!

[wilbur lim]

'We' is quite a descriptive book.

[_Shannon_]

Awesome!! The Idiot is in my short stack! Glad I popped back in to find this is the september read!

[Janine]

Did the discussion begin? or are we still in the reading stage. Could someone post the link to the discussion thread, if they know it?

[Scheherazade]

The link to the discussion thread: http://www.online-literature.com/forums/showthread.php?t=37767

Also, if you go to this page, you can see all the active threads and polls at the Book Club:

http://www.online-literature.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=15