What's next?

[Idril]

I've become completely fascinated by 19th century Russian literature, I've read all the Tolstoy and Dostoevsky I can find, I've read Gogol's Dead Souls and a collection of his short stories, I've read Turgenev's Fathers and Sons and The Sportsman's Notebook, Lermentov's A Hero of our Time and a collection of short stories by Pushkin...can anyone suggest what I should read next?

[Bandini]

Have you tried Dan Brown? Heh!

[Idril]

Have you tried Dan Brown? Heh!

I didn't know he was a 19th century Russian author, I guess that just goes to show that you learn something new everyday. ;)

[Bandini]

Hey - lets not be restrictive here. He may not be Russian - but he's up there with the best I hear. Or Danielle Steele? ski.

[Idril]

Hey, if you're going that far, how about Jackie Collins, she's right up there on par with the Russian greats.

[subterranean]

How about Chekov? His works are worth checking. If you're so interested with Russian authors, you can go here (http://learning.lib.vt.edu/slav/lit_authors_russian.html)

[Idril]

I've toyed with the idea of Chekov but for some reason, never pursued it. I guess I think of him as an author of primarily plays, not novels so he generally doesn't come to mind when I'm planning my next book purchase. I've heard a lot of people mention The Master and Margarita by Mikhail Bulgakov and I know he's not 19th century but it might be good to branch out of my 'comfort zone' a little bit.

[EAP]

Well, yeah. Master and Margarita is cool.

You can always try Tom Clancy.

[PeterL]

One of the strangest pieces of 19th century Russian fiction was the Protocols of the Elders of Zion. I haven't read it, but it is more appropriate to Russian literature than Dan Brown, and it is as firmly based in fact.

[Logos]

I would suggest (at least) a perusal of Mikhail Petrovich Artzybashev's Sanine which is available right here on the site :)

http://www.online-literature.com/artzybashev/

Mikhail Petrovich Artzybashev was born on 5 November, 1878 in Kharkov Province, Ukraine. As with many masters of writing of the time, he had to content himself with the art of parody, using satire and allegory to conceal the true message of his works. His early short stories are compared to the manner of Tolstoys, and with influences of Nietzsche and Dostoevsky they are filled with extreme pessimism and immorality and the themes of hedonism and free-will of the individual.

Sanine was received with shock and heated debate in 1907. Sanine's philosophy of free love and individuality, as his ".. soul had developed independently and distinctively.." clashed with the rapidly changing society of Christian ideals and self-sacrifice after the populist revolution of 1905. Sanine was misinterpreted and deemed scandalous with the strict censorship imposed on Russian writers at the time. It was ultimately condemned and banned in many countries."

[Idril]

I would suggest (at least) a perusal of Mikhail Petrovich Artzybashev's Sanine which is available right here on the site :)


That sounds really fascinating, that is definately one I will put on my list, thank you. I did some shopping on amazon and ordered The Master and Margarita, A Russian Gentleman by Sergei Aksakov and One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovitch by Alexander Solzhenitsyn and then when I'm finished with those, I'll probably read something that's not Russian, maybe the latest John Irving or Pratchett book or perhaps both and then I'll start back with the Mikhail Petrovich book. Thank you all for your suggestions...even the Dan Brown one as useless as it may have been. ;)

[Geoffrey]

I would recommend to you Nikolai Gogol but it seems that you've already read his most known work. Consider looking into 'The Nose' and 'The Inspector General' both of which are very good.

Bulgakov makes many references to his novel Dead Souls in his writings - apparently he was a big fan!

[Idril]

Consider looking into 'The Nose' and 'The Inspector General' both of which are very good.


I've read both of those, they were in the short story collection of his that I read. My favorite of his short stories is Taras Bulba, I just loved that story, it was like poetry, violent, brutal poetry but still poetry. ;)

[MikeK]

I'm in your exact situation, Idril. I got interested in 19th century Russian lit (through Dostoevsky) and can't get enough. It looks like you've read most of the Russian stuff that I have, but I see you haven't yet given Chekhov a try. After Dostoevsky, my favorite Russian author is Chekhov. I've never actually read any of his plays yet, but I've read most of his short stories, and they're phenomenal. He is my favorite short story writer along with Poe. If you're not interested in his plays, as I think you mentioned, I would still give his short stories a shot. The great thing about trying to get into short stories is that if you don't like them, it's not like an 800 page novel you have to plough through; you're done with it quickly. 'Ward No. 6' might strike you as very Dostoevskian, 'A Boring Story'/'A Dreary Story' is very good. I like 'Easter Night' and my favorite Chekhov story is 'In The Ravine'.

You're also right about "The Master and Margarita", you should try it. It's actually the latest book that I've read and I really enjoyed it.

[Boris239]

From 19th century authors I'd reccomend:

Goncharov "Oblomov"- the beginning is a bit slow, but overall the novel is brilliant. A great thing about it is that the hero is mostly lying in his bed in the first part.
some stuff by Nekrasov is worth reading
Saltikov-Schedrin is an interesting author
Griboyedov's "Woe from wit" is considered one of the first Russian plays and it's easy to read.
You haven't menrtioned Turgenev-there at least 3 or 4 novels worth reading. To my shame I've read only 2 : "Fathers and sons" and "Rudin"
And Chekhov is definitely not only a playwriter- his short stories are brilliant.

20th century authors :

Bulgakov "Master and Margarita", "Heart of a dog", "White guard"- all three are among my all-time favorites. I can talk about them forever.
Platonov "The foundation pit"- not an easy read
Pasternak "Doctor Zhivago"
Sholohov "Quiet Don"- a huge book, but extremely interesting. In Russia there are still questions if the author is really Sholohov, because it's difficult to imagine that you can write something that profound if you are so young. Plus all his other books are not even close to "Quiet Don"
Ilia Erenburg "Hulio Hurenito"
Some of Gorkiy's books are OK, especially early romantic short stories, but "Mother" is awfu
Anatoly Rybakov's "Children of Arbat" will tell you about the tragic destiny of youth during Stalin's time.
Ilf and Petrov "12 chairs" and "golden calf" are probably the best russian humorous novels ever
Sergey Dovlatov's books are interesting and very new. He emigrated from USSR in late 70s(maybe early 80s) and died around 1990. My mom's friend from college actually knew him pretty well. Among his books I'd reccomend
"The Zone", "Compromise" and "The reserve". I'm not sure if you'll be able to fully appreciate his works, because you have to know a lot about USSR.
Among modern writers Pelevin is probably the most popular, but I haven't read much of him.

Hope this helps. If you want more detailed info about any of these books just ask.

Boris

[Idril]

You haven't menrtioned Turgenev-there at least 3 or 4 novels worth reading. To my shame I've read only 2 : "Fathers and sons" and "Rudin"

I did mention it but I misspelled his name. :O I have read Fathers and Sons and The Sportsman's Notebook, both of which I enjoyed, especially the first. The Sportsman's Notebook was worth while simply because of the description of Russian country life which I hadn't really had much exposure to, most of the stories I had read at that point had taken place either in St. Petersburg or Moscow. I really do like Turgenev so I'll most certainly give Rudin a read.

And I have read Doctor Zhivago. I had avoided it for awhile because my sister recommend it and that usually means I'm not going to like it and I also had the mistaken impression that it was primarily a romance but I finally gave in and read it and was very pleasantly surprised it was more political than romance. I had a few struggles with some of the terms, which one meant which political group but after I 'googled' a few of them, I had things under control.


Hope this helps. If you want more detailed info about any of these books just ask.

Boris

It helps a lot, thank you very much. I'm going to cut and paste and save your list and if I have any question, I'll be sure to ask. :thumbs_up