Why do you like / dislike Russian (Dostoevsky, Tolstoy) literature?

[LemonBoy]

I've been thinking lately about the relation between region and culture and the mentality / characteristics of the literature coming from it.

I've been thinking about Russian literature, which is a renowned area in literature as we all know. What do you think about the general question, and specifically about the Russian literature?

[Dori]

I'm not sure yet. I just bought a bunch of Russian literature to acquaint myself with it. I bought some Tolstoy (Anna Karenina, I already have War and Peace), some Dostoevsky (almost all of his works), some Turgenev (Fathers and Sons), and some Chekhov (Selected Stories). The only thing I wish I could have bought was Eugene Onegin by Pushkin. For those interested in an Introduction to Russian literature, I suggest the Teaching Company (www.thegreatcourse.com). Search under the Language and literature section fro Classics of Russian Literature.

[Dark Star]

I love Russian literature from my experience in it thus far.

I think my personal favorite elements thus far have been these four: The melancholy that tends to permeate it, the dark atmosphere, and the psychological analysis of the characters, and the epic, grandiose feel of it.

I love large, epic works that come together over time. I've also found certain writers (such as Bulgakov) to be very clever, even if I disagreed with the general theme.

That said, this is more a criticism of Dostoevsky but I don't like the anti-atheist ranting that occurs within each book, which goes so far as to put words in the mouth of atheist characters that are simply not something one would think (such as that a lack of belief in God is the equivalent of the automatic loss of morality); I've also noted that he tends to let political biases show very clearly, too. I consider this a scar on otherwise quite perfect works, however, the overall product makes it worth bearing.

[Woland]

If Russian literature ended with Dostoevskii and Tolstoy (except for Pushkin which is brilliant) I would probably despise it, but it doesn't.

In the interest of balance here are some links that may prove interesting. Soviet era satire is some of the best ever made,

The Twelve Chairs (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Twelve_Chairs)

Heart of a Dog (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heart_of_a_Dog)


More authors (http://www.waytorussia.net/WhatIsRussia/Literature/20thCentury.html)

[willq9]

The only Russian writers I'm really semi-well aquainted with are Vladamir Nabokov (Whom I adore) and Dostoevsky (Whom I, quite frankly, despise). Prince Myshkin, from The Idiot, may very well be the single most dishonest representation of "virtue" in the whole of world literature. To steal a line from Nabokov "The religious matters {discussed in The Idiot} are stunning in their tastelessness." Everything bad about Russian Orthodoxy is compressed into the anti-Catholic rant that streams from Myshkin's "virtuous" mouth near the end of that novel. Coupled with this are a near-total lack of a recognizable prose style (zero atmosphere, no discernible settings) and a stunningly repetitive and inept attempt at formal coherence. Dostoevky's tendentiousness is just the nasty frosting on this half-baked sh!t cake.

Well, anyway, enough ranting. I am not through with reading Dostoevky yet (I still need to get through C&P and TBK) but damn, The Idiot left a bad taste in my mouth...

[quasimodo1]

Russian poetry and literature is as large as it's former empire. You have a country that bans Pasternak as petty bourgeois and embraces Tolstoy and Dostoevsky. The Czar is replaced by bolsheviks who are replaced by marxist/communists who are replaced by a new czar called Stalin and an apparatus worse than czarist police who stood by approvingly while millions starved in a country which is also a continent. A mystery contained in a riddle and wrapped in an enigma.

[chaplin]

In my opinion, Russian literature is the best of any country, even with less than 200 years to its credit.

[JJLuke]

I found an interest in Russian literature through reading Tolstoy. One novel I remember the most is Hadji Murad, a story of a rebel leader fighting against czarist Russia. I found the story very interesting and finished the book quickly as a result. What held my interest was Tolstoy’s very detailed and unconventional way of telling the story about Hadji.