Russian essentials

[Nico87]

While I have mostly read WW1/WW2 litterature, I've also picked up and read some russian litterature, which I am now a huge fan of.

I have/are going read the following;

Solzhenitsyn:

Cancer Ward
One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich
The Gulag Archipelago 1-3

Dostoevsky:

The Brothers Karamazov

Tolstoy:

War and Peace
Anna Karenina

Gogol:

Dead Souls

Now, the point of the list isn't to show you which books I've got. I want to know if I have missed any essential Russian litterature. I've heard that both Crime and Punishment and The House of the Dead by Dostoevsky are very good books, but I'm not sure if I wanna read Crime & Punishment. After reading some reviews it seems like it isn't "my type of book". Not sure about the The Red Wheel series by Solzhenitsyn either.

So, if anyone could tell me if I have missed something great, russian work, something that you would recommend, I'd really appreciate it if you let me know.

Thanks

[Idril]

What is it about Crime and Punishment that you don't think you'll like? I liked that book so much better than Brothers Karamozov. Ivan Turgenev's Father and Sons is, I think, a very important book. His books are much more consise than the great Russian epics of Tolstoy or Dostoevsky but they are no less profound in their way. Also...consider delving into some of the short stories of Tolstoy or Dostoevsky, they wrote some absolutely incredible short stores...and don't forget about Pushkin. Eugene Onegin is a good one to read.

As for Soviet Lit, I would add Master and Margarita by Mikhail Bulgakov and Quiet Flows the Don my Mikhail Sholokhov. And it would probably be good to read Dr. Zhivago by Boris Pasternak.

[Nico87]

Thanks., I might pick up Crime and Punishment after all then. Everyman's Library has publised a translation by Pevear and Volokhonsky, and that isn't exactly a bad sign. Unfortunately, I haven't read The Brothers Karamazov yet.

[Idril]

Oh, you haven't read it yet...I'm sorry, I didn't catch that. :blush: I really struggled with Brothers Karamazov, of all the Dostoevsky I've read, and I've read a good amount, it was the book I liked the least but the majority of Dostoevsky fans consider it his greatest novel so, what do I know? :p

[Etienne]

Dostoievsky - Crime and Punishment
Turgeniev - Fathers and Sons
Turgeniev - Clara Millitch
Sholokov - Quiet Flows the Don
Tolstoi - Resurrection
Gontcharov - Oblomov
Pushkin - The Queen of Spades
Pushkin - Eugene Onegin
Lermontov - A Hero of our Time (Haven't read this one yet myself)
Chekov - Short Stories
Bulgakov - Master and Margarita
Nabokov - The Defence
Gorky - My Childhood
Gorky - Mother (Haven't read this one either though)

"Dr. Zhivago by Boris Pasternak."

How is this one? I have it but haven't come around to reading it yet.

[Idril]

"Dr. Zhivago by Boris Pasternak."

How is this one? I have it but haven't come around to reading it yet.

I loved it! I had it in my head that it was this great epic love story...probably because of the pictures from the movie and I was kind of put off by that but I was wonderfully surprised to find that while there certainly is a love story, it's a great historical accounting of the Russian Civil War that followed the Revolution. It's sometimes hard to keep all the political groups and alliances clear...which at times, I think is part of the point but I highly recommend this to anyone who is interested in Russian literature or Russian history.

Lermontov's Hero of Our Time didn't do a whole lot for me. It was a fine book, a fairly easy read but it just didn't leave much of an impression one way or another. I think I had really high expectations of it because it's hailed as this masterpiece, a huge milestone in Russian history and I just found it to be merely another book.

The only books I haven't read on your list is Clara Millitch by Turgenev, although I've read several of his books, just not that one, and Nabokov's The Defence. Nabokov is an author I haven't read a great deal of. I've read Lolita but that's it.

[Nico87]

Anyone of you read Kolyma Tales by Varlam Shalamov? It's an account in a way similar to One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich, describing life in Gulag. Solzhenitsyn even asked Shalamov if he wanted to contribute with The Gulag Archipelago, but Shalamov felt - "too ill and tired after the hardship of his time in Gulag" - from John Bayley's introduction for One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich .

[Dori]

Chekhov's Short Stories are essential. Fathers and Sons by Ivan Turgenev is also an excellent, albeit short, book. You could also try out The Idiot by Dostoevsky.

[Idril]

Anyone of you read Kolyma Tales by Varlam Shalamov? It's an account in a way similar to One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich, describing life in Gulag. Solzhenitsyn even asked Shalamov if he wanted to contribute with The Gulag Archipelago, but Shalamov felt - "too ill and tired after the hardship of his time in Gulag" - from John Bayley's introduction for One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich .

I haven't read it but it sounds interesting. I'll have to add it to my amazon list. :thumbs_up

[Nico87]

Sounds interesting, indeed. John Bailey says in his introduction for One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich that the stories from The Kolyma Tales are much more brutal than the stories in One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich. The stories are both from personal experiences and fictional accounts of stories the author of The Kolyma Tales had heard from other ex-prisoners.

You can read more about the book here;
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Kolyma_Tales

Quote: "The Kolyma Tales is considered to be one of the great Russian collections of short stories of the twentieth century"

[Idril]

Sounds interesting, indeed. John Bailey says in his introduction for One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich that the stories from The Kolyma Tales are much more brutal than the stories in One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich. The stories are both from personal experiences and fictional accounts of stories the author of The Kolyma Tales had heard from other ex-prisoners.


One Day in the Life is a pretty tame book. It's amazing how depressing it is and how clear a picture it draws of life in the gulags without being overly detailed or graphic. Gulag Archigelago, however, is a much more brutal look at the gulags. One of the things I found interesting in the review of The Kolyma Tales I read is that they talk about how emotionless he tells these tales, that the more brutal the act, the more objective the writing becomes and that intrigues me because Solzhenitsyn was so emotional in his writing. It would be fascinating to compare and contrast their approaches.

[Nico87]

Well said, Idril. I've just finished One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich and you are right about what you're saying about it. The Kolyma Tales is on the top of my to-buy list now, after I just placed an order on Crime and Punishment. Seems kind of hard to find a decent hardcover edition of the book, though.

[Nico87]

Chekhov's Short Stories are essential.

Would this be the one I'm looking for in this case?
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Complete-Novels-Everymans-Library-Classics/dp/1857152778/ref=pd_bbs_4/203-0361041-0567933?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1193023265&sr=8-4

It contains The Steppe, The Duel, The Story of an Unknown Man, Three Years, and In My Life.

I'm going to the army/Afghanistan in the beginning of January, so I need alot of reading material!

[Etienne]

Would this be the one I'm looking for in this case?
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Complete-Novels-Everymans-Library-Classics/dp/1857152778/ref=pd_bbs_4/203-0361041-0567933?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1193023265&sr=8-4

It contains The Steppe, The Duel, The Story of an Unknown Man, Three Years, and In My Life.

I'm going to the army/Afghanistan in the beginning of January, so I need alot of reading material!

I haven't read The Steppe or The Duel, however I think you should take this one: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Essential-Tales-Chekhov-P/dp/1862073007/ref=pd_sbs_b_shvl_img_3/202-8030653-3635826?ie=UTF8&qid=1193023265&sr=8-4

His three plays are also known as classics of russian litterature, but I haven't read them.

[Boris239]

I haven't been on this forum for a while.

I've read "The Kolyma Tales" and like them much better than anything Solzhenitsyn ever written (doesn't say much because I like only "One day of Ivan Denisovich" anyway. I especially recommend "The last battle of major Pugachov".
From Dostoevsly I would start from "Idiot" because it is probably easiest to read among his great novels, then continue with "Crime and Punishment", "The Possesed (Devils)" and finish "Brothers Karamazov". While the latter can be a bit difficult at times it is very rewarding and has some of the best passages I've ever read.

I agree with most of the books proposed above except probably Gorky's "Mother"- it is trul one of the worst clasics I've ever read.

From Bulgakov not only "Master and Margarita" but "Heart of a Dog" and "White Guard" are extremely interesting and are among my favorites.

Other 20th century not mentioned interesting Russian authors are:

Vassily Grossman
Andrei Platonov
Vladimir Voynovich
Victor Pelevin
Anatoly Rybakov
Anatoly Pristavkin
Chingiz Aytmatov
Fazil' Iskander
Strugatsky brothers

[Virgil]

Don't forget Tolstoy's short novels. In many respects they are his finest works:
The Death of Ivan Illych
Master and Man

Although I haven't read it, Idril has recommended, The Kreutzer Sonata.

[Inderjit Sanghe]

Nabokov claimed that Andre Bely's novel Petersburg was one of the greatest novels of the 20th century, and it indeed a remarkable Joyce-esque novel, which, unfortuneatly suffers greatly in translation.

Another work not mentioned yet is Gogol's short story "The Overcoat", as Dostoevskii said, "We all came out of Gogol's Overcoat." Other notable novelists from the golden period of Russian literature are Goncharov (Oblomov), Leskov, Saltykov (The Golovlyov Family).

[Nico87]

I haven't been on this forum for a while.

I've read "The Kolyma Tales" and like them much better than anything Solzhenitsyn ever written .


Which translation and edition did you read? I'm still looking for a hardcover edition!



Vassily Grossman


I've read A Writer at War: Vasily Grossman with the Red Army 1941-1945. Although very different from any other books of war I've read, I found it very engaging and interesting. It's remarkable to read what everything looked like in a journalists eyes, and all the small details he picked up along the way.

I've always wanted to read Life & Fate.

[Boris239]

Which translation and edition did you read? I'm still looking for a hardcover edition!

I'm originally from Russia so I read it in original

[Nico87]

Anyone read Nabokov? I'm currently looking at Lolita and Pnin.

[Dori]

Would this be the one I'm looking for in this case?
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Complete-Novels-Everymans-Library-Classics/dp/1857152778/ref=pd_bbs_4/203-0361041-0567933?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1193023265&sr=8-4

It contains The Steppe, The Duel, The Story of an Unknown Man, Three Years, and In My Life.

I'm going to the army/Afghanistan in the beginning of January, so I need alot of reading material!

This is what I have: Selected Stories (Signet Classics) (http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0451528794/ref=pd_cp_b_0/002-4836889-8002424?pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_s=center-41&pf_rd_r=0511KR7ZG5E5AJP5S6QC&pf_rd_t=201&pf_rd_p=317711001&pf_rd_i=0460874721).

It's probably one of the cheapest versions out there.

[Nico87]

Hm, yes, but I'm not a huge fan of paperbacks.

[Scheherazade]

Anyone read Nabokov? I'm currently looking at Lolita and Pnin.There is a thread dedicated to Lolita and Nabokov here. (http://www.online-literature.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1059)

[Boris239]

from Nabokov Russian books I would recommend "the Luzhin Defense" and "The Gift"

[Nico87]

Thanks to you both!

[Nico87]

I found an interesting book on abebooks - http://www.abebooks.co.uk/servlet/BookDetailsPL?bi=926096390&searchurl=an%3DChekov%26bi%3Dh%26dj%3Don%26sortby% 3D3%26x%3D60%26y%3D6
has anyone read any of these short stories? I like short stories alot, but haven't read any shorties from any of these authors.

Nevermind, link doesn't work because I already purchased it, but it contains the following;

Authors: A.S. Pushkin, N.V. Gogol, I.S. Turgenev, F.M. Dostoyevsky, L.N. Tolstoy, M.T. Saltykov, V.G. Korlolenko, V.M. Garshin, A.P. Chekov, F. Sologub, I.N. Potapenko, S.T. Semyonov, M. Gorky, M.P. Artybashev, A.I. Kuprin, L.N. Andreyev

Stories: The Queen of Spades, The Cloak, The Christmas Tree and the Wedding, God Seeks the Truth but Waits, The Darling, The Bet, Vanka, One Autumn Night, The Red Laugh, The Gentleman from San Francisco, Lazarus. There's bound to be more stories as the list shows more authors than stories.

I don't know which stories belong to which authors.

[Etienne]

I already read some short stories by Garshin and Korolenko, and they were VERY good.

[Idril]

I found an interesting book on abebooks - http://www.abebooks.co.uk/servlet/BookDetailsPL?bi=926096390&searchurl=an%3DChekov%26bi%3Dh%26dj%3Don%26sortby% 3D3%26x%3D60%26y%3D6
has anyone read any of these short stories? I like short stories alot, but haven't read any shorties from any of these authors.

Nevermind, link doesn't work because I already purchased it, but it contains the following;

Authors: A.S. Pushkin, N.V. Gogol, I.S. Turgenev, F.M. Dostoyevsky, L.N. Tolstoy, M.T. Saltykov, V.G. Korlolenko, V.M. Garshin, A.P. Chekov, F. Sologub, I.N. Potapenko, S.T. Semyonov, M. Gorky, M.P. Artybashev, A.I. Kuprin, L.N. Andreyev

Stories: The Queen of Spades, The Cloak, The Christmas Tree and the Wedding, God Seeks the Truth but Waits, The Darling, The Bet, Vanka, One Autumn Night, The Red Laugh, The Gentleman from San Francisco, Lazarus. There's bound to be more stories as the list shows more authors than stories.

I don't know which stories belong to which authors.

I've read a few of those, The Queen of Spades, that's Pushkin; The Cloak...Gogol has a short story called The Overcoat, I'm wondering if that might be the same one and God Seeks The Truth But Waits is Tolstoy and a great short story. I've read several of Dostoevsky's short stories but I don't recongnize any of the titles, unless there are different translations of the names and I've read a handful of Chekhov stories as well but I don't see any of those listed either. All in all, I think you have a really good collection there. A great place to start.

[Etienne]

The Darling and The Bet is Chekhov. The Christmas Tree and the Wedding is Dostoevsky.

[Old Crow]

I'm in the midst of "Demons" by Dostoevsky right now, and enjoying it immensely. I think I said somewhere before that my knowledge of Russian literature is extremely lacking (basically, only Tolstoy's "Ressurection" and some of Solzhenitsyn's speeches and short stories), however reading this thread I see that no one has even mentioned Isaac Babel yet. I would definately reccomend tracking down his complete works and immersing yourself in them (especially if you've just come from being more or less punished by Dostoevsky's novels).

[Nico87]

I've read a few of those, The Queen of Spades,


Thanks for your, as usual, great insight. Perhaps one of Chekov's stories are amongst the stories the seller didn't have enough space to fit in.

[Boris239]

"The Gentleman from San Francisco" is Bunin's. Very beautiful language, very gloomy.

I'm not sure about some of the others because if I read them then it was probably in Russian. But Andreev and Kuprin short stories should be really good. Gorky's early stories are also fun to read.

For short 20 century stories I also like Zoschenko. From something more recent- I am a big fan of Sergei Dovlatov.



I found an interesting book on abebooks - http://www.abebooks.co.uk/servlet/BookDetailsPL?bi=926096390&searchurl=an%3DChekov%26bi%3Dh%26dj%3Don%26sortby% 3D3%26x%3D60%26y%3D6
has anyone read any of these short stories? I like short stories alot, but haven't read any shorties from any of these authors.

Nevermind, link doesn't work because I already purchased it, but it contains the following;

Authors: A.S. Pushkin, N.V. Gogol, I.S. Turgenev, F.M. Dostoyevsky, L.N. Tolstoy, M.T. Saltykov, V.G. Korlolenko, V.M. Garshin, A.P. Chekov, F. Sologub, I.N. Potapenko, S.T. Semyonov, M. Gorky, M.P. Artybashev, A.I. Kuprin, L.N. Andreyev

Stories: The Queen of Spades, The Cloak, The Christmas Tree and the Wedding, God Seeks the Truth but Waits, The Darling, The Bet, Vanka, One Autumn Night, The Red Laugh, The Gentleman from San Francisco, Lazarus. There's bound to be more stories as the list shows more authors than stories.

I don't know which stories belong to which authors.

[Nico87]

Thanks for your advices, Boris! Great to have a real russian on this forum!

Will check them two authours out.

Actually, I might be wrong, but I think perhaps that I've read The Compromise. Will see if I can find the book if I ever bought it.

Found a book that contains 23 stories by Chekov;

A Day in the Country
Old Age
Kashtanka
Enemies
On the Way
Vanka
La Cigale
Grief
An Inadvertance
The Black Monk
The Kiss
In Exile
A Work of Art
Dreams
A Woman's Kingdom
The Doctor
A Trifling Occurence
The Hollow
After the Theater
The Runaway
Vierochka
The Steppe
Rothschild's Fiddle

Could this be an alternative to http://www.amazon.co.uk/Essential-Tales-Chekhov-P/dp/1862073007/ref=pd_bbs_1/203-0361041-0567933?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1193185532&sr=8-1 ?

I also found a book that contains 40(!) stories.

[Boris239]

Some of these are stories for kids but Rothschild's Fiddle is a true masterpiece

[bazarov]

Stories: The Queen of Spades, The Cloak, The Christmas Tree and the Wedding, God Seeks the Truth but Waits, The Darling, The Bet, Vanka, One Autumn Night, The Red Laugh, The Gentleman from San Francisco, Lazarus. There's bound to be more stories as the list shows more authors than stories.

I don't know which stories belong to which authors.

The Cloak is Gogol(Idril is right), Vanka is probably Uncle Vanya by Chekhov.

[Nico87]

Argh, ok, nothing for me then.

If anyone owns The Essential Tales of Chekhov, could you list the stories in this book? I plan to buy the other book I posted above aswell, but not if both books has too many of the same stories.

[Boris239]

The Cloak is Gogol(Idril is right), Vanka is probably Uncle Vanya by Chekhov.

Hi, Baz. Looks like both Russia and Croatia will go through. "Van'ka" is a short story for kids by Chekhov- nothing in common with "Uncle Vanya" (except the author)

[bazarov]

Hi, Baz. Looks like both Russia and Croatia will go through. "Van'ka" is a short story for kids by Chekhov- nothing in common with "Uncle Vanya" (except the author)

Boris, it's been a while...I was so so happy when Pavlyuchenko scored his second goal. I have no doubt we will take at least one point in Skopje and then go on tourist visit to Wembley. Of course, Russia will win in Tel Aviv and will party!

[Nico87]

bazarov, the quote in your signature, which book is that taken from? It sounds so familiar!

[bazarov]

Notes from Underground.

[Nico87]

Ah.. Is that the book about the man who has gambling problems?

[Etienne]

Ah.. Is that the book about the man who has gambling problems?

No that's The Gambler, another great Dostoevsky's.

[Nico87]

Etienne, check your pm!

[Nico87]

This thread has helped me ALOT. A list of books purchased after starting this thread;

Dostoevsky:
Crime and Punishment
The Idiot
Demons
Notes from Underground
The Double & The Gambler (2 in 1)

Nabokov:
Pnin
Lolita

Bulgakov:
The Master and Margarita
The Heart of a Dog

Chekov:
Essential Tales

Shalamov:
The Kolyma Tales

Kafka:
Collected Stories



Most of the books I bought are published by Everyman's Library so it makes a nice collection. Feel sorry for me wallet, though.

[Etienne]

Great choices!

[Nico87]

Hope so, looks like I'll be reading alot of Dostoevsky in the future!

[bazarov]

And no Brothers Karamazov? Shame on you!
Seriously, you have to have that book!

[Nico87]

If you see the first post on this thread you will see a list of russian novels I already own, and you will find it there, bazarov!

[bazarov]

:p Ups!:blush:
Great collection! You will like Crime and Punishment, believe me.

[Olg]

Hi,

the list you have read is pretty good. I would still recomment you reading "The crime and punishment". I read it when I was 16. The book is fairly difficult, since it has much to do with psychology, but it is VERY interesting. You'll enjoy it.
Still there are much more Russian Classical writers that you can read and enjoy your reading. For instance, do not forget Chekhov and his short stories and dramas. They are engoyable and easy to read. I loved Kuprin. What about Pushin and Lermontov??? They belong to the bloom of the Russian Classical Literature.
How did you expose Russian Literature for you anyway?
Cheers,
Olga

[Nico87]

Well, as I said in the first post of this thread I used to read WW1 and WW2 litterature. A lot. My favourite subject on WW2 is the Eastern Front. The Battle of Stalingrad, the Leningrad Siege, and so forth. I then started reading a book written by Vasily Grossman, and when I googled his name on the internet, the name Solzhenitsyn popped up, can't remember where. After reading some books about the Eastern Front I heard the name Gulag alot, and wanted to investigate that further. As many people know, Solzhenitsyn is a great source if you want to learn more about Gulag, and after reading some of his books, I tried to find out more about Russian litterature. Long story short, I ended up on this forum! ;)

And, if you look on the bottom of page 3 in this thread, I made a list of the books I've recently purchased. Crime and Punishment is on the list.

I've read A Hero of our Time by Lermontov, with a translation from Vladimir Nabokov.
I don't remember much of it though, it's been some years since I read it. I see that Everyman's Library has published it so if I'm ever gonna re-read it, I will probably get the Everyman's edition.

I haven't read anything by Pushkin yet. I've purchased a book that contains the most popular russian short-stories, and The Queen of Spades is in that book. Everyman's Library has published two books by Pushkin. One is called The Collected Stories and contains The Tales of the Late Ivan Petrovich, Dubrovskii, The Queen of Spades, The Captain's Daughter, A History of Pugachev, Egyptian Nights and some other stories and some unfinished work. The other book is called Eugene Onegin and Other Poems. Not sure which one to get if I will read anything by Pushkin. Maybe you could recommend one of the two?

[Olg]

O'k. I haven't read the whole thread, of course, I'm also a member since ca. half an hour here. It was just an interesting topic. One is always glad to know that other nationalities are interested somehow in his/her culture:)

[Nico87]

Hehe, agreed. But could you help me with Pushkin? I don't know which is best to buy, "The Collected Stories" or "Eugene and Other Poems".

"The Collected Stories" does not include "Eugene".

You can see the stories included in "The Collected Stories" in my post above.

[bazarov]

It would be a sin to miss Eugene Onegin! It's a great poem, probably the best Pushkin's work, one of my Top 5 favorites; much better then Captain's daughter, Mozart and Salieri or Boris Godunov.
Of course, that's just my opinion.

[Nico87]

I'm not sure, though. I have never read poems except World War 1 poems. On the other hand, the Everyman's Library edition only costs about $16.

[bazarov]

That's not a poem(sorry, different meaning of word poem in my language), it's a novel in verse.

[Nico87]

Oh, I thought it was a poem in verse :p

[bazarov]

Yeah, I realized! Sorry, my mistake!:blush:

[Nico87]

Err, you were right. It is a novel in verse!

Ah well, I ordered Eugene Onegin and Other Poems by Pushkin and The Leopard by Giuseppe Tomasi di Lampedusa. I also ordered The Good Soldier Švejk by Jaroslav Hašek, which has been one of my favourite books since I loaned it from the local library about 4 years ago. All from Everyman's Library, of course. Now my wallet hurt so much that I won't buy another book for 10 years.

[Idril]

I'm not a big reader of poetry and I was kind of intimidated by Eugene Onegin but once you get into it, you almost forget it's in verse. It has a very nice flow, very easy so you're able to focus on the story and not the rhyme and meter.

[Werther]

Nico, I have just read this thread in its entirety, and I alarmed that Turgenev has received so little attention. Yes, one or two people have recommended 'Fathers & Sons', but I would also suggest 'Rudin', 'House of the Gentry', and an exquisite short story called, 'First Love'. As an introduction to his work, you might care to read Robert Dessaix's biography, published about a year ago, 'Travels with Turgenev: Twilight of Love'. Robert Dessaix is an Australian writer and a former lecturer of Russian literature. In this book, he discusses his deeply sympathetic relationship with Turgenev, and explores the theme of love in Turgenev's major works. Turgenev was a nineteenth century writer, a consummate aesthete and a master of style. (He shared a long correspondence with that other great master of style, Gustave Flaubert.) His prose is so refined, so flowing, and so lyrical....certain passages in his novels simply make one's heart melt. I urge you to read Turgenev before all the others. It'll be the most rewarding and most enriching reading experience you can ever dream of.

P.S - Some mention was made of Chekhov's short stories. Don't forget to read his plays!!! There was a great film adaptation of Uncle Vanya called 'Vanya on 22nd Street'. Cherry Orchard is also very famous.

P.P.S - Kafka was a Jew from Prague who wrote in German. And Nabakov wrote in English, and spent most of his life in America.

P.P.P.S - Perhaps you can find a book in your library called 'Lectures on Russian Literature' by Nabakov. Quite interesting. It deals with 'Fathers and Sons' and 'Crime and Punishment', among others. (His criticism of the latter is quite scathing.)

[Idril]

I think On The Eve is my favorite Turgenev. Rudin left me largely indifferent but as a general rule, I agree with everything you said about Turgenev. I think he's often forgotten amongst the other giants of Russian Lit and that's unfortunate. I'm just trying not to overwhelm the poor boy, Nico has suggestions here to keep him busy for about the next 10 years. :lol: I suggested Fathers and Sons with the hope that he, like me, will read it and fall in love with the author and seek out more of his books.

[Nico87]

Arr, you bastards!! My wallet has already called in a few "mayday's" ! Awwrite, I'll look into the stuff mentioned above; with overwhelming fury! :flare:

While we're at it, I have considered reading Chekov's plays, but I'm not sure how to take on reading one. I've never been close to reading a play of any sort. Well, except for the (famous?) norwegian play Peer Gynt, which we had to read in primary school.

I had a look at A Sportsman's Notebook by Turgenev, and I think it looks interesting. This is a collection of short stories, am I right?

[bazarov]

Arr, you bastards!! My wallet has already called in a few "mayday's" ! Awwrite, I'll look into the stuff mentioned above; with overwhelming fury! :flare:


:lol: :lol:

Turgenev is really great, especially Fathers and Sons.

[Etienne]

P.P.P.S - Perhaps you can find a book in your library called 'Lectures on Russian Literature' by Nabakov. Quite interesting. It deals with 'Fathers and Sons' and 'Crime and Punishment', among others. (His criticism of the latter is quite scathing.)


I'm reading it at the moment! You're right it's very interesting and entertaining too!

[Nico87]

Anyone here read both Pnin and Lolita by Nabokov? Which one should I start with? I also have Pale Fire.