Any suggestions for somebody new to Russian Literature?

[BjorkPlease]

I have recently become interested in Russian literature, but have no idea where to start. So far the only Russian work I have ever read is a collection of short stories by Chekhov. Once at age 15 I tried reading "The Double" by Dostoevsky but found it too boring an was unable to finish it. I was wondering whether anybody could suggest a good place to start, preferably novels that aren't too long. Perhaps somebody could post 5 books best for beginners to Russian Lit? Thanks.

[keilj]

The Dostoevsky enthusiasts on here will probably recommend something very long. I'd recommend starting with something shorter - like his Eternal Husband or The Gambler.

Or, maybe A Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich by Alexander Solzhenitsyn

[jadrianne]

Tolstoy :War and Peace and Anna Karenina

Fyodor Dostoievski : Crime and Punishment,The Idiot,The Gambler

Nikolai Gogol :Dead Souls,Taras Bulba

Anton Chekhov :Plays

Sergei Yesenin :poems

Boris Pasternak : Doctor Zhivago

Alexander Solzhenitsyn :The Gulag Archipelago

Gogol :Dead Souls

about Yesenin : poems

[Shafiqkhan]

you shall read Crime and Punishment of Fyodor Dostoevsky. it is lengthy but it is interesting.

[estelwen]

"Fathers and Sons" by Ivan Turgenev? I think this was the first Russian novel I read and its gentle sadness set the stage for me to appreciate other, more fiery authors such as Tolstoy and Dostoevsky. Upon doing research about Turgenev my initial impression was confirmed. Here is a man who has much to say and who says it gently, even doubtfully, but with penetrating clarity.

Tolstoy's short story "The Death of Ivan Ilyitch" is an amazing study of death and life, readable and a managable length.

Also I would agree with the Chekhov recommendations.

Good luck! I have a long list yet to read and re-read, but can attest to the worth of the Russian works I have read so far.

[jadrianne]

Yevgeny Yevtushenko:)

[Veho]

I would start with Notes from the Underground by Dostoevsky. I started with that just recently and it's left me wanting to read more of him and other Russian writers.

[LitNetIsGreat]

preferably novels that aren't too long


Tolstoy :War and Peace and Anna Karenina


:lol:

Crime and Punishment is very accessible.

[jadrianne]

that she said not too long but those two novels are amongst the greatest treasures of the Russian literature .These novels help us establish a special bound between our own cultural world and that special Russian world of emotions.

[kiki1982]

There are two things I am eagerly waiting to read in Russian, apart from War and Piece:

Lieutenant Kijé by Tynyanov. That looks absolutely hilarious! About a fictitious lieutenant 'created' by a spelling mistake! :smilielol5:

and

The Nose by Gogol about a nose that walks away from an official's face and starts a life on its own.

[mal4mac]

The Dostoevsky enthusiasts on here will probably recommend something very long. I'd recommend starting with something shorter - like his Eternal Husband or The Gambler.


I found "The Gambler" the least impressive of his works - enough to put me off reading his other minor works (like The Double :) Start with the Underground Man if you want something short & good & great.



Or, maybe A Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich by Alexander Solzhenitsyn

I agree with that choice. I found the Gulag Archipelago too long and too detailed, and gave up after a hundred page or so (and I'm usually happy to read long Russian novels!) There's an abridged version out there that I might attempt... I thought "The First Circle" was great...

But why not read the best? Forget about the length. So that's:

Tolstoy :War and Peace and Anna Karenina

Fyodor Dostoievski : Crime and Punishment, Brothers Karamazov

and more Chekhov short stories... a nice handful...

[kiki1982]

Pushkin is also a good start. Not Onegin of course, but his small short stories as The Queen of Spades and The Comandant's Daughter.

You can also read the unfinished ones...

[jadrianne]

to read something wonderful one must not look too much at the lenght of the novel: that would mean that long novels such as let's say Les Miserables or Forsyte Saga shouldn't be read because they're too long?

[Scheherazade]

Master and Margarita by Bulgakov - sublime.

[jadrianne]

and also Gorki :D . Maxim Gorki.

[eric.bell]

Tolstoy's novella, Family Happiness;

Tolstoy's short story, How Much Land Does a Man Need?;

Dostoevsky's novel, The House of the Dead--It isn't a novella, yet is rather short--;

Dostoevsky's short story, White Nights;

Gogol's short story, Tarass Boulba.

These are all rather great stories.

[kiki1982]

to read something wonderful one must not look too much at the lenght of the novel: that would mean that long novels such as let's say Les Miserables or Forsyte Saga shouldn't be read because they're too long?

I don't think that that was the point. The point to me, and I agree with that as well, is that if one starts on something new, one does not start with the most difficult and long things first.

If one starts on English literature, maybe one is not going to start with Paradise Lost right away. If one starts on French, one is not going to start, a the first ever thing in French/from French origin, with Les Misérables... If one starts on German, one is not going ot read his first work as Faust. There is little chance that one will really get what is behind it all. Though some will disagree.

Keep the long things for when you really will enjoy them.

[jadrianne]

is in my opinion more important than quantity.


I have recently become interested in Russian literature, but have no idea where to start. So far the only Russian work I have ever read is a collection of short stories by Chekhov. Once at age 15 I tried reading "The Double" by Dostoevsky but found it too boring an was unable to finish it. I was wondering whether anybody could suggest a good place to start, preferably novels that aren't too long. Perhaps somebody could post 5 books best for beginners to Russian Lit? Thanks.

Tolstoy's work is a refernce point in Russian literature.

[kiki1982]

Of course quality is moe important than quantity.

Tolstoy might be a reference in Russian lit, you can probably enoy it better if you have enjoyed some more first.

[dfloyd]

I approached them. You're right, start with the shorter novels, novellas, or stories. If you bite off too much at first, it may turn you off and take sometime to get back to them. The Russians are not hard to understand - not like some of the longer English or French novels. The thing which confuses people is their long names. the characters will have three or four names: there is the first name, the patronymic, and the family name. The first name is the Christian name, the patronymic is their fathers name, the last name is their surname. In addition, many have something like a nickname. When reading a novel like War and Peace, the newbie to the Russians is quite easily confused with all these name. I've found that writing down all the names: first name, patronymic, family name and the nickname or diminutive is the best way to keep Russian characters straight.

As far as what to read first, start, as I said, with the shorter novels or stories. Just because they are short doesn't mean they are not good.

Chekov is the best short story writer. He was prolific so you'll have a lot to choose from. Besides writing some very long novels, Tolstoy wrote some excellent shorter ones. Try The Cossacks and The Kreutzer Sonata. His first longer novel is autobiogrphical and is in three parts: each one being complete in itself. They are: Childhood, Boyhood, and Youth.

Gogol wrote some good short stories also.

When you've digested the above, try two novels by Turgenev: Fathers and Sons and The Torrents of Spring.

Now you may be ready to try one of the longer novels others have suggested.
You can take this advice or leave it, but because I am older, I have probably read more Russian Stories and novels than most on this forum, so this is experience speaking.

[BjorkPlease]

Thanks everyone for the suggestions. I particulary like your advice dfloyd. The reason I wanted to start with shorter works, like Kiki said, is so that I can properly enjoy the longer ones. I was not at all saying that I didn't want to read "Crime and Punishment" or "Anna Karenina".

[kiki1982]

Dfloyd is right about names. There must be lists of them, but in the beginning it is quite difficult to understand. I couldn't make anything of Crime and Punishment...

Now I am learning Russian and it is better now.

First name is clear.

Second name/patronymic somthing with -vich on the end for men, -ovna/-evna for women. Can be of the same root as the first name if the character (mainly men) have been named after their father: Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin is a good one. His father was Vladimir too.

Family name can be the same as the patronymic or of the same family or not. Gogol had one that is clear, yet there are also people who are called Petrovich/ovna Petrov(a).

Nicknames: There are some really straightforward ones like Yuri-Yura/ia, but Alexander-Sasha, Oleg-Olia, Vladimir-Valodia, Ivan-Vania might be a little strange. It is also not because there is an a at the end that it refers to a woman. Many nicknames of men tend to end in a as well. Then there are pejoratives like Vera-Verochka that end always in -ochka/-achka (probaby depends how the translator transcribed it) and for men Piotr-Piotrek.

Characters can be referred to (by others) as full names (first, patro and family) or, with people who know them like neighbours, first name and patronymic (for women their own maiden-patronymic), or with their diminutive/nickname. It depends on how the writer sees his public how he refers to the character. If the writer thinks the reader is enough acquainted, he will call the character by his/her nickname as Valodja in Crime and Punishment (which can become confusing as he regularly changes), if he thinks he is not enough acquainted, he'll call him at least by his name and patro like Pushkin: Piotr Andreyich, but also by the family name for other characters (I believe, please correct me if Shvabrin was not a family name).

And you mght already have guessed: all women have the female version of their name.

That's at least what I have learned from my Russian course ;)

Not difficult, but if you don't know, you end up getting really confused.

[Dogbrick]

Thank you Jadrianne, for your list. I am also keen to get into Russian literature. So far I have read the Chekhov plays (The Three Sisters my favourite), Tolstoy's Anna Karenina and Solzhenitsyn's Gulag Archipelago. Dostoevsky's Crime and Punishment is next on my list but I will endevour to get through your recommendations as well. Thanks.

[jadrianne]

I forgot something very important last night:Isaak Yudovich Ozimov for sci-fi novels and Alexander Romanovich Belyayev'Amphibian Man.

[violator]

Master and Margarita by Bulgakov - sublime.

+ Black Snow /Theatrical Novel/ , which is very easy and enjoyable to read. It probably isn't as good as "Master and Margarita", but it is a good start, in my opinion.

[BjorkPlease]

Sorry if I'm being ignorant here but wasn't Yudovich American?

[jadrianne]

in Russia.From a point of view you're right he is American but from another point of view he is Russian.

[BjorkPlease]

Yes, I see your way of thinking. In hindsight I think it is unjust to him to call him American with a cool name like that!

[jadrianne]

Boris Lavrenyev.I loved Sorok Pervyy ( The forty-first) .It's a beautiful film also, the 1956 version .

Mikhail Lermontov

[Babak Movahed]

Well first and foremost, Crime and Punishment. Then I would recommend Fathers and Sons by Turgenev, after those two you should look into more Chekhov, Gogol, Tolstoy, and Pushkin.

Oh also a much less well know novel is The Fur Hat by Voinovich, it's more of a post modern satire but I thought it was good none the less.

[Dogbrick]

Can anyone recommend some good Russian literature that deals with the Second World War (or The Great Patriotic War as it is known in Russia)?

[wat??]

I have recently become interested in Russian literature, but have no idea where to start. So far the only Russian work I have ever read is a collection of short stories by Chekhov. Once at age 15 I tried reading "The Double" by Dostoevsky but found it too boring an was unable to finish it. I was wondering whether anybody could suggest a good place to start, preferably novels that aren't too long. Perhaps somebody could post 5 books best for beginners to Russian Lit? Thanks.

Well there's your problem :P

That said, I'll limit myself to shorter fiction;

Notes From Underground - Fyodor Dostoyevsky;
The Gambler - Fyodor Dostoyevsky;
White Nights - Fyodor Dostoyevsky;
The Death of Ivan Illyich; Leo Tolstoy
One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich - Aleksander Solzhenitsyn;
The Master and Margarita - Mikhail Bulgakov (not short);
The Overcoat/The Nose - Nikolai Gogol
Eugene Onegin - Alexander Pushkin (amazing!!)
The Covetous Night - Alexander Pushkin
Fathers and Sons - Ivan Turgenev
Spring Torrents - Ivan Turgenev
Rudin - Ivan Turgenev

[jadrianne]

Ilf and Petrov -wonderful

[Dogbrick]

Thank you Wat for your list. I may begin with some of these shorter works before tackling some of the epics.

[hellsapoppin]

Dogbrick,

For good literature dealing with World War II or the Soviet era, log on to:

http://www.sovlit.com/

Definitely one of the greatest websites online.

[mal4mac]

Thank you Wat for your list. I may begin with some of these shorter works before tackling some of the epics.

The epics are considered by most critics to be greater than the short works, and that has been my experience. They are also easier reads, are at least less perplexing/disturbing... you kind of get a "thrown in the deep end" feel with the shorter works.

So if you are disappointed, say, with "The Death of Ivan Illyich", a work that I thought didn't live up to its hype, give Tolstoy another chance. Not only is W&P better, it goes on for longer, and so your enjoyment is not only more, but it lasts (far!) longer.

I really "enjoyed" "Notes from the Underground", but it's really intense stuff, you might find an epic ("Crime & Punishment") easier to swallow first ... I'd certainly recommend "easing yourself in" with that work rather than "Notes".

[Mockingbird_z]

to add to the above mentioned authors
try Alexander Kuprin, Andrey Platonov (short stories), Maxim Gorky.

[neilgee]

A hero of our time by Lermontov is considered to be one of the early great Russian novels, published in 1841 it comes between Eugene Onegin and Fathers and Sons but it's a much easier read than either of those classics. It's hardly a novel at all, it's more like five short stories and these are five adventures of the "superfluous man", Byronic Hero Pechorin, it was one of the first ones I read and I would recommend it as an introductory novel to Russian literature.

However, once you're in there you must read The master and Margarita as recommended earlier. It's simply brilliant!

[Aelita]

Master and Margarita by Bulgakov is my favorite of Russian lit of 1900s. May be too complicated for ones who doesn't know what life in Russia or Moscow of 1920-30 was look like. For starters prose by Pushkin (short stories) will give a feeling of the Russian soul, :-). Also Ivan Turgenev. There was even the type of woman "Turgenev's woman".
http://public-library.narod.ru/ there are books in Russian

[kiki1982]

Waw, thanks! That's certainly prove its worth soon. I tried Chechov after my (barely) year-long course of self-study, and I must say, there was still a mist over the words but it'll wear off.

I'll certainly put it on my favorites list.

:)

The disadvantage is great in looking for Russian stuff on the net as I have to go to Word in order to get Russian letters...

[mal4mac]

A hero of our time by Lermontov is considered to be one of the early great Russian novels, published in 1841 it comes between Eugene Onegin and Fathers and Sons but it's a much easier read than either of those classics....

I found Fathers and Sons a really easy read, much easier than Dostoevsky, but also much less interesting...

[Aida-S]

Apart from Torrents of Spring by Turgenev mentioned earlier, I'd also recommend Asya and First Love. Asya is my personal favourite.
If you're into Sci-Fi, you can also try the Strugatsy brothers.
Then, the Twelve Chairs by Ilf and Petrov is a satirical novel released in 1920-s, it's really great and many of its funny sayings remain wide-spread in the modern Russian language. I don't know how difficult it would be to understand for a foreigner, but if you manage the Master and Margarita, then the Twelve Chairs won't be a hard nut to crack.

[Aida-S]

Many nicknames of men tend to end in a as well. Then there are pejoratives like Vera-Verochka that end always in -ochka/-achka (probaby depends how the translator transcribed it) and for men Piotr-Piotrek.



Hm, I'd say that nickname for Piotr is Petya. Maybe Piotrek is specific for some Slavic countries?

[kiki1982]

haha, yes, It is Petya! Thinking in Polish there!

Do you have any links for children's stories (fairy tales and such)?

[Aida-S]

haha, yes, It is Petya! Thinking in Polish there!

Do you have any links for children's stories (fairy tales and such)?


I though that Piotrek sounded very Polish but wasn't sure :)

As for children's stories, I could give you some links but all of them will be in Russian...

[kiki1982]

By all means do! I'm looking for new material.

[Olga4real]

It depends on your taste, some people like Tolstoy, some Dostoevsky.
I would recommend short stories by Gogol, whatever you find like The Fair at Sorochintsï (short story)
St. John's Eve (short story)
May Night or the Drowned Maiden
Christmas Eve
The Old World Landowners too many to list...
Kuprin - if you like romantic stories
Short stories by Leo Tolstoy,
You know what if you can find any of prose of Lermontov and Pushkin you will enjoy it.
I would continue, but for the beginning it will be enough

[the facade]

I think the following recommendations aren't representative of the Russian cannon but definitely good for transitioning in:

1) Notes From the Underground - Dostoevsky
2) We - Zamyatin

Interesting reference: Orwell famously admitted to "We" being a big influence on "1984".

[blazeofglory]

Russian literature is a great depository of literary genres and I have read them substantially and of course you can start with Dostoevsky, Tolstoy, Chekov, to name a few and once you do read them you will find them unputdownable

[Aida-S]

By all means do! I'm looking for new material.

Check these pages: (The only problem, as I said, is that they're completely in Russian)
http://www.lib.ru/NOSOW/
That's for Nikolay Nosov's famous story about Neznayka and his friends (they live in an imaginary land of small people and get involved in different adventures, but mind you it's rather propagandist);
http://www.lib.ru/TALES/SIBIYAK/
Mamin-Sibiryak, his stories are more similar to the folktales;
http://hyaenidae.narod.ru/
This page is for Russian fairy tales;
And generally loads of books here: http://flibusta.net/g/child_tale/Author
Though, to tell you the truth, when I was small I preferred Astrid Lindgren and Alan Milne to our Russian children's writers :smile5:

[Rosie Cotton]

The first I read was Eugene Onegin by Pushkin. And it got me hooked on Russian Lit. I think that Fathers and Children by Turgenev is a good start too. But if you start with Eugene Onegin, you have to read the James Falen translation. It is FAR superior to all others, keeping the ideas of the writing, and the rhythms and rhymes of the Onegin stanza. Yes, it's so consistent, it's named the Onegin stanza, it's as defined as the Shakespearean Sonnet...actually more defined because of feminine/masculine rhyming. ANYWAYS! I'd say Eugene Onegin or Fathers and Children

[Olga4real]

I would like to call your attention to works of Vasily Shukshin - Russian actor, writer and film director. His short stories let you get closer to simple Russian people.

[Page Turner]

Just read Turgenev's First Love so I'll second that recommendation. Short but sweet.

[Maryana]

"Master and Margarita", if you like dark mysticism, sarcasm and fantasy all mixed up.

[Eric Vornoff]

The answer depends on what kind of literature you prefer. Yet several names who are not commony known to public outside Russia have occurred to my mind

1. Vasily Shukshin, e.g. http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/158500.Stories_from_a_Siberian_Village

2. Konstantin Paustovsky, an amazing writer, once competeing with Mikhail Sholokhov for Nobel Prize

3. Sergei Dovlatov, a cult figure in the Russian literature, a must read even for readers who read Tolstoy only in school

4. Ilf and Petrov "Twelve Chairs" and "Golden Calf", the same as Dovlatov. May be the two funniest books in the Russian literature. Nabokov considered them as work by geniuses.

5. Andrey Bitov, e.g. http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1198058.Captive_of_the_Causasus

6. Nikolay Leskov, a great writer, contemporary to Tolstoy and Dostoyevsky, but unfortunately completely overshadowed by these two giant figures. Unfortunately his highest artestry in working with style and language is extremely hard to translate.

7. Leond Leonov, a great Soviet writer, but I am not sure his best works were translated.

8. Ivan Bunin, a great Russian writer, may be the greatest master in "drawing" with words in the Russian literature. Excelent psychological and very "tangible" proze. Nobel Prize winner.

9. Andrei Platonov, for me one of the greatest Russian writers of 20th century, but the same as with Leskov, his very individual and queer language is hardly translatable.

10. Alexander Kuprin, a very talented writer once very popular in Russia and SU, contemporary to Chekhov and Bunin. e.g. http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/2131970.Garnet_Bracelet

11. Lyudmila Petrushevskaya, novelist and playwright, one of the best modern Russian writers. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lyudmila_Petrushevskaya

[Tallon]

Recently finished One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich by Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn and enjoyed it very much. It's an easy read and a great look into a part of Russian history.