What make Russian lit special?

[BlackCat]

Beside the usual dark, suffering theme coupled with the language barrier, what is that that make Russian lit special? What's unique about it in comparison with other literatures?:wave::wave::wave:

[TheChilly]

I think what makes Russian Literature special is the amount of time, energy, and ambition authors such as Tolstoy put into crafting the portraits that they create. Even though "War and Peace", to me, is light compared to most heavy material in the Russian Lit bracket in terms of the themes covered (I know for a fact that Dostoevsky's DARK), yet the scale...

I don't even know if anyone today will be able to come close to the scope that authors such as Tolstoy had striven to achieve... crafting a portrait of a world and a history like our own, but beyond reality at the same time.

[BlackCat]

Tolstoy was indeed a literary genius. To me also what make Russian literature special is its vivid description of the average normal life. Its characters are normal average people, with average desires and feelings, and passions, and love.

But what do you think of Russian literature in comparison to American literature?

[cafolini]

I don't like Tolstoy in particular, but you are correct in what makes Russian literature special.
Regarding American and Russian literature, American also has the same characteristic in many writers, but it is much more abundant in many ways.

[BlackCat]

I have always thought of American literature to have a brighter character. In a music analogy you can say American literature is liken to be Mozart, while Russian lit Beethoven.

[PeterL]

I thought about it a bit, but I still don't think that there is anything special about Russian literature.

[KCurtis]

I have always thought of American literature to have a brighter character. In a music analogy you can say American literature is liken to be Mozart, while Russian lit Beethoven.
Consider the time period of the greatest (subjective, I know) Russian writers. My favorite is Nabokov, however I have not read them all! Before the Russian Revolution, during, and after, times were harsh for many politically and the poverty was great. If you were Jewish, it was even worse. There was so much political turmoil, much more unstable than in America during those times. Yes, Nabokov was better off than most. Also consider the bitter cold- some great writing comes from this experience. Interesting musical comparison though- Beethoven is more dramatic-my favorite. But I don't think Russian Lit is better, maybe just different. I think you are correct though.

[BlackCat]

Consider the time period of the greatest (subjective, I know) Russian writers. My favorite is Nabokov, however I have not read them all! Before the Russian Revolution, during, and after, times were harsh for many politically and the poverty was great. If you were Jewish, it was even worse. There was so much political turmoil, much more unstable than in America during those times. Yes, Nabokov was better off than most. Also consider the bitter cold- some great writing comes from this experience. Interesting musical comparison though- Beethoven is more dramatic-my favorite. But I don't think Russian Lit is better, maybe just different. I think you are correct though.

Uhm, interesting, and I think ur absolutely right. Guess evolution always come when pressurized :banana: . However I never think Russian lit is better, I'm actually an American lit fan. I'm just trying to understand more about Russian lit to begin reading it.:biggrinjester:

[KCurtis]

Uhm, interesting, and I think ur absolutely right. Guess evolution always come when pressurized :banana: . However I never think Russian lit is better, I'm actually an American lit fan. I'm just trying to understand more about Russian lit to begin reading it.:biggrinjester:
I didn't mean to imply you thought it was better, I'm always glad people are American Lit fans!

[BlackCat]

i didn't mean to imply you thought it was better, i'm always glad people are american lit fans!

go usa go!!!

[Desolation]

Nothing.

Tolstoy and Dostoevsky are great writers for their own reasons, and should be taken separately from the rest of Russian lit (and each other), in my opinion.

So far, I haven't found any of the other Russians all that compelling. Gogol, Pasternak, Chekhov, Bulgakov, Turgenev, and Solzhenitsyn all fell flat for me. But, even if you happen to like all of those authors, I think that it's more the author than the country.

[KCurtis]

Nothing.

Tolstoy and Dostoevsky are great writers for their own reasons, and should be taken separately from the rest of Russian lit (and each other), in my opinion.

So far, I haven't found any of the other Russians all that compelling. Gogol, Pasternak, Chekhov, Bulgakov, Turgenev, and Solzhenitsyn all fell flat for me. But, even if you happen to like all of those authors, I think that it's more the author than the country.
Ofcourse it is, but many of the great ones are certainly influenced by their times and place.

[Big Dante]

The fact that a story can include a human sized cat as the antagonist and still be about the existence of Jesus.

[Brett Cottrell]

What makes Russian lit so special? The dressing. It's so tasty on burgers and pastrami, it flows over to the literature.

Aside from that, I'm not sure we get the dregs. Nobody's spending time translating dribble. So, Bulgakov it is - and that's a very good thing to have.

[Des Essientes]

To reader from Western Europe Russian literature is special because Russian culture is exotic and familiar at the same time. All the ideas of the western European Enlightenment are present in the greatest Russian literature but the authors are far enough removed from the West to take them with a grain of salt and thus the Western reader is subjected to an interesting semi-outsiders' perspective. Another factor is the tradition of the Orthodox Church which one may say "got Christianity right" or at least its doctrines, such as that of the risen Chist having gone down into Hell and freed all its suffering souls, seem more Christlike. Most importantly Russian literature is the product of a Slavic people and thus reflects the exuberance and brave fatalism of a younger and more vigorous ethnicity that can still dance.