Russian Literature and the Canon

Dickens is nothing like the Russian realists of the 19th century, it is silly to compare him to their work. George Eliot and Henry James are better counterparts in English, and I think they are both better than Dostoevsky and nearly as great as Tolstoy.

Well comparing is possible. Earlier Dostoievisky has a side for the "cheap drama" of Dickens, he was also a multiple characters creator, some good charactures there, but the final dostoievisky moved away from dickens to some "deeper" development, but this because Dickens humor and optimism is absent on Dostoievisky.

My opinion is that one of the reasons the russian novelists seems to jump so high in XIX century is also explained how to build up a russian identidy absorving from english, german and france novelists.

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Originally Posted by lichtrausch

How did you end up with so much Russian literature despite not knowing Russian?

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For the same reason that I have an extensive wine collection in my “wine cellar”. If I offer a guest some wine, I say, “Let me get a bottle from my wine cellar.” Then I go into my closet and make stomping noises, as if descending a flight of stairs. I return with one of the two bottles that I hide in my closet.

The wine is second-rate. However, I say, “This vintage has sentimental value for me. Of course I should have opened the bottle several years ago, but you can still taste a hint of its former glories, can you not?”

(Alternative wording, “I’m beginning to like this. I believe it is on the brink of being something really special.”)

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Originally Posted by stlukesguild

Yes. I'm always bemused by those Russian fanboys who place the Russians at the pinnacle of literature after having read all of 5 or 6 authors... and no poets. My own library includes works by perhaps 20 writers... not counting the anthologies of poetry... a pitiful selection in comparison to what I have from the French, Germans, Italians... even the Spanish and the Greeks... to say nothing of the Brits. My musical library, by contrast, not limited by language, is far richer in Russian composers... still they remain somewhat limited even there in comparison to other cultures... as result of only having been a major "player" for a little over a century.

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Good observation. Knowing 20 Russian writers is already quite a lot. I was amazed that I have not heard more than 10 names when I compiled this list of top 20~25 authors based on the bibliography given by Cambridge History of Russian Literature:
http://lawpark.jimdo.com/2013/02/27/russian-literature/