Any suggestions for somebody new to Russian Literature?

[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.