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A Foreign Woman
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After leaving the Soviet Union following a series of unsatisfying relationships, Marusya Tatarovich quickly becomes the center of the Russian community in Queens, New York, but finds that it mirrors in many ways the community she left behind
Hardcover, 113 pages
Published
January 1st 1991
by Grove/Atlantic
(first published 1986)
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A great story translated from the Russian but set in the USA in the Forest Hills neighborhood of Queens in New York City. The story is set in the mid-1980’s when Russians (mainly Russian Jews) started arriving. The area remains a focus of Russian Jewish settlement today and the corner of 108th Street and 63rd Drive has been given an honorary designation in this author’s memory (1941-1990). The author emigrated to the US and lived in this neighborhood for the last 12 years of his life.
Much of the ...more
Much of the ...more
Već sam pisala o svom oduševljenju nakon što sam otkrila Dovlatova. Osvojio me je na prvu, jednostavno, bez mnogo napora. Volim taj njegov humor, taj mangupski šarm, tu njegovu urođenu vještinu zavođenja. Nije kao Fante, ali tu je negdje, sasvim ravnopravno može da se nađe u istoj rečenici sa njim. Za rođendan želim kompletan njegov opus u Lomovom izdanju.
Dovlatov, čak i kad nije na nivou "Kompromisa", i dalje je odličan. Plus je izdanje koje imam obogaćeno sa 2 odlična intervjua i tekstom Brodskog o Dovlatovu, a to su poslastice po sebi.
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ვკითხულობდი და სულ "შელოცვა რადიოთიდან" ელის ამბები მახსენდებოდა.
დოვლატოვი ძალიან ოსტატურად ახერხებს ტრანსპორტში კითხვისასაც კი ხმამაღლა გახარხაროს და თან ამავდროულად ჩუმი სევდაც შემოგაპაროს, რადგან ამ წიგნში ერთოდ უჩვეულო და თან ძალიან ნაცნობ ხალხს გადაეყრებით. ...more
დოვლატოვი ძალიან ოსტატურად ახერხებს ტრანსპორტში კითხვისასაც კი ხმამაღლა გახარხაროს და თან ამავდროულად ჩუმი სევდაც შემოგაპაროს, რადგან ამ წიგნში ერთოდ უჩვეულო და თან ძალიან ნაცნობ ხალხს გადაეყრებით. ...more
Underrated and seemingly forgotten, Dovlatov remains one of my favorite writers. His style, called "laconic" and "witty," earned him comparisons to one of his admirers, Kurt Vonnegut. This is not my favorite of his works (that would be The Compromise), but even on an off day, Dovlatov is nothing short of fun.
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Keyifli konusu, alışılmadık göçmen kadın karakteri ve dinmeyen humoruyla bana göre dört dörtlük bir kitaptı başlangıçta, ama yazar sanki sıkılıp bırakmış, sonunu aceleye getirmiş gibi hissettim. Tam kapılıp giderken bitiverdi.
Крутая книга. Читать Довлатова после всякой бизнесовой воды — как пересесть на новенькую БМВ после езды на Ладе Гранте с механикой и без усилителя руля.
Прекрасная и грустная повесть.
Прекрасная и грустная повесть.
«Видимо, Лернер обладал каким-то специфическим даром материального благополучия. Вообще, я уверен, что нищета и богатство — качества прирожденные. Такие же, например, как цвет волос или, допустим, музыкальный слух. Один рождается нищим, другой — богатым. И деньги тут фактически ни при чем. Можно быть нищим с деньгами. И — соответственно — принцем без единой копейки.
Я встречал богачей среди зеков на особом режиме. Там же мне попадались бедняки среди высших чинов лагерной администрации…
Бедняки при ...more
Я встречал богачей среди зеков на особом режиме. Там же мне попадались бедняки среди высших чинов лагерной администрации…
Бедняки при ...more
Uno fra i mei tanti limiti.
Sospendo il mio giudizio riservandomi di leggere altro di questo autore.
Il libro è incentrato sugli emigrati russi a New York ed in particolaresi racconta la storia di Marusja Tartarova.
Il tono è comico e quindi la lettura potrebbe essere piacevole.
Interessante è anche l'idea dello scrittore che balza nella storia diventando egli stesso personaggio. La struttura soffre , tuttavia, un po' di disordine ma nel complesso sarebbe un racconto gradevole.
Sarebbe...
Faccio par ...more
Sospendo il mio giudizio riservandomi di leggere altro di questo autore.
Il libro è incentrato sugli emigrati russi a New York ed in particolaresi racconta la storia di Marusja Tartarova.
Il tono è comico e quindi la lettura potrebbe essere piacevole.
Interessante è anche l'idea dello scrittore che balza nella storia diventando egli stesso personaggio. La struttura soffre , tuttavia, un po' di disordine ma nel complesso sarebbe un racconto gradevole.
Sarebbe...
Faccio par ...more
Aslında burada hikaye aceleye getirilmiş diye ahkam kesip beğenmediğimi dile getirecektim. Fakat okurken bir şekilde yazarın hikayeye sızdığını ve sıla hasretini, yapmak isteyip de yapamadıklarını, özgürlük ülkesi diye iddia edilen topraklarda esir düştüğünü, özgürlüğün peşinde giderken bir gettoya hapsolduğunu, o meşhur "gitmek mi zor kalmak mı?" sorusunu okuyucunun kafasına düşürdüğünü farkettim. Yazar, bir kadının hikayesini anlatıyor anlatmasına ama o sırada yazarın iç sıkıntısı, ikilemleri,
...more
Dovlatov does not need more words to describe more things. It was enjoyable again to read about the migrant details from such prominent fiction master. Some reviewers blamed him in racism. I do not blame them. However, Soviet man always classifies people according to something and only after it tries to perceive that person.
Ne pamtim kad sam zbog neke knjige zaspala s osmehom na licu.❤
Dovlatov piše pitko, mudro, ironično, zabavno...
Živela sam jedan dan u Njujorku s emigrantima iz Rusije i jednim papagajem Loloom, koji je svojim bekstvom iz kaveza simbol svih onih koji su se obreli u tuđem svetu bežeći od krivice, žudeći za slobodom, ili bežeći od sebe samih.
Predivna knjiga!
Dovlatov piše pitko, mudro, ironično, zabavno...
Živela sam jedan dan u Njujorku s emigrantima iz Rusije i jednim papagajem Loloom, koji je svojim bekstvom iz kaveza simbol svih onih koji su se obreli u tuđem svetu bežeći od krivice, žudeći za slobodom, ili bežeći od sebe samih.
Predivna knjiga!
My new favorite.
I had three long conversations with Marusya over a cup of coffee. She told me her whole rather silly story. To some degree we became friends. I like people like that--doomed, dying, helpless, and brazen. I always say, if you're in trouble, you're not sinning.
________________
Sales were lukewarm. Back home there was no freedom, but there were readers. Here there was freedom enough, but readers were missing. ...more
I had three long conversations with Marusya over a cup of coffee. She told me her whole rather silly story. To some degree we became friends. I like people like that--doomed, dying, helpless, and brazen. I always say, if you're in trouble, you're not sinning.
________________
Sales were lukewarm. Back home there was no freedom, but there were readers. Here there was freedom enough, but readers were missing. ...more
Very touching! The book is written with a great sense of humour. A story about each of us! 5 out of 5!
Ipak interesantnija od romana "Puškinova brda", ali sam i dalje stava da je Dovlatov prilično precijenjen pisac. Sirove, kratke, plitke rečenice bez ikakve dubine. Ništa da te natjera na razmišljanje. Čitam i ništa me ne dotiče.
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Genial sempre Dovlatov en els seus llibres entre la melangia i la comicitat d'uns personatges perduts en l'emigració.
...more
Ужасно давно не смеялась над книжками в голос. И заодно обнаружила, что идея начать читать Довлатова с "Марша одиноких" была, безусловно, не самой лучшей и даже бессмысленной. Придется как-нибудь при случае к тем историям вернуться.
P.S. Есть ли у вас любимый Довлатов? ...more
P.S. Есть ли у вас любимый Довлатов? ...more
His America is a bizarre and superficial racist misanthrope's phantasmagoria with Soviet übermenschen surrounded by coloured human animals with whom they have to get along. If stormfront.org tried write a collaborative novel it would not have been much different from this.
However, his description of the KGB and of the courtship in the Soviet elite contain some genuinely funny and insightful anecdotes. The one thing that Dovlatov could do well was to describe the Soviet Union.
The Russians on the ...more
However, his description of the KGB and of the courtship in the Soviet elite contain some genuinely funny and insightful anecdotes. The one thing that Dovlatov could do well was to describe the Soviet Union.
The Russians on the ...more
Oct 30, 2014
Rebecka
rated it
it was ok
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
read_in_russian,
soviet-related
This was an OK read, but not more than that. I like the format, with the author as a character in the story, and the introductions of all the characters (even though there's a bit too much focus on the See How Crazy We Russians Are, But In A Positive Way-thing), but Marusja? I couldn't find any sympathy anywhere for her, and I failed to see why the author would take her side. Mostly I was just perplexed by her indifference or annoyed by her arrogance.
++ The language in this one is fairly easy. ...more
++ The language in this one is fairly easy. ...more
Я понял, что Довлатов для меня - почти идеальная беллетристика для отдыха :) Немного смешно, немного грустно, немного ярких деталей, немного лытдыбра, немного ошеломляющей мудрости, немного цинизма, немного лиризма... И в целом все очень изящно и хорошим современным слогом.
Довлатов хорош...и всего лишь хорош... для отдыха мозга :)
Довлатов хорош...и всего лишь хорош... для отдыха мозга :)
Открыть заново Довлатова, после большой паузы в русской литературе и тем более после опыта жизни за бугром - огромное удовольствие. Очень смешно и очень точно Довлатов улавливает всю русскую суть, за границей и не только.
Буду перечитывать ещё много-много раз.
Буду перечитывать ещё много-много раз.
Если бы власти знали, как он будет писать ТАМ, они бы его раньше выпустили. Все на поиски мужей и попугаев.
каждое предложение это лезвие бритвы, какая структура прозы!
Life of a Russian female immigrant to the US. Funny and sad at the same time...True life of Russian-Jewish immigrants
Muchas veces, al leer un libro o a un autor cualquiera, nos encontramos con la necesidad de explicar lo que ocurre; como lectores intentamos interpretar y buscar referencias y simbolismos donde quizá no los hay. Porque a veces no hay demasiado que leer entre líneas, o que interpretar. Simplemente es la cuestión entre elegir analizar la forma literaria y lo moral.
Algo así ocurre con la literatura del ruso Sergei Dovlátov. La literatura de Dovlátov se acerca enormemente a lo que podríamos definir ...more
Algo así ocurre con la literatura del ruso Sergei Dovlátov. La literatura de Dovlátov se acerca enormemente a lo que podríamos definir ...more
Another page-turner with non-disappearing smile! Absolutely loved the story with cool humour and deep emotional bond to activity.
Довлатов гений! Перенести эмоции с таким юмором и при том передать вроде очень простой сюжет с таким захватывающим интересом... это просто восторг! Я не переставая улыбалась, чувствовала и видела персонажей как будто была там сама. Всем рекомендую! Ну, естественно тем кому за 18 ;)
Довлатов гений! Перенести эмоции с таким юмором и при том передать вроде очень простой сюжет с таким захватывающим интересом... это просто восторг! Я не переставая улыбалась, чувствовала и видела персонажей как будто была там сама. Всем рекомендую! Ну, естественно тем кому за 18 ;)
У Довлатова все книги разные, но в итоге об одном. Они о том, что внутри человека, о страстях, печалях и радостях. Иностранка больше похожа на Заповедник, чем на Чемодан и Компромиссы. Если вы любите Довлатова Иностранка для вас. Острый слог и тонкие жизненные наблюдения всё в полном ассортименте.
Perhaps the least amusing Dovlatov book I have read so far. I think the reason being that, for the first time, Dovlatov himself is not the primary character in the story. As a result, he is not as harsh on others as he is on himself, and the dry, rasping wit that characterizes Pushkin Hills, The Compromise, Zone and Suitcase is missing here. He treats Marusya quite sympathetically, and while he is happy to reproduce the mean judgments passed on her by others, these others are unfortunately not a
...more
Довлатов вчить мене писати. Відчувається, що він журналіст. Речення короткі, слова влучні, деталі яскраві. Його текст не перевантажений описами. Скоріше, це одна безперевна дія. Сам письменник хотів бути схожим тільки на Чехова. Він не моралізує, але вчить. Кожен характер його книги - опуклий. Здається, мить - і торкнешся його або впізнаєш в ньому свого знайомого чи знайомого знайомого. До Довлатовських героїв відносишся як до маленьких дітей. Любиш, жалієш і вражаєшся тому, як так можна жити. А
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more structured and coherent than "The Suitcase", this short book presents a great, tragic but also immensely interesting, entertaining story, a story that is basically a glorified character study with great period piece nuggets thrown into it. The authenticity is top-notch, I believed this one to be a fact-based story up until the very end. Dovlatov has that amazing skill to ground his stories in reality as much as possible, but that doesn't sacrifice the fun or a biting satire prevalent in all
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| topics | posts | views | last activity | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Goodreads Librari...: Please add the page count | 3 | 12 | Feb 02, 2020 04:24AM | |
| Women in Contemporary Russian Novels | 1 | 2 | Dec 28, 2017 07:37AM | |
| Fabula: Обсуждение Довлатова | 1 | 6 | Oct 04, 2012 08:35AM |
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SERGEI DOVLATOV (Russian: Сергей Довлатов) was born in Ufa, Bashkiria (U.S.S.R.), in 1941. He dropped out of the University of Leningrad after two years and was drafted into the army, serving as a guard in high-security prison camps. In 1965 he began to work as a journalist, first in Leningrad and then in Tallinn, Estonia. After a period of intense harassment by the authorities, he emigrated to th
...more
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“I had three long conversations with Marusya over a cup of coffee. She told me her whole rather silly story. To some degree we became friends. I like people like that--doomed, dying, helpless, and brazen. I always say, if you're in trouble, you're not sinning.”
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12 likes
“Sales were lukewarm. Back home there was no freedom, but there were readers. Here there was freedom enough, but readers were missing.”
—
8 likes
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