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Russian Stories/Русские Рассказы: A Dual-Language Book
Twelve superb tales by Chekhov, Tolstoy, Dostoevsky, Pushkin, Bunin, other masters. Excellent word-for-word English translations on facing pages. Also teaching and practice aids, Russian-English vocabulary, biographical/critical introductions to each selection, study questions, more. Especially helpful are the stress accents in the Russian text, usually found only in primers.
394 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1961
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Displaying 1 - 26 of 26 reviews
July 20, 2009
Мне очень нравится эта книга. К сожалению, Я не понимаю много на русском языке (но Я учусь!), но Я любила читать рассказы на английском языке.
I absolutely loved this book. Short stories by Pushkin, Tolstoy, Dostoevsky, Chekhov, Gogol, and many others appear in the original Russian with English translations on the opposite page. There is a small introduction before each story, giving a brief background of the author and where he fits within the history of Russian literature. I enjoyed reading each of the stories as well as practicing my Russian with some of the easier, more simplistic stories. I highly recommend this for anyone who enjoys Russian literature or wants to practice reading the language.
I absolutely loved this book. Short stories by Pushkin, Tolstoy, Dostoevsky, Chekhov, Gogol, and many others appear in the original Russian with English translations on the opposite page. There is a small introduction before each story, giving a brief background of the author and where he fits within the history of Russian literature. I enjoyed reading each of the stories as well as practicing my Russian with some of the easier, more simplistic stories. I highly recommend this for anyone who enjoys Russian literature or wants to practice reading the language.
September 8, 2009
I highly reccomend this for students of the Russian language (especially if you're out of college and can't take classes on russian lit). The dual-language aspect of the book is helpful and it is easy to find the english translation of the russian text (it's usually on the same line of the opposite page).
This book ranges from 18th century literature to early 20th century and varies greatly in difficulty (which is good).
I'd start by reading Chekhov's "Sleepy" and Tolstoy's "Three Hermits" because they are both simple enough. I'm still trying to tackle Zamyatin's "The Cave" (i think that's the hardest in the book, even with the help of the translation).
This book ranges from 18th century literature to early 20th century and varies greatly in difficulty (which is good).
I'd start by reading Chekhov's "Sleepy" and Tolstoy's "Three Hermits" because they are both simple enough. I'm still trying to tackle Zamyatin's "The Cave" (i think that's the hardest in the book, even with the help of the translation).
May 6, 2016
Un livre qui m'a permis de découvrir des auteurs russes et des textes d'auteurs russes que je connaissais mais dont les nouvelles sont différentes de ce que l'on lit d'habitude d'eux, tout en pratiquant le russe. Le seul reproche serait que les oeuvres sont justement sélectionnées pour leur valeur littéraire (ce qui n'est pas mauvais en soi) mais j'aimerais trouver des textes sélectionnés d'avantage pour l'apprentissage de la langue. Sur des oeuvres comme celles qui sont présentées, le vocabulaire peut parfois être un peu désuet ou alors ce sera du vocabulaire que l'on n'aura jamais l'occasion d'utiliser.
October 22, 2011
Immensely helpful for a beginning Russian student. I was amazed at what I could understand with the help of this book. The stories included are excellent choices, interesting enough to be worth the struggle of parsing the language.
November 17, 2015
я люблю эту книгу много. :) я не знаю много слов, но могу учиться русском языке через слов по английскому. я думал что эту расскажу просто чудесный. моя любимая, "в плену".
February 14, 2024
I read this book just as a collection of short stories by various Russian authors, not as a language learning tool. I really enjoyed reading a selection of Russian authors and felt there was a decent variety here. My favourite short stories were those by Chekhov, Dostoevsky, and Gogol.
The presentation inspired me to start learning a bit of Russian, so I may return to this book when I've gained some knowledge and use it as intended.
The presentation inspired me to start learning a bit of Russian, so I may return to this book when I've gained some knowledge and use it as intended.
November 22, 2024
this is such a great book to have for beginners in russian; the side-by-side language comparison and the added accents to show where the stress lies in each russian word is incredibly helpful (not to mention, the stories chosen by the editor are delightful).
March 4, 2019
"I went out to distract myself and ended up at a funeral."
“Ходил развлекаться, попал на похороны.”
- Fyodor Dostoevsky, from “Bobok”
"… they know how to drive people mad, but they haven’t yet made anyone wiser."
“… свести-то с ума у нас сведут, а умней-то еще никого не сделали.”
- Fyodor Dostoevsky, from “Bobok”
"Nothing remotely like this has ever happened to me, nor will in the future. It was a kind of eclipse … or rather, we both had a kind of sunstroke …"
“Никогда ничего даже похожего на то, что случилось, со мной не было, да и не будет больше. На меня точно затмение нашло … Или, вернее, мы оба получили что-то вроде солнечного удара … “
- Ivan Bunin (Russian, 1870-1953), from “Sunstroke”
"Mechanical arms and legs. Some sort of chains, a winch, are needed to raise and lower them, like the sheers of a ship; and to turn the winch – the man is not enough: three are needed."
“Механические руки и ноги. Поднимать и опускать их — нужно какими-то цепями, лебедкой, как корабельные стрелы, и вертеть лебедку — одного человека мало: надо троих.”
- Yevgeny Zamyatin (1884-1937), from “The Cave”
"Something strange is happening to me. My character is changing, and my head aches. I begin to see and hear strange things. I don’t mean exactly voices, but just as though someone besides me goes: “Bobok, bobok, bobok …"
What is this bobok ?"
“Со мной что-то странное происходит. И характер меняется, и голова болит. Я начинаю видеть и слышать какие-то странные вещи. Не то чтобы голоса, а так как будто кто подле: “Бобок, бобок, бобок !”
Какой такой бобок ?”
- Fyodor Dostoevsky, from “Bobok”
"To be astonished by everything is, of course, stupid, while to be astonished at nothing is a great more becoming and for some reason considered good form. But this is hardly the case really. To my mind, to be astonished at nothing is more stupid than to be astonished at everything. And moreover, to be astonished at nothing is almost the same as feeling respect for nothing."
“Всему удивляться, конечно, глупо, а ничему не удивляться гораздо красивее и почему-то признано за хороший тон. Но вряд ли так в сущности. По-моему, ничему не удивляться гораздо глупее, чем всему удивляться. Да и кроме того: ничему не удивляться почти то же, что ничего и не уважать.”
- Fyodor Dostoevsky, from “Bobok”
“Ходил развлекаться, попал на похороны.”
- Fyodor Dostoevsky, from “Bobok”
"… they know how to drive people mad, but they haven’t yet made anyone wiser."
“… свести-то с ума у нас сведут, а умней-то еще никого не сделали.”
- Fyodor Dostoevsky, from “Bobok”
"Nothing remotely like this has ever happened to me, nor will in the future. It was a kind of eclipse … or rather, we both had a kind of sunstroke …"
“Никогда ничего даже похожего на то, что случилось, со мной не было, да и не будет больше. На меня точно затмение нашло … Или, вернее, мы оба получили что-то вроде солнечного удара … “
- Ivan Bunin (Russian, 1870-1953), from “Sunstroke”
"Mechanical arms and legs. Some sort of chains, a winch, are needed to raise and lower them, like the sheers of a ship; and to turn the winch – the man is not enough: three are needed."
“Механические руки и ноги. Поднимать и опускать их — нужно какими-то цепями, лебедкой, как корабельные стрелы, и вертеть лебедку — одного человека мало: надо троих.”
- Yevgeny Zamyatin (1884-1937), from “The Cave”
"Something strange is happening to me. My character is changing, and my head aches. I begin to see and hear strange things. I don’t mean exactly voices, but just as though someone besides me goes: “Bobok, bobok, bobok …"
What is this bobok ?"
“Со мной что-то странное происходит. И характер меняется, и голова болит. Я начинаю видеть и слышать какие-то странные вещи. Не то чтобы голоса, а так как будто кто подле: “Бобок, бобок, бобок !”
Какой такой бобок ?”
- Fyodor Dostoevsky, from “Bobok”
"To be astonished by everything is, of course, stupid, while to be astonished at nothing is a great more becoming and for some reason considered good form. But this is hardly the case really. To my mind, to be astonished at nothing is more stupid than to be astonished at everything. And moreover, to be astonished at nothing is almost the same as feeling respect for nothing."
“Всему удивляться, конечно, глупо, а ничему не удивляться гораздо красивее и почему-то признано за хороший тон. Но вряд ли так в сущности. По-моему, ничему не удивляться гораздо глупее, чем всему удивляться. Да и кроме того: ничему не удивляться почти то же, что ничего и не уважать.”
- Fyodor Dostoevsky, from “Bobok”
May 10, 2021
From Pushkin to Zoshchenko, the collection of short stories that Gleb Struve included in his dual-language book of Russian Stories is diverse and entertaining. Pushkin is to Russia as Shakespeare is to England. Pushkin's The Stationmaster leads the collection and takes place when transportation was not by the train but rather by coaches drawn by horses. Stationmasters are considered "the outcasts of the human race" who are blamed for weather that delays schedules and anything else that disrupts the even flow of public transportation. When the station master's daughter is seduced by a dandy of a gentleman, he takes a vacation to track her down in St. Petersburg and finds she is a kept woman living in luxury. He sadly leaves to return to his post, mourning for his lost daughter. It's a touching story and connects to parents worldwide. Other short stories include authors both familiar such as Turgenev and Leskov to early 20th century writers like Zmyatin and Babel. This survey of Russian writers reflects political and social climates of Russia covering nearly a century and displays a unique voice in world literature. Turgenev's "A Living Relic" begins with a quote that characterizes Mother Russia: Native land of long endurance,/ Thou land of the Russian people!" Tyutchev. In bed I read one short story every night, sometimes laughing as I fell asleep. Great reading!
November 27, 2014
The 19th-century Russians aren't generally known for their short stories, and I think that's reasonable. The stories weren't bad, but I think these authors play better in longform. The stories had a sameness that revolved around a structure like "Crazy thing X happened...let's go into some details...well, what do you know, sometimes these things happen! That's life here in 19th-century Russia."
The dual-language format is pretty cool, and I wonder why there aren't more books like this. It seems like a pretty good way to learn a language.
The dual-language format is pretty cool, and I wonder why there aren't more books like this. It seems like a pretty good way to learn a language.
March 27, 2013
This is a really great workbook. I used it to become more familiar with the Russian alphabet by just sitting with a written out copy of Cryllic I'd drawn up myself (symbol - letter - phonetic sound) and worked through a paragraph at a time. With progression in the language you can move from translating just from Cryllic to phonetic Russian and take the next step into English. Great investment for those serious about learning.
August 21, 2018
Beyond amazing! The Americans have nothing on the Russians. I think my favourite story was Bunin's Солнечный удар (Sunstroke). I've been told I romanticise Russia, but how could I not when they do it so well themselves?
January 19, 2013
This book is how I read Pushkin, in Russian, in Russia.
February 10, 2018
It's amazing that this first existed as a Bantam mass market paperback: Side-by-side pages in Russian and English for under $2.
These stories give you a broad selection of Russian short-fiction writers from the early 19th to almost mid 20th centuries. As I've found elsewhere, Dostoevsky was pretty bad at short stories, Gogol is a hoot, Chekov a quiet master. The Tolstoy story included seems hardly worth the bother. Besides these, you get a one-shot smattering from writers who might otherwise totally escape you. Did you know Zamyatin wrote anything besides the dystopian novel We? I didn't, but "The Cave" is a lovely bit of societal critique and depression.
I'm missing the intro pages in the mangled Bantam edition passed on to me, so I can't say which stories were translated by whom. A few are quite good, others pretty lead-footed, possibly to serve as literal translations for those who (unlike me) can read some Russian.
These stories give you a broad selection of Russian short-fiction writers from the early 19th to almost mid 20th centuries. As I've found elsewhere, Dostoevsky was pretty bad at short stories, Gogol is a hoot, Chekov a quiet master. The Tolstoy story included seems hardly worth the bother. Besides these, you get a one-shot smattering from writers who might otherwise totally escape you. Did you know Zamyatin wrote anything besides the dystopian novel We? I didn't, but "The Cave" is a lovely bit of societal critique and depression.
I'm missing the intro pages in the mangled Bantam edition passed on to me, so I can't say which stories were translated by whom. A few are quite good, others pretty lead-footed, possibly to serve as literal translations for those who (unlike me) can read some Russian.
July 26, 2018
On the one hand, an enjoyable selection of stories by Russian greats; on the other, many of these stories are overflowing with obsolete vocabulary contemporary students or non-natives won’t (and have little reason to) know.
January 17, 2024
A very good book, particularly in terms of indicating proper accent, expanding vocabulary and learning new idioms. Plus, short biographies of all the writers. Be prepared, the level is pretty high: upper moderate to advanced.
March 20, 2024
The masters of short stories at work. Favorites were In Bondage by Sologub and The Stationmaster by Pushkin. I’ve never read any Gogol before and was very surprised by The Nose. Definitely going to read more of his works.
April 14, 2021
I am searching for wonderful short Russian stories and I was not impressed by any of these really.
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September 6, 2023""
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
November 17, 2025
I read a short story from this collection of stories and Goodreads doesn't recognise it! So I had to name the whole book! I WILL reach my target of 50 books this year!
July 4, 2016
I read this book for the 2016 Back to the Classics challenge in the collected short stories category.
It is a dual-language book, the Russian on the left, the translation on the right. Twelve stories from twelve authors, many of them famous in their own right. I recommend this book to those who may be curious about the different authors and want to get an idea of their styles. I did not enjoy the Zemyatin story much, though it was plenty to think about; perhaps too much symbolists influence, and in it I did not recognize the author of We, a book that rightfully stands alongside Orwell's 1984 and Huxley's Brave New World.
The collection starts out very strong with Pushkin's 'The Stationmaster' and Gogol's comedic 'The Nose.' They alone are worth the whole collection. If you are not already familiar with Gogol, you will be in for a treat.
I have read a lot of Dostoevsky's writings, but the short story 'Bobok' was new to me. His main character relates that he may be going mad before relating to us the conversation he overheard in the cemetery. Fabulous satire and of the kind that is perhaps lighter for him and turns up mostly in his shorter works.
There are no weak stories at all in the collection. Of the authors that I had not read before I want to call out the Leskov story 'The Clothesmender' and Sologub's 'In Bondage.' The first is the tale of why a clothesmender has a French sign over his business. It involves pride and class and an insight into neighborhoods. His writing, in this translation, is really clear and fun even. Sologub's 'In Bondage' takes a child's perspective on his 'captivity' in his house. Class and age mix and surprising plans take shape to help free the captive. Really fun story.
Does not include Lermontov, Goncharov, or Saltykov-Shchedrin. The intro blurbs on the authors were brief and to the point - just what was needed to get oriented in the general time/place the stories were created in.
It is a dual-language book, the Russian on the left, the translation on the right. Twelve stories from twelve authors, many of them famous in their own right. I recommend this book to those who may be curious about the different authors and want to get an idea of their styles. I did not enjoy the Zemyatin story much, though it was plenty to think about; perhaps too much symbolists influence, and in it I did not recognize the author of We, a book that rightfully stands alongside Orwell's 1984 and Huxley's Brave New World.
The collection starts out very strong with Pushkin's 'The Stationmaster' and Gogol's comedic 'The Nose.' They alone are worth the whole collection. If you are not already familiar with Gogol, you will be in for a treat.
I have read a lot of Dostoevsky's writings, but the short story 'Bobok' was new to me. His main character relates that he may be going mad before relating to us the conversation he overheard in the cemetery. Fabulous satire and of the kind that is perhaps lighter for him and turns up mostly in his shorter works.
There are no weak stories at all in the collection. Of the authors that I had not read before I want to call out the Leskov story 'The Clothesmender' and Sologub's 'In Bondage.' The first is the tale of why a clothesmender has a French sign over his business. It involves pride and class and an insight into neighborhoods. His writing, in this translation, is really clear and fun even. Sologub's 'In Bondage' takes a child's perspective on his 'captivity' in his house. Class and age mix and surprising plans take shape to help free the captive. Really fun story.
Does not include Lermontov, Goncharov, or Saltykov-Shchedrin. The intro blurbs on the authors were brief and to the point - just what was needed to get oriented in the general time/place the stories were created in.
April 30, 2016
Gleb Struve has compiled quite an assortment of Russian literature in "Russian Stories - Русские рассказы" - A Dual Language Book. Anyone who is sincere about exploring Russian history and language will enjoy hours and hours of side by side Russian - English. Readers - beware the idiosyncrasies of returning to single language books!
Thank You to Dover Publications!
Глеб Струве составил целый ассортимент русской литературы в "русских Истории - Russian Stories" - Двойственную Язык Книги. Тот, кто искренне изучает русскую историю и язык будут наслаждаться часами бок о бок русский - английский. Читатели - остерегайтесь идеосинкразий вернуться к книгам одного языка !
Спасибо "Dover Publications "
Thank You to Dover Publications!
Глеб Струве составил целый ассортимент русской литературы в "русских Истории - Russian Stories" - Двойственную Язык Книги. Тот, кто искренне изучает русскую историю и язык будут наслаждаться часами бок о бок русский - английский. Читатели - остерегайтесь идеосинкразий вернуться к книгам одного языка !
Спасибо "Dover Publications "
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October 24, 2015how to read the book...m only able to add it shelvs
August 12, 2016
found this for super cheap in some weird bookstore. wld recommend.
3/5 for the stories and 5/5 for functionality I guess?? bc it's vvv useful if ur tryna learn Russian
3/5 for the stories and 5/5 for functionality I guess?? bc it's vvv useful if ur tryna learn Russian
July 9, 2023
slightly worried about russian authors
January 19, 2017
I dont think))
Displaying 1 - 26 of 26 reviews