The Simpleton

by Aleksey Pisemsky, Ivy Litvinov (Translator)

Paperback. Classics of Russian Literature. Covers are a little age-worn/faded and scuffed. Edges, corners and spine ends are worn and slightly bumped. Spine is sunned and creased. Page block is slightly marked and tanned. Contents are sound, clean, clear. BW

223 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1850

About the author

Pisemsky was a Russian novelist and dramatist who was regarded as an equal of Ivan Turgenev and Fyodor Dostoyevsky in the late 1850s, but whose reputation suffered a spectacular decline after his fall-out with Sovremennik magazine in the early 1860s. A realistic playwright, along with Aleksandr Ostrovsky he was responsible for the first dramatization of ordinary people in the history of Russian theatre. Pisemsky's great narrative gift and exceptionally strong grip on reality make him one of the best Russian novelists.

Pisemsky's first novel Boyarschina 1847 was originally forbidden for its unflattering description of the Russian nobility. His principal novels are The Simpleton (1850), One Thousand Souls (1858), which is considered his best work of the kind, and Troubled Seas, which gives a picture of the excited state of Russian society around the year 1862. He also wrote plays, including A Bitter Fate (also translated as "A Hard Lot"), which depicts the dark side of the Russian peasantry. The play has been called the first Russian realistic tragedy; it won the Uvarov Prize of the Russian Academy.

Reviews

[Henry Fowler · Rating 3 out of 5]

A striking example of Russian realist literature by Alexei Pisemsky, a lesser-known but significant contemporary of Dostoevsky and Turgenev. The novel offers a powerful and unflinching portrayal of provincial Russian society in the 19th century.

[jimmy rostova · Rating 5 out of 5]

reading and becoming obsessed with books no normal ruslit enjoyer could even conceive of.

[LA · Rating 3 out of 5]

An interesting read. Worth the time spent.

[Dmitry Demidov · Rating 4 out of 5]

Отличная книга! Открыл для себя Писемского. Вообще с каждой такой книгой все больше убеждаюсь, что достаточно читать русскую классику и больше никаких книг не нужно. Разве что стихи еще.

Сюжет довольно прост, но прелесть книги не в сюжете. Она в том, насколько живо выписаны герои, насколько глубоко погружаешься в повествование и переживаешь, возмущаешься, сочувствуешь.
Это и есть настоящая классика.