Discovering Russian Literature discussion
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Introduce Yourself : New Chapter
Hi Everyone, this is a good group, glad to find it. I think Russian Literature is the best in the world -when you think of soul and humanity, nothing can touch it.
Hello there. This is the only literature group that I have chosen and it's all because of Lev Tolstoj. The first "big book" that I have readed was written by him. (Anna Karenina). Since that, I have read absolutely everything that was sittint under the name of Lev Tolstoj. I'm studying in a class that has to read lots of books. And, both, me and my teacher think that Russian Literature is the most profound and ample literature on earth. Have great hopes for Dostoevski Fiordor.
Hi. I live in NYC and started reading War and Peace with a group. A lot of the members are not on Goodreads, so I am so happy that I found this group. We plan to read other Russian classics when we finish. Between the demands of work, family, love, etc - we are going at a slow pace (avg 5 pages/day). Even though I am way behind, I look forward to discussing it here. I am also reading Anna Karenina. Take care, jen
Hello my name is Kenny. I'm from the Washington, D.C. area though I am not there now. I am in college now. I guess I will explain how I got into Russian literature. Funny enough the book that got me to Russian lit (as well as making me love literature in itself) was not Russian at all.
I read Ralph Ellison's magnum opus Invisible Man in the 8th grade and was annihilated by it. To this day it is my favorite novel and I do not know how my life or very identity would be without it. After this I wanted to know everything about this book, the author, and how it was made. So when I heard that the inspiration for the protagonist (in some respects) was the title character of Dostoevsky's Notes from Underground (especially in the prologue & epilogue) I knew I had to seek this book out. The rest is history.
Since then I have read the works of 3 Russian writers (Dostoevsky, Tolstoy, and Chekhov) and Have seen two film adaptations of Maxim Gorkey's The Lower Depths.
My favorite author by far right now is Dostoevsky. I also like Tolstoy as my second favorite and Chekhov third although I am not as versed in these two as I want. I hope that changes and that is part of why I joined.
I may repose this question in a more proper thread but I have a question:
A few months ago I had just started reading The Brothers Karamazov and was really enjoying it. Than on the advice of a few people I stopped reading it and started Crime And Punishment. I am glad I did that nut now I have a bit of a conundrum; I also have Chekhov's 5The Major Plays as well and been wanting to read it. Any advice?
Hello and welcome, Jen and Kenny! :)That's very interesting about Invisible Man, Kenny. I'm about to read that myself. I love Dostoevsky.
I'm not sure what advice you're looking for (and you might have already made your decision by now), but I would highly recommend finishing Crime and Punishment. It's by far my favourite Russian novel so far. You could always read a Chekhov play here and there as you read the novels, since they aren't very long. Don't leave it too long to get back to The Brothers Karamazov, though!
Thank you I have already finished C&P and am now reading 'Brothers'. I really hope you enjoy Invisible Man, it still very much resonates with me.
Hello)) I am Daria! I am Russian so it's no wonder I have a long history of being keen on Russian literature) I long to discuss Russian books here! I have my own bookclub and we held our last meeting on Anna Karenina, so I found your discussions of Karenina very interesting!
Привет! Filzah here. I am a Russian Language and Literature major in my university - a bit of a Russophile :) Also trying to master Russian fluently before I graduate. So no surprise then why I'm here!I've been mostly concentrating on 19th century Romantic and realist prose, but last semester I finally tread into the realm of Soviet literature - had a marvellous prof too, and I've gained a whole new level of appreciation for the 20th century prose and poetry. And I will be focusing on post-Stalinist lit in this coming school year.
Ahhh where do I start about my love for Russian lit?? I've always been a huge lit nerd, but I think it was some years ago when I was 15 that I picked up my first Russian work - Pushkin's Onegin. I fell in love with it immediately. That's when I began searching for more Russian authors.
One major glitch though is finding a bloody good translation from the original. I usually just go to the library to get a copy - but for my personal bookshelf, mehhhh it's kinda disappointing going to the bookstore as they usually do not offer a wide selection of Russian lit apart from the usual Tolstoy, Dostoevsky and Chekhovian stuff.
There are so many wonderful authors in the Russian lit canon apart from the usual ones familiar among Western audiences. So if anyone wants any suggestions on who and what to read - do not hesitate to ask! I also look forward to any recommendations and discussions here :D
Cheers!
Am I your first Russian historian? I specialize in the 16th century, although not under this name. This is a pen name I use to write a series of novels on Russian history, the first of which is due out next month. The series is set during the childhood of Ivan the Terrible.As a result, I have read almost everything surviving from before 1700 and a scattered selection of later works. Love Pushkin, Lermontov, Gogol, Leo Tolstoy, and Chekhov, as well as Doctor Zhivago, Master and Margarita, and poetry of the 19th and 20th centuries. Dostoevsky not so much (sorry, Dostoevsky fans).
I can probably help with name and context questions. I read Russian and Church Slavic, although the latter is pretty rusty by now.
Nice to meet you all.
Hello and welcome Filzah and C.P ! We would love to see both of you in our monthy reading discussions, you two can probably shed some light on things we might do not understand.
Make sure you cast your votes as well the polls are still open :)
Make sure you cast your votes as well the polls are still open :)
Welcome, Filzah and C.P.! Sorry, Filzah, I missed your post until now! It certainly does sound as though we'll be picking both of your brains in the discussion threads. :)
Hi everybody,Im from Turkey. I have big sympathy for russian literature so I am happy for being here. Russian literature is maybe the biggest reason of my book love :)
Hello everyone. I'm Indra from Panama, but living in São Paulo, Brazil, for more than 20 years. As the rest of the group, I love Russian literature, Dostoyevsky is my favorite. Notes from the Underground blew my mind. Also love Chekhov's short stories. I currently run a Book Club in São Paulo, trying to help people discover the wonderful world of books, and getting to know new authors with the members. It's been a wonderful experience! My love for books started as a young child, with fairy tales, then went to writing letters to pen pals and reading all the letters, then grew to literature itself. Love Virginia Woolf, Saramago, Bradbury...and many others. Glad to be here, sharing readings with you!
Welcome, Indra! That sounds like an amazing book club. :)
I'm also a huge fan of Russian literature. I tookfour courses in Russlit when I was at university. One
of my favourite courses was on Soviet Lit, this was in the 80's and the Professor was really anti-Soviet
so he told us lots of funny stories about the hypocracy of the regime. IT was a great survey course of Russian lit. Now I'm reading Pushkin again. Can
someone explain to me how the next group read is chosen and when it will be announced?
Welcome, Alans! Pushkin is wonderful. :)We just had a poll to vote for what we'll be reading in September. I'm not sure what book won, but I'm sure the mods will announce it soon.
Hi my name is Katie, I live in the US, love classics that are foriegn and at home. Russian books of literature are my favorites. I'm currently reading the works of Victor Hugo, soon also War in Peace.
Hi Katie & welcome! I saw your comment in the "War and Peace" reading plans thread. Enjoy Hugo and join us in War and Peace :)
Hi. I'm Neale, in Western Australia. My introduction to Russian literature: I was involved in a production of Turgenev's play 'A Month in the Country'. My big mouth fooled everyone into thinking that I was an expert on Russian literature - I wasn't, not even slightly - and I was asked to give a talk at the launch party. So I had to do some quick research. It paid off. I became enamoured of Turgenev's delicacy and disillusion, and read everything of his that I could find. This led me to the other classics - in particular to 'Oblomov', which I love dearly. Reading it is like putting on a familiar, warm, enveloping dressing-gown...
I subsequently developed a fascination with the Soviet era, and spent years collecting old Soviet translations from second-hand bookshops. The writers who mean the most to me are not so much the well-known dissidents and emigres as the writers who remained within the system, doing their best to retain their integrity in vicious circumstances. I find the works and lives of these writers deeply moving.
Hi I'm Mark and I'm a Maltese teenager currently studying law at the university. Even though I'm pressed for time what with reading all the legal material, I just could not let go of literature in general. So why not try my hand at reading some of the Russian authors? I must confess I haven't read much Russian literature but I joined the group because I'm willing to learn from people who have experience with the books. One of my favourite authors is Solzhenitsyn.
Hello to everyone. I'm a new author here. The Russian lit. bug got me years ago in high school, when I decided that it would be a fun idea to tackle War and Peace. The Russians have been an influential force in my life ever since. Loved War and Peace, and I'm trying to get through Anna Karenina before the Stoppard film comes out this December.
Other favorites include Dostoyevsky and Bulgakov.
New here as well. My name is Vince. Big fan of Bulgakov and Dostoevsky. My primary interest is in the Silver Age writers (Akhmatova, Mandelstam, Mayakovsky, Brik, Tsvetaeva, Shklovsky).
Hi, I'm Lauren! I'm from Massachusetts, and I'm a first year in college. I'm an aspiring author, and I absolutely love Russian literature! Dostoyevsky is my favorite novelist of all time, and I can't wait to meet other people of similar interests in this group :)
Welcome Lauren! You've come to the right place. Make sure you check the nomination thread and the polls for the next reading.
Hi everyone!I'm Michelle and I'm an American living in Shanghai. When I was in high school I fell in love with "Crime and Punishment" and "War and Peace", these two along with "The Idiot" have to be my absolute favorites, although I was quite taken in by "The Master and Margarita" as well. I'm hoping to find where I should head next and have some interesting discussions!
I have degrees in Near Eastern languages, but I'm fond of literature from all over of the world, and enjoy Russian lit above all. I've just recently started tackling Russian literature in Russian, which is challenging for me now, but enjoyable. Can anyone tell me what happened to conradish.net It was about the best literature internet site that I've ever seen and it just disappeared without a trace.
Hi everyone my name is Galina Briskin. I was born in Moscow, Russia. I graduated from the Institute of Foreign Languages and worked as an Intourist guide from 1956 to 1964. For 14 years after that, I was an editor - first at APN Publishing house and then later at Meditsina. My work as an interpreter piqued my fascination with freedom and life in America. I immigrated to the United States with my husband, medical doctor and a scientist, who was invited to work at the Salk Institute, and their two daughters. In a few years I became a successful real estate broker and opened my own company. After my husband's death I remarried. I live in La Jolla, Southern California. My two daughters received good education, are professionally successful and happy with their families. I have five grandchildren born in America. One of them is already a medical doctor, like his grandfather.
If you can read Russian, please read my book "Optimistka".
http://www.amazon.com/Pomah-Russian-E...
Hi this is Rahul and have fallen in love with Russian literature- particularly Fyodor Dostoyevsky, a writing GOD :DI have read The Idiot, Notes from Underground, The House of the Dead, Crime and Punishment and will start The Brothers Karamazov shortly. Am in a doubt as to which translation I should follow.
Have read some of Anton Chekhov's stories which were lovely. Also read Anna Karenina although "War and Peace" still lies incomplete since many years.
Recently bought Ivan Turgenev's "Father and Son". Looking forward to getting recommendations from you all.
Hello, I'm an Architect living in Raleigh, NC. I've been working through Solzhenitsyn's "Gulag". Reading has been this astounding mix of emotions that's getting too much for me to deal with alone. And, of course, it's hard to say to a colleague, "Hey, you should check out this great book I'm reading, it's about prison camps in Russia, but it's really funny!"
Anyway, looking forward to good conversation online! Stop by for coffee next time you're in NC!
Hi everyone, I'm Beck! I'm 21, french, can't read russian but love the litterature! I haven't read much of the classics yet but I'm hoping to get there and discover new authors in 2013! My fave author is Soljenitsyne (sorry for the french spelling) and I'm currently studying Gogol for one of my classes at college. See ya!
Privet! I became so enthralled after seeing the film 'Dr Zhivago' that I went off to learn the language so that I could read it in the original. That led to a degree and finally a PhD in Russian literature. Great big baggy monsters they might be (according to Henry James) but the works of the great masters are unsurpassed IMHO - even by Sir Walter Scott dare I say!
My name is Caleb and I'm from Australia. I can't read Russian, but I've developed an attachment to Russian authors and works.It all started in High School when I read Crime and Punishment. I enjoyed it then, but I think over the years, I've managed to romanticise the experience and I started seeing out more Russian works.
At this point I haven't read much to be honest. Along with Crime and Punishment, I've read:
The Master and Margarita
We
The Eternal Husband
...and some modern works from Sergei Lukyanenko.
In 2013 I have the following on my TBR list:
The Brothers Karamazov
Roadside Picnic
So the Russian journey continues.
I decided to join this group so I could have a resource of Russian literature - hopefully modern as well as classic. Having this contact might help inform my future exploration.
My name is Elizabeth and I'm 24 years old. I've had an interest in Russian literature since I first read Crime and Punishment in high school. During college, I took a Russian history class and was exposed to more Russian literature. I enjoy Tolstoy, Dostoevsky, Nabakov, and many more. Right now, I'm reading a parody of Anna Karenina called Android Karenina. I actually read Anna Karenina several years ago when I worked for Borders.Anyway, I have a Bachelor's degree in Psychology and currently work as a toddler teacher in a daycare. I am going back to school in August to obtain a teaching degree so that I may teach third grade. I live with my boyfriend of almost three years and our cat and rabbit.
I look forward to making new friends and taking part in book discussions.
-Elizabeth
Hello, my name is Rachel and I'm from the U.S.! I remember becoming fascinated with Russia when I was around 15, after reading a mystery novel based on the myth of the surviving Romanov heirs. I first attempted Russian literature my junior year of high school, when I started to read The Brothers Karamazov. I didn't get to finish the novel, but I fell in love with Dostoevsky's style. A couple of years later as a freshman in college, I took a class on the culture resulting from the Russian Revolution, and had a chance to read a few dystopian novels, although I wasn't a huge fan.I saw this group while exploring Goodreads, and I just had to join! Looking forward to the book discussions this year.
Hello everyone. I've been in this group for some time already but never posted anything yet... although have thought that it might be nice to do so.I really like Russian literature. Even if I live next to Russia, in Finland, its literature was fairly unknown to me until just few years ago. From the recommendation of an internet friend I read Gogol's Overcoat and was completely sold!
So far... my favourite Russian authors are probably Gogol and Turgenev. Little by little I'm trying to familiarise myself with as many classic Russian works as possible!
Privyet! My name is Kukushka and I'm from Spain. I've joined this group because I'm fascinated by Russian culture and literature. My favourite Russian writers are Dostoievski, Tolstoi, Gogol and Chejov. I hope to learn more about other authors. Regards!
Hello all! My name is Mark, I am native Russian and I want give you you some advice about "what to read next Russian authors". There are plenty authors from 20th: Pasternak ( doctor jivago) , Nabokov , Bunin, Soljenicin, shmelev. Please feel free to pm me, and I give you links to these books.
Hi. I'm Anne Marie. I'm a London-based translator of ... Russian literature! Which means it's important to keep reading and thinking about Russian literature. And Mark is right - there are plenty of great 20th century writers. At the moment I'm working on a great emigre writer, Teffi. Teffi is pretty much unknown in English translation, but I hope that will soon change.
Hi all. This reading group looks great. I'm a lawyer in New Zealand. My favourite novelist is Nabokov, but I also love Russian literature from the 19th century. I look forward to joining in.
Discovering Russian Literature
Books mentioned in this topic
Крокодил Гена и его друзья (other topics)A People's Tragedy: The Russian Revolution, 1891 - 1924 (other topics)
Ten Days that Shook the World (other topics)
Hadji Murat (other topics)
Life and Fate (other topics)
More...
Authors mentioned in this topic
Maxim Gorky (other topics)Nina Sadur (other topics)
Sergei Lukyanenko (other topics)
Leo Tolstoy (other topics)
Fyodor Dostoevsky (other topics)
More...
http://manybooks.net/titles/tolstoyle...
@Dely, I remember mentioning this earlier and you had suggested that I search at Amazon. I remember :)