alyoshka
Young Armadillo
Vous etes un chanteur des pommes.
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Post by alyoshka on May 29, 2011 18:48:07 GMT -5
I love Russian Literature. Who's your favorite author and what are your favorite Russian books?  |
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alyoshka
Young Armadillo
Vous etes un chanteur des pommes.
Posts: 94
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Post by alyoshka on May 29, 2011 20:08:39 GMT -5
I suppose, Russian literature is not as popular as I thought with English majors. :/
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Garth
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Stop that.
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Post by Garth on May 29, 2011 20:30:09 GMT -5
There are so many great examples of Russian writers and Russian literature. But in all, I'd say Russian literature is definitely under-appreciated and sometimes doesn't get the respect it deserves. Mind you, I should read a lot more of it. I've got a copy of The Brothers Karamazov that I will, one day, open up and read when I'm done with all of the other books I want to read.  |
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alyoshka
Young Armadillo
Vous etes un chanteur des pommes.
Posts: 94
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Post by alyoshka on May 29, 2011 20:33:33 GMT -5
What translation do you have for The Brothers Karamazov? I've read both the Richard Pevear / Larissa Volokhonsky and the Constance Garnett translation, and I prefer and highly suggest reading the former of the two. I love that book so much. |
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Post by cyanea on May 30, 2011 2:35:13 GMT -5
I haven't read much Russian literature, admittedly. I did read Gogol's "The Tale of How Ivan Ivanovich Quarreled with Ivan Nikiforovich" for my Comp Lit class though and loved it.
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Post by Olive on May 30, 2011 7:07:36 GMT -5
I'll finally be taking a Russian Lit course in the fall, so I'll get the exposure that I should have had long ago. I'm excited!
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jasper
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On. Say on. Be said on. Somehow on.
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Post by jasper on May 30, 2011 10:24:43 GMT -5
I love Russian Lit-- Dostoevsky, Chekov, and Gogol are all brilliant.
Dostoevsky has an incredible skill for being ethical without preachy-- it's impossible to read him without taking away something about how you should live, but that never detracts from it.
Gogol, meanwhile, is a dark and angry motherfucker and I love him for it.
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Post by Silva on May 30, 2011 20:18:09 GMT -5
I'm in the process of reading Anna Karenina and Crime and Punishment. I'm really liking Anna Karenina so far, even though I'm only 100 pages in. Crime and Punishment- the ending got ruined for me by someone who read it already. I was almost done with it, too.
I recently got a collection of Gogol's short stories that I'm going to read and I've got Turgenev to read too. I hope to focus in Russian Lit when I start my major (I'm not even in college yet).
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Post by Silva on May 30, 2011 20:21:01 GMT -5
ALSO I forgot The Master and Margarita by Mikhail Bulgakov. I absolutely loved it.
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Post by Obstacle 2 on May 30, 2011 21:57:30 GMT -5
I was actually having a discussion with a classmate of mine one time about the lack of Russian Literature that is taught as a part of my degree. And by a lack, I mean NONE. I've had to take the reading into my own hands. I am almost finished with Anna Karenina by Tolstoy. So far, so good. If anyone is looking for a great compilation of Russian short stories, I highly recommend Russian Short Stories from Pushkin to Buida. (ISBN 0140448462). From this book I have been able to branch out and explore other Russian novelists.
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alyoshka
Young Armadillo
Vous etes un chanteur des pommes.
Posts: 94
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Post by alyoshka on May 31, 2011 4:28:19 GMT -5
I'm in the process of reading Anna Karenina and Crime and Punishment. I'm really liking Anna Karenina so far, even though I'm only 100 pages in. Crime and Punishment- the ending got ruined for me by someone who read it already. I was almost done with it, too. I recently got a collection of Gogol's short stories that I'm going to read and I've got Turgenev to read too. I hope to focus in Russian Lit when I start my major (I'm not even in college yet). well, i don't mind spoilers, to be honest, because i find enjoyment either way by the journey to the end, even if it's expected. I pretty much knew the ending of Crime and Punishment by the title anyways. Anna Karenin is beautiful. What fascinated me the most was Tolstoy’s technique of illustrating spiritual and emotional development within his characters and the way he utilized metaphors and other literary devices to convey an ethical message, which strengthened several underlying moral themes in the book. Anna Karenin's ending was just as predictable though, but knowing that does not take away the beauty of it.  I loved The Master and Margarita, as well, but sadly, I have not read it in a couple of years. Wolland! <3 |
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Post by betonblack91 on May 31, 2011 8:50:12 GMT -5
I am at university here in the UK and they only allow us to read English or American Literature, which is annoying as i wanted to focus on Russian Literature for the last year of my degree. I have just finished Roadside Picnic by Arkady and Boris Strugatsky. I love this novella so much and it's so easy to read!
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Post by Josefine on May 31, 2011 9:06:35 GMT -5
I'm studying Comparative Literature as one-subject major, but my focus is still on English, French & German Lit.
Still, the Russians fascinate me & I definitely do plan to read more of them. When I was around 14 I was madly in love with Audrey Hepburn and all her movies... One of them happened to be War & Peace and so I decided I wanted to read that. Which I did. I have to confess I skipped over a big part of the war-talk, but who can blame a teenager for doing that?
Afterwards I went on to Anna Karenina. It took me two attempts (and I think I forgot the book somewhere, too) but when I did get into it I loved it a lot. I keep meaning to re-read it, but somehow I never seem to have the focus and peace of mind to actually get involved in a thick book like that again. I have the two film versions (one Garbo and one Vivien Leigh) sitting on my hard drive, but I haven't even been in the mood to watch them and I feel so bad because of it.
I definitely want to give Checkov's plays (I already have a book with three of them) and maybe Dostoyevski a try. Eventually!
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alyoshka
Young Armadillo
Vous etes un chanteur des pommes.
Posts: 94
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Post by alyoshka on May 31, 2011 16:01:49 GMT -5
I'm studying Comparative Literature as one-subject major, but my focus is still on English, French & German Lit. Still, the Russians fascinate me & I definitely do plan to read more of them. When I was around 14 I was madly in love with Audrey Hepburn and all her movies... One of them happened to be War & Peace and so I decided I wanted to read that. Which I did. I have to confess I skipped over a big part of the war-talk, but who can blame a teenager for doing that? Afterwards I went on to Anna Karenina. It took me two attempts (and I think I forgot the book somewhere, too) but when I did get into it I loved it a lot. I keep meaning to re-read it, but somehow I never seem to have the focus and peace of mind to actually get involved in a thick book like that again. I have the two film versions (one Garbo and one Vivien Leigh) sitting on my hard drive, but I haven't even been in the mood to watch them and I feel so bad because of it. I definitely want to give Checkov's plays (I already have a book with three of them) and maybe Dostoyevski a try. Eventually! If you haven't read War and Peace since 14, i would suggest reading it now because of how much more meaningful it will be to you, as an adult. I read The Picture of Dorian Gray when I was 10 years old and knowing I didn't understand it to closest to its fullest potential, I read it again as an adult and came to the realization how much I did not understand due to my age. |
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Post by Josefine on May 31, 2011 16:43:00 GMT -5
If you haven't read War and Peace since 14, i would suggest reading it now because of how much more meaningful it will be to you, as an adult. I read The Picture of Dorian Gray when I was 10 years old and knowing I didn't understand it to closest to its fullest potential, I read it again as an adult and came to the realization how much I did not understand due to my age. Oh yeah, re-reading them is somewhere on my to do list... Especially Anna Karenina, like I said! I will get to it eventually. But lately my head is just so full of things I can hardly concentrate on longer books in general, if they're not explicitly for university. I wish I could just drain my head to find the peace of mind to read that I used to have... |
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