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/lit/ - Literature

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1606813 No.1606813 [Reply] [Original]

Anyone want to talk about Russian lit?

Tolstoy, Gogol, Dostoevsky, Chekhov, Bulgakov, Pushkin, whatever.

Are you reading any Russian lit? If so what? Who do you prefer for translators? Whatever else you want to talk about I don't care

Если хочешь мы можем говорить по-русский

>> No.1606837

JUST BEFORE I WENT TO BED, WON'T BE ABLE TO PARTAKE IN DISCUSSION UNTIL A GOOD 20 ODD HOURS, AS I'M AT UNI ALL DAY TOMORROW.

LIST OF RUSSIAN STUFF I'VE READ:

GROSSMAN, VASILLY:
LIFE AND FATE
EVERYTHING FLOWS
THE ROAD

ZAMYATIN, YEVGENY:
WE

TURGENEV, IVAN
SPRING TORRENTS
FATHERS AND SONS
SMOKE
RUDIN
MUMU
ASYA
DIARY OF A SUPERFLUOUS MAN

TOLSTOY, LEO
ANNA KARENINA
THE COSSACKS
THE DEATH OF IVAN ILYCH
A CONFESSION
MASTER AND MAN
WHERE LOVE IS, THERE GOD IS ALSO
HOW MUCH LAND DOES A MAN NEED?
HADJI MURAD
THE KREUTZER SONATA
CHILDHOOD, BOYHOOD, YOUTH
WAR AND PEACE
THE DEVIL
THE CANDLE
WHAT MEN LIVE BY
GOD SEES THE TRUTH BUT WAITS
THE PRISONER IN THE CAUCASUS
THE POWER OF DARKNESS
POLIKUSHKA
STRIDER: THE STORY OF A HORSE
A LOST OPPORTUNITY
IVAN THE FOOL
FAMILY HAPPINESS

>> No.1606836

I recently finished reading The House of the Dead by Dostoevsky. A different approach to writing compared to C&P, but I deeply enjoyed it. Near the end of the book I was not expecting to be emotionally shaken, but that last line just broke my heart.

Freedom, new life, resurrection from the dead....What a glorious moment!

Anyways, reading Poor Folk by Dostoevsky right now. I'm about to binge through a large amount of his smaller works.

>> No.1606848

SOLZHENITSYN, ALEKSANDR:
ONE DAY IN THE LIFE OF IVAN DENISOVICH
CANCER WARD

RAND, AYN:
ANTHEM

PUSHKIN, ALEXANDER:
EUGENE ONEGIN
THE QUEEN OF SPADES
THE CAPTAIN'S DAUGHTER

OLESHA, YURY:
ENVY
THE THREE FAT MEN

LERMONTOV, MIKHAIL:
A HERO OF OUR TIME

GOGOL, NIKOLAI:
DEAD SOULS
TARAS BULBA
THE MYSTERIOUS PORTRAIT
OLD-FASHIONED FARMERS
ST. JOHNS EVE
THE DIARY OF A MADMEN AND OTHER STORIES

GLUKHOVSKY, DMITRY:
METRO 2033

ILYA, ILF:
THE TWELVE CHAIRS

DOSTOEVSKY, FYODOR:
THE ETERNAL HUSBAND
DEMONS
CRIME AND PUNISHMENT
THE GAMBLER
NOTES FROM UNDERGROUND
HOUSE OF THE DEAD
NETOCHKA NEZVANOVA
THE GRAND INQUISITOR
POOR FOLK
THE DOUBLE
THE DREAM OF A RIDICULOUS MAN
WHITE NIGHTS
THE CHRISTMAS TREE AND THE WEDDING, AND BOBOK
THE GENTLE SPIRIT: A FANTASTIC STORY
A DISGRACEFUL AFFAIR

>> No.1606854

Capslock Guy..... that is an impressive list

>> No.1606856

CHEKHOV, ANTON:
THE BLACK MONK
WARD NUMBER 6
THE DUEL AND OTHER STORIES
UNCLE VANYA
MY LIFE
THE KISS
THREE YEARS
THE LADY WITH THE DOG
A DAY IN THE COUNTRY

BULGAKOV, MIKHAIL:
THE FATAL EGGS
HEART OF A DOG
THE MASTER AND MARGARITA

BABEL, ISAAC:
RED CAVALRY AND OTHER STORIES

ANDREYEV, LEONID:
THE RED LAUGH
SEVEN WHO WERE HANGED
LAZARUS
ON THE DAY OF THE CRUCIFIXION
LOVE, FAITH, AND HOPE


I AM AWARE THERE'S STILL PLENTY MORE FOR ME TO READ, BUT I HOPE MY LIST SERVES SOME PURPOSE AND PEOPLE FIND SOME THINGS TO READ NOT OFTEN DISCUSSED ON /LIT/. THESE DAYS I AM STARTING TO DEVIATE AWAY FROM RUSSIAN STUFF (NOT TOTALLY THOUGH, OF COURSE).

>> No.1606862
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1606862

>>1606837
>RUSSIAN STUFF
>RAND, AYN: ANTHEM
captcha: ariews brag

>> No.1606864

I DELIBERATELY LEFT OUT LOLITA BECAUSE I WANTED TO, I DON'T WANT ANY NABOKOV ON MY BEAUTIFUL RUSSIAN SHELF ON MY GOODREADS.

>> No.1606872

>>1606862
NOT LIKE SHE WAS BORN IN ST. PETERSBURG OR ANYTHING LIKE THAT.

HERPA DERPA.

ON MY CURRENTLY READING LIST ON GOODREADS, I HAVE THE FOLLOWING

TOLSTOY:
FATHER SERGIUS
THE FORGED COUPON

BULGAKOV:
THE WHITE GUARD

DOSTOEVSKY:
THE BROTHERS KARAMAZOV

TURGENEV:
ON THE EVE

SO NEXT TIME I THREAD LIKE THIS IS MADE, I CAN ADD THOSE AND PROBABLY EVEN MORE!

>> No.1606873

>>1606836

House of the Dead I feel is one of Dostoevsky's most ignored work. Why I have no idea? It really gives you a glimpse into what Dostoevsky's time and experience in Siberia was. Many of the protagonists feelings and experiences are ones Dostoevsky himself had. After reading it I felt I had a better understanding of all of his work and of his life.

Poor Folk is awesome. I've read it in both the English and the Russian and the big difference between the two is the way they address each other is lost. They also call each other these long over the top names like глубчик мой, радная моя. Roughly translates to my dear and my joy but it lacks the dramatic note in the English. Also the always address each other with the formal you вы.

>> No.1606881

>>1606854
Capsguy is crazy, he's read over 50 books in 2011.

>> No.1606885

>>1606872
If you associate that book with Russian literature, you're stupider than I thought you were.

HURR DURR MUCH?

>> No.1606886

>>1606873
DO YOU THINK IT'S BECAUSE THERE IS ALREADY SO MUCH OTHER RUSSIAN LITERATURE HIGHLIGHTED ABOUT FORCED LABOR CAMPS AND BANISHMENTS?

KOLYMA TALES
SOLZHENITSYN
GROSSMAN

PLUS PLENTY MORE.

PEOPLE IN GENERAL TEND TO ONLY FOCUS ON THE 'BEST' AS WELL, WHICH IS SILLY, WHEN IT'S QUITE SUBJECTIVE AND IT'S NOT WORTH IGNORING EVERYTHING ELSE JUST TO READ ONE'S MAGNUS OPUS, OR A SELECT HANDFUL.

>> No.1606890

>>1606881
What? Has he managed to even retain that information.

>> No.1606895

>>1606885
SO IT'S ENGLISH LITERATURE BECAUSE IT WAS FIRST PUBLISHED IN ENGLAND, EVEN THOUGH IT IS CRITIQUING RUSSIAN COMMUNISM BY AN AUTHOR WHO WAS BORN IN RUSSIA?

HERPA DE JERKA.

>> No.1606897

>>1606873
Thank you, I definitely believe I'll be enjoying Poor Folk. It shall be interesting to read a work by Dostoevsky that was written before his time in Siberia.

>> No.1606900

caps guy if you read so much Russian lit have you tried learning any Russian?

>> No.1606910

>>1606890
IT'S 60 BOOKS, AND YES, I HAVE. CURRENTLY READING MOBY DICK, WHY DO SO MANY PEOPLE ON /LIT/ HATE IT? SURE IT HAS A LOT OF PASSAGES ABOUT THE HISTORY AND TECHNICALITIES OF WHALING, BUT THE CHAPTERS ARE SO SHORT IN THE BOOK AND THE PROSE ITSELF IS NOT THAT DENSE THAT IT MAKES FOR A VERY QUICK READ.

IT'S NOT THAT HARD IF YOU THINK ABOUT IT, READING 200 PAGES PER DAY IS NOT THAT DIFFICULT WHEN YOU ARE ON PUBLIC TRANSPORT AND WALKING TO WORK, UNI AND SUCH FOR A GOOD 2 HOURS OR SO. THEN YOU HAVE BREAKS AND WHATEVER SPARE TIME YOU HAVE LEFT.

I GO TO UNI TWO DAYS A WEEK, AND TOMORROW I START AT 2PM, FINISH AT 9, TUESDAY I GO 10-5:30, BUT ONLY HAVE 3 AND A HALF HOURS OF CLASS, AND ON WEDNESDAYS I WORK 1-11.

PLENTY OF SPARE TIME, AND THAT WAS WITH ME STARTING UNIVERSITY BACK LAST WEEK. WHEN I WAS IN JAPAN UNTIL FEBRUARY 14, EVERY DAY WHEN I WOKE UP (LATE MORNING) I'D HAVE A FEW HOURS TO KILL BEFORE I GO OUT DRINKING FOR THE NIGHT (STARTED AT 4PM, AND IT WAS NORMALLY DEAD THEN, SO I'D READ THERE TOO).

>> No.1606919

>>1606900
I'M HORRIBLE WITH LANGUAGES. LIKE I SAID, I'M STARTING TO SIGNIFICANTLY VEER AWAY FROM RUSSIAN WORKS, AND AFTER I COMPLETE THIS '200 BOOKS IN ONE YEAR WITHOUT READING ANY WORKS WRITTEN PRIOR TO THE END OF WORLD WAR TWO OR BY WOMEN' (SOME EXCLUSIONS APPLY, BUT NOT ABOUT THE WOMEN PART, I ALLOWED MYSELF TO READ MORE GROSSMAN, BUT I'M GOING TO GO WELL OVER 200 ANYWAY AT THIS RATE) I'LL BE ABLE TO READ A GREATER DIVERSITY OF WORKS. I'LL PROBABLY HIT JAPAN NEXT THOUGH, SINCE I'M GOING TO GO THERE FOR ANOTHER THREE MONTHS AND THEY HAVE AN EXTENSIVE RANGE OF TRANSLATED WORKS AVAILABLE THAT I CAN PICK UP FOR FREE USING MY FRIEND'S LIBRARY CARD.

>> No.1606923

I'M OFF TO BED NOW, OP, I'M SORRY I DEVIATED YOUR THREAD'S DISCUSSION SOMEWHAT. I HOPE IT RETURNS TO WHERE IT SHOULD BE.

>> No.1606954

>>1606895
short answer: yes
(omg, you're hopeless)

>> No.1606973

Most of the Russian lit I've read has been during the Empire (Gogol, Dostoevsky, Tolstoy, the "classics") and I've read a little of Soviet era lit (Solaris, School for Fools by Sokolov, and some short stories of Iskander.) Does anyone know any good post-soviet Russian lit?

>> No.1606974

>>1606864
you read his russian stuff instead of american?

>> No.1606977

>>1606910
>>1606919
>>1606923
i think its time to turn off the caps, oprah winfrey

shit got old a while ago

>> No.1606978

What's your favorite writer, op?

>> No.1606979

>>1606974
What a dirty commie.

>> No.1606981

in general i think you should list a writer under the language they write in primarily. i would call rand and nabokov american authors...

>> No.1606986

>>1606954
OKAY, SO HEMINGWAY'S 'THE SUN ALSO RISES' IS FRENCH LITERATURE BECAUSE IT WAS WRITTEN IN FRANCE. THIS IS YOUR ARGUMENT GUYS, NOT MINE.

EVEN THE FUCKING CONCEPT OF 'ANTHEM' WAS FORMULATED AS SHE WAS STILL IN RUSSIA.

RUSSIAN AUTHOR COMING UP WITH AN IDEA IN THE USSR AND WRITES ABOUT THE USSR IN THE USA MAKES IT AMERICAN LITERATURE.

YES, THAT MAKES COMPLETE SENSE, I AM SORRY GUYS.

>> No.1606987

>>1606981
You mean English authors

>> No.1606991

Currently reading Crime and Punishment, which is my 2nd Dostoyevsky work after Notes from Underground.

Among other authors, I loved Petersburg by Andrei Bely, and Master and Margarita by Bulgakov. I think Tolstoy's The Cossacks went over my head.

>> No.1606993

>>1606978

OP here

My favorite writer is by far Dostoevsky. Not only for Russian writers but of all writers he is my favorite. For my philosophy dissertation in undergrad I wrote about the existential component in his works, focusing mostly on the Brothers. I've read all his major novels and most of his short stories. Right now I'm reading The Brothers for the first time in Russian and only have about a hundred pages left (read it twice in English.) Also I've been listening to Poor Folk on audio book in Russian. In case you couldn't tell I'm trying to teach myself Russian.

>> No.1606997

>>1606986
Do you see any difference between
>France - country
and
>french - language?

>> No.1607001

Just the sort of thread I was looking for. I'm trying to get into Russian lit beyond that of Dostoevsky and Tolstoy, anyone have any recommendations? I was thinking about Gogol or Chekov, but I don't know where to start with them.

>> No.1607003

Seriously can we stop this debate over whether Anthem by Ayn Rand is English lit or Russian lit it doesn't really matter. If you want to debate the merits or the philosophy of the book by all means go ahead.

>> No.1607004

>>1606987
they write in american english, not to mention lived there.

>> No.1607009

>>1607001

You should read the Overcoat by Chekhov, sometimes translated as the Greatcoat шуба. It is an essential component of Russian lit and its not very long. For Gogol try Diary of a Madman, Nevsky Prospect, or if you like plays The Govt Inspector. Also you might want to read The Bronze Horseman by Pushkin, one of his few works in prose.

>> No.1607013

>The Bronze Horseman by Pushkin

Not the guy you were responding to, but I probably should read that, seeing as it was referenced to so much in Petersburg.

>> No.1607020

>>1606986
>RUSSIAN AUTHOR COMING UP WITH AN IDEA IN THE USSR AND WRITES ABOUT THE USSR IN THE USA MAKES IT AMERICAN LITERATURE.
I hate to support a fontfag, but if this were how it worked, Ulysses would be French or Swiss or something.

>> No.1607025

>>1607013

The Bronze Horseman is a must for anyone who wants to get into Russian Lit. It's part historical account of how the Neva flooded the city in 1824 only it is seen through the eyes of someone who goes mad in the resulting chaos.

>> No.1607031

I have the P&V translation of Dead Souls waiting to be read.

>> No.1607074

>>1607031

That's a great book. Very dark humor but simply amazing

>> No.1607078

>>1607020
>FICTIONAL BOOK WITH ALLUSIONS TO THE RUSSIAN COMMUNISM MAKES IT A RUSSIAN BOOK.
It's simple: the book was published in English, so it's an English (language) book. All other arguments doesn't count. Go change some encyclopedia entries if you think otherwise.

>> No.1607087

>>1606986
Capsguy confirmed for being an absolute moron.

>> No.1607126

I've found that the English translation of the Brothers hides the sarcasm of Ivan. In the original Russian he is extremely sarcastic and mean especially to Smerdyakov.

>> No.1607158

>>1607004
>implying Humbert Humbert wrote in American English

>> No.1607176

>>1607078
thank you.

>>1607126
I remember him being mean and sarcastic in the P&V translation i read.

>>1607158
Nabokoc used British spellings in Lolita? That's pretty awesome. still doesnt account for the rest of his stuff.

>> No.1607218

>>1607009

I think I've read that, except my translation was called The Cape I think. About a poor reclusive guy who buys a new cape/overcoat and gets it stolen yeah?

>> No.1607241

>>1606813
DAT MATRYOSHKA

>> No.1607257

>>1607218

Yes that is the same book he gets it stolen and dies and then haunts people looking for his coat

The Cape is a very poor translation of the Russian word шуба. It is a big heavy winter coat usually made from fur.

>> No.1607262

>DAT MATRYOSHKA

I'm confused do you mean матюшка? Either way I'm not sure what you mean.

>> No.1607265

>>1607257

Yes, that's the one. A really sad story. It was in a collection of Russian Short Stories I had, probably why the translation isn't so great.

>> No.1607266

>>1607176

That is why they are better translators. The English version I read was translated by Garnett who tends to dull everything down.

>> No.1607271

Это тред нужно много по-русский. хе-хе-хе

>> No.1607301

I haven't read very much Russian literature at all:

Heart of a Dog by Mikhail Bulgakov
First Love by Ivan Turgenev
Spring Torrents by Ivan Turgenev
The Death of Ivan Ilyich by Leo Tolstoy

But those four that I've read I really enjoyed.

>> No.1607316
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1607316

>>1607266
I have heard a lot of critique about Garnett being old-fashioned and flat.

I read "Crime and Punishment" as translated by Sidney Monas. Raskolnikov seemed quite spastic--I kept thinking of the old SNL skit where Mike Meyers is a kid with a helmet who must be tethered to some fixed object or other.

I'd love to read it again with P&V, but I'm too poor to buy multiple copies of books like that.

>> No.1607326

I just love Bulgakov's work... And Solšenitzõn also.

by the way, you made a grammatical error, OP.

>> No.1607327

Currently reading "Oblomov" by Ivan Goncharov. It is about a man to lazy to live. I like it so far (only 6 chapters in), and I hope it makes me less passive.

>> No.1607369

>>1607001

Moscow to the End of the Line, Venedikt Erofeev

>> No.1607375

>>1607327

I liked the part where he at last gets his lazy Slavic ass out of bed.

>> No.1607387

Is Lolita a hard read for someone with English as his second language?

>> No.1607629

>>1607387

Really depends on how good your English is. If you can read English at a High School Level you should be fine.

>> No.1608312

I DON'T SPLIT MY READINGS BY LANGUAGE, BUT DO IT BY REGION/COUNTRY

LIKE SAYING "IT'S TIME FOR SOME AMERICAN LITERATURE"

ACCORDING TO YOU GUYS THOUGH, AMERICAN LITERATURE SHOULDN'T EXIST SIMPLY BECAUSE IT'S NOTHING MORE THAN A PART OF ENGLISH LITERATURE.

IF YOU CAN DIVIDE LITERATURE INTO LANGUAGES, WHY NOT GEOGRAPHICAL REGIONS AS TO WHERE THE AUTHOR WAS BORN OR SPENT A PREVALENT AMOUNT OF TIME ETC?

>> No.1608353

>>1607316

>I read "Crime and Punishment" as translated by Sidney Monas. Raskolnikov seemed quite spastic--I kept thinking of the old SNL skit where Mike Meyers is a kid with a helmet who must be tethered to some fixed object or other.

Were we reading the same book, or did you mix up CandP with The Idiot? Because Rodya seemed like a troubled man from Circumstances who was haunted by many a personal demon. I understand his manic nature might have turned you off a tad, but it seemed justified under the immense personal trauma he was experiencing.

Although, it may be because we read different translations.

>> No.1608359

Batuchka!