The Russians are writing!The Russians are writing!

hectorberlioz · 10-24-2003, 10:44 PM

This thread is dedicated to Fyodor Dostoyevsky. Greatest of the Greats.

There are a lot of books by Russians that I want to suggest to people.

By Dostoyevsky, i recommend...

The Devils(also more commonly known as 'The Possessed')

The Brothers Karamazov

Crime and Punishment

The Idiot

A Raw Youth

Notes from the Underground

by Tolstoy

War and Peace

Anna Karenina

By Gogol...

Taras Bulba

The overcoat

The Nose

By Solzhenitsyn...

The Gulag Archipeligo

The one day in the life of Ivan Denisovich

I hope you guys check this out. Discuss your love of russian literature here

elixir · 10-28-2003, 09:24 AM

I've read "Crime and Punishment" by Dostojevski. It was pretty good. I liked to read it slowly, one or two chapters by day, if I had had to read it through in two weeks, I would have hated it.

"The Idiot" is also good. I haven't read it myself, but my friend has and we have very similar taste in books.

I would also like to recommend "Master and Margarita" by Bulgakov, I truly enjoyed it.

I'm glad not to be the only one here who appreciates Russian literature.

hectorberlioz · 10-29-2003, 01:47 AM

Glad to know I'm not either

Oh my goodness! I've never heard of Bulgakov! what is his first name?

Hey, do you like Pushkin?

elixir · 10-29-2003, 09:21 AM

Mihhail Bulgakov

About Pushkin... well, I haven't read his prose, but I adore his poems. They sound so wonderful, especially in Russian (had to learn some of them by heart in school). And I like his fairy-tales, that are also written as poems. I remember that when I was ill, my brother used to read them to me, and they were so beautiful (they would be more beautiful to read in Russian, of course...)

So, what about you, have you read all those books you mentioned before?

sun-star · 10-29-2003, 02:56 PM

Does Anna Karenina get better after the first few chapters? I started it, and it was OK but nothing special. I thought I would ask you Russian experts for your views

hectorberlioz · 10-30-2003, 01:38 AM

Quote:

So, what about you, have you read all those books you mentioned before?

Most of them.

I have not read

The gulag archipeligo(thiugh i own it and have actually read the first couple of chapters)

Have not read the idiot(except a page or two)

or notes from the underground
or a raw youth.

all these are in my line up list.

I dont like Turgenev though.

Quote:

Does Anna Karenina get better after the first few chapters? I started it, and it was OK but nothing special. I thought I would ask you Russian experts for your views

Lets just say, its not one of the better russian novels.
If you want to read Tolstoy, read WAR and the WORLD(also known as 'war and peace'. If you havent already.

GrayMouser · 10-30-2003, 02:04 AM

Total agreement about Dostoyevsky- my all time favorite writer

I've read "War and Peace" and "Anna Karenina", and while both are great writing, they aren'yt much to my taste.

Ayn Rand , another Dostoyevsky fan, described Tolstoy as being a magnificent cathedral which she had no desire to enter.

elixir- I also loved "The Master and Margharita", though it's been years since I read it-

Quote:

Mikhail Bulgakov's devastating satire of Soviet life was written during the darkest period of Stalin's regime. Combining two distinct yet interwoven parts-one set in ancient Jerusalem, one in contemporary Moscow-the novel veers from moods of wild theatricality with violent storms, vampire attacks, and a Satanic ball; to such somber scenes as the meeting of Pilate and Yeshua, and the murder of Judas in the moonlit garden of Gethsemane; to the substanceless, circus-like reality of Moscow. Its central characters, Woland (Satan) and his retinue-including the vodka-drinking, black cat, Behemoth; the poet, Ivan Homeless; Pontius Pilate; and a writer known only as The Master, and his passionate companion, Margarita-exist in a world that blends fantasy and chilling realism, an artful collage of grostesqueries, dark comedy, and timeless ethical questions.

My favorite Solzhenitsyn is "The First Circle"

***Rían*** · 10-30-2003, 02:20 AM

I've really been wanting to dive into some Russian literature lately (I've never read any!

) - GrayM and hector, which Dostoyevsky work would you recommend to a beginner in Russian literature?

Tuor of Gondolin · 10-30-2003, 11:43 AM

Don't care for Dostoyevsky but, as a history major in college, found Tolstoy's War and Peace inciteful into Francophilism and pro-Western attitides in nineteenth-century Russia, and also an easy read. It reads a bit like a soap opera. And in a way Tolstoy and Solzenitsyn portray a classic tension in Russian history between Panslavs and Westernizers. You see both views in War and Peace, and part of Solzhenitzyn's problems with communism is, I think, that he's a Russian nationalist and "nativist" wanting to keep Russia Russian. I think he'd consider Russian communists westernizers and himself a pan-slav. For the tension between Panslavs and westernizers War and Peace is a great introduction, as well as "A History of Panslavism", by Hans Kohn.

sun-star · 10-30-2003, 12:51 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by hectorberlioz
Lets just say, its not one of the better russian novels.
If you want to read Tolstoy, read WAR and the WORLD(also known as 'war and peace'. If you havent already.

Thanks, I'll try that

hectorberlioz · 10-30-2003, 03:38 PM

Rian!(thank goodness i cought you first!)

Go to the library;go to where they keep dostoyevsky's stuff; look with your eyes; and when you see a book called "the brothers karamazov" carefully pick it out.

Shadowfax · 10-30-2003, 11:20 PM

Another good Russian is Ivan Turgenev. I read "Fathers and Sons" by him and it was pretty good. It's also nice because it is not as heavy as a lot of other Russian books.

hectorberlioz · 10-30-2003, 11:36 PM

Sorry, dont like him. Something personal.

But, Anton Chekhov is excellante

GrayMouser · 11-02-2003, 12:45 PM

Hi, Rian! I agree with hectorberlioz. It's probably the best organised of the "big four"- Crime and Punishment; The Idiot; The Possessed; Brothers Karamazov- in terms of story, though any of Dosteovski's tend to go veering off in what appear to be long digressions.

It also contains the classic interview between Christ and the Grand Inquisitor

***Rían*** · 11-02-2003, 11:15 PM

The Bros. it is, then! Thanks, everyone!

hectorberlioz · 11-03-2003, 12:18 AM

Quote:

Hi, Rian! I agree with hectorberlioz. It's probably the best organised of the "big four"- Crime and Punishment; The Idiot; The Possessed; Brothers Karamazov- in terms of story, though any of Dosteovski's tend to go veering off in what appear to be long digressions.

Dont forget " A raw youth"

Quote:

It also contains the classic interview between Christ and the Grand Inquisitor

It also contains the classic interview Ivan has with the devil

Draken · 11-05-2003, 05:56 AM

I used speed reading to read 'War and Peace' in 20 minutes.

It's about Russia.

(nicked from Woody Allen)

hectorberlioz · 11-05-2003, 01:37 PM

Its Impossible in 2 hrs. let alone 20 mins.

you must have been turning pages by the dozens

Its about the war with Napolean Bonaparte, and the war's effect on people in russia.

Grey_Wolf · 11-12-2003, 09:54 AM

This may seem a bit nekulturny.
Don't you think that Russian literature is indescribably dull. I can of course understand it, having to live under Soviet oppression. There isn't much to laugh about under such conditions. But have you ever read a funny Russian story?

The Gaffer · 11-12-2003, 01:25 PM

The only Russian author I've read is Solzhenitsyn (sp?).

He works a grim humour into Cancer Ward, which I'd highly recommend.

10-24-2003, 10:44 PM	#1
hectorberlioz Master of Orchestration President Emeritus of Entmoot 2004-2008 Join Date: Jun 2003 Location: Lost in the Opera House Posts: 9,328	The Russians are writing!The Russians are writing! This thread is dedicated to Fyodor Dostoyevsky. Greatest of the Greats. There are a lot of books by Russians that I want to suggest to people. By Dostoyevsky, i recommend... The Devils(also more commonly known as 'The Possessed') The Brothers Karamazov Crime and Punishment The Idiot A Raw Youth Notes from the Underground by Tolstoy War and Peace Anna Karenina By Gogol... Taras Bulba The overcoat The Nose By Solzhenitsyn... The Gulag Archipeligo The one day in the life of Ivan Denisovich I hope you guys check this out. Discuss your love of russian literature here __________________ ACALEWIA- President of Entmoot hectorberlioz- Vice President of Entmoot Acaly und Hektor fur Presidants fur EntMut fur life! Join the discussion at Entmoot Election 2010. "Stupidissimo!"~Toscanini The Da CINDY Code The Epic Poem Of The Balrog of Entmoot: Here ~NEW! ~ Thinking of summer vacation? AboutNewJersey.com - NJ Travel & Tourism Guide Last edited by hectorberlioz : 10-24-2003 at 10:48 PM.

10-28-2003, 09:24 AM	#2
elixir Elven Warrior Join Date: Jul 2003 Location: wherever my dreams take me Posts: 356	I've read "Crime and Punishment" by Dostojevski. It was pretty good. I liked to read it slowly, one or two chapters by day, if I had had to read it through in two weeks, I would have hated it. "The Idiot" is also good. I haven't read it myself, but my friend has and we have very similar taste in books. I would also like to recommend "Master and Margarita" by Bulgakov, I truly enjoyed it. I'm glad not to be the only one here who appreciates Russian literature. __________________ ~ Time is a drug. Too much of it kills you ~ "We've got a wizard and we're not afraid to use him!" HOBBITS NEEDED! Some dwarves as well !!!

10-29-2003, 01:47 AM	#3
hectorberlioz Master of Orchestration President Emeritus of Entmoot 2004-2008 Join Date: Jun 2003 Location: Lost in the Opera House Posts: 9,328	Glad to know I'm not either Oh my goodness! I've never heard of Bulgakov! what is his first name? Hey, do you like Pushkin? __________________ ACALEWIA- President of Entmoot hectorberlioz- Vice President of Entmoot Acaly und Hektor fur Presidants fur EntMut fur life! Join the discussion at Entmoot Election 2010. "Stupidissimo!"~Toscanini The Da CINDY Code The Epic Poem Of The Balrog of Entmoot: Here ~NEW! ~ Thinking of summer vacation? AboutNewJersey.com - NJ Travel & Tourism Guide

10-29-2003, 09:21 AM	#4
elixir Elven Warrior Join Date: Jul 2003 Location: wherever my dreams take me Posts: 356	Mihhail Bulgakov About Pushkin... well, I haven't read his prose, but I adore his poems. They sound so wonderful, especially in Russian (had to learn some of them by heart in school). And I like his fairy-tales, that are also written as poems. I remember that when I was ill, my brother used to read them to me, and they were so beautiful (they would be more beautiful to read in Russian, of course...) So, what about you, have you read all those books you mentioned before? __________________ ~ Time is a drug. Too much of it kills you ~ "We've got a wizard and we're not afraid to use him!" HOBBITS NEEDED! Some dwarves as well !!!

10-29-2003, 02:56 PM	#5
sun-star Lady of Letters Join Date: Jan 2002 Location: Either Oxford or Kent, England Posts: 2,476	Does Anna Karenina get better after the first few chapters? I started it, and it was OK but nothing special. I thought I would ask you Russian experts for your views __________________ And all the time the waves, the waves, the waves Chase, intersect and flatten on the sand As they have done for centuries, as they will For centuries to come, when not a soul Is left to picnic on the blazing rocks, When England is not England, when mankind Has blown himself to pieces. Still the sea, Consolingly disastrous, will return While the strange starfish, hugely magnified, Waits in the jewelled basin of a pool.

10-30-2003, 02:20 AM	#8
*Rían* Half-Elven Princess of Rabbit Trails and Harp-Wielding Administrator (beware the Rubber Chicken of Doom!) Join Date: Sep 2002 Location: Not where I want to be ... Posts: 15,254	I've really been wanting to dive into some Russian literature lately (I've never read any! ) - GrayM and hector, which Dostoyevsky work would you recommend to a beginner in Russian literature? __________________ . I should be doing the laundry, but this is MUCH more fun! Ñá ë?* óú éä ïöü Öñ É Þ ð ß ® ç å ™ æ ♪ ?* "How lovely are Thy dwelling places, O Lord of hosts! ... For a day in Thy courts is better than a thousand outside." (from Psalm 84) * * * God rocks! Entmoot : Veni, vidi, velcro - I came, I saw, I got hooked! Ego numquam pronunciare mendacium, sed ego sum homo indomitus! Run the earth and watch the sky ... Auta i lómë! Aurë entuluva!

10-30-2003, 11:43 AM	#9
Tuor of Gondolin Elf Lord Join Date: Oct 2003 Location: Southeastern Pennsylvania Posts: 1,215	Don't care for Dostoyevsky but, as a history major in college, found Tolstoy's War and Peace inciteful into Francophilism and pro-Western attitides in nineteenth-century Russia, and also an easy read. It reads a bit like a soap opera. And in a way Tolstoy and Solzenitsyn portray a classic tension in Russian history between Panslavs and Westernizers. You see both views in War and Peace, and part of Solzhenitzyn's problems with communism is, I think, that he's a Russian nationalist and "nativist" wanting to keep Russia Russian. I think he'd consider Russian communists westernizers and himself a pan-slav. For the tension between Panslavs and westernizers War and Peace is a great introduction, as well as "A History of Panslavism", by Hans Kohn. __________________ Democrat for Kerry-Edwards! Take Back America Aure entuluva! Last edited by Tuor of Gondolin : 10-30-2003 at 11:55 AM.

10-30-2003, 03:38 PM	#11
hectorberlioz Master of Orchestration President Emeritus of Entmoot 2004-2008 Join Date: Jun 2003 Location: Lost in the Opera House Posts: 9,328	Rian!(thank goodness i cought you first!) Go to the library;go to where they keep dostoyevsky's stuff; look with your eyes; and when you see a book called "the brothers karamazov" carefully pick it out. __________________ ACALEWIA- President of Entmoot hectorberlioz- Vice President of Entmoot Acaly und Hektor fur Presidants fur EntMut fur life! Join the discussion at Entmoot Election 2010. "Stupidissimo!"~Toscanini The Da CINDY Code The Epic Poem Of The Balrog of Entmoot: Here ~NEW! ~ Thinking of summer vacation? AboutNewJersey.com - NJ Travel & Tourism Guide

10-30-2003, 11:20 PM	#12
Shadowfax The Fleet-Footed Join Date: Mar 2002 Location: British Columbia Posts: 913	Another good Russian is Ivan Turgenev. I read "Fathers and Sons" by him and it was pretty good. It's also nice because it is not as heavy as a lot of other Russian books. __________________ Jesus saved me "To remain ignorant of things that happened before you were born is to remain a child" (Cicero, 106-43 B.C.) "Art is a lie which makes us realize the truth" (Picasso) Last edited by Shadowfax : 10-30-2003 at 11:21 PM.

10-30-2003, 11:36 PM	#13
hectorberlioz Master of Orchestration President Emeritus of Entmoot 2004-2008 Join Date: Jun 2003 Location: Lost in the Opera House Posts: 9,328	Sorry, dont like him. Something personal. But, Anton Chekhov is excellante __________________ ACALEWIA- President of Entmoot hectorberlioz- Vice President of Entmoot Acaly und Hektor fur Presidants fur EntMut fur life! Join the discussion at Entmoot Election 2010. "Stupidissimo!"~Toscanini The Da CINDY Code The Epic Poem Of The Balrog of Entmoot: Here ~NEW! ~ Thinking of summer vacation? AboutNewJersey.com - NJ Travel & Tourism Guide

11-02-2003, 12:45 PM	#14
GrayMouser Elf Lord Join Date: Feb 2003 Location: Ilha Formosa Posts: 2,068	Hi, Rian! I agree with hectorberlioz. It's probably the best organised of the "big four"- Crime and Punishment; The Idiot; The Possessed; Brothers Karamazov- in terms of story, though any of Dosteovski's tend to go veering off in what appear to be long digressions. It also contains the classic interview between Christ and the Grand Inquisitor __________________ Glendower: I can call spirits from the vasty deep. Hotspur: Why, so can I, or so can any man; But will they come when you do call for them? "I like pigs. Dogs look up to us, cats look down on us, but pigs treat us as equals."- Winston Churchill

11-02-2003, 11:15 PM	#15
*Rían* Half-Elven Princess of Rabbit Trails and Harp-Wielding Administrator (beware the Rubber Chicken of Doom!) Join Date: Sep 2002 Location: Not where I want to be ... Posts: 15,254	The Bros. it is, then! Thanks, everyone! __________________ . I should be doing the laundry, but this is MUCH more fun! Ñá ë?* óú éä ïöü Öñ É Þ ð ß ® ç å ™ æ ♪ ?* "How lovely are Thy dwelling places, O Lord of hosts! ... For a day in Thy courts is better than a thousand outside." (from Psalm 84) * * * God rocks! Entmoot : Veni, vidi, velcro - I came, I saw, I got hooked! Ego numquam pronunciare mendacium, sed ego sum homo indomitus! Run the earth and watch the sky ... Auta i lómë! Aurë entuluva!

11-05-2003, 05:56 AM	#17
Draken Elf Lord Join Date: Jun 2002 Location: Durham, England Posts: 694	I used speed reading to read 'War and Peace' in 20 minutes. It's about Russia. (nicked from Woody Allen) __________________ I'm beset by self-doubt ....or am I?

11-05-2003, 01:37 PM	#18
hectorberlioz Master of Orchestration President Emeritus of Entmoot 2004-2008 Join Date: Jun 2003 Location: Lost in the Opera House Posts: 9,328	Its Impossible in 2 hrs. let alone 20 mins. you must have been turning pages by the dozens Its about the war with Napolean Bonaparte, and the war's effect on people in russia. __________________ ACALEWIA- President of Entmoot hectorberlioz- Vice President of Entmoot Acaly und Hektor fur Presidants fur EntMut fur life! Join the discussion at Entmoot Election 2010. "Stupidissimo!"~Toscanini The Da CINDY Code The Epic Poem Of The Balrog of Entmoot: Here ~NEW! ~ Thinking of summer vacation? AboutNewJersey.com - NJ Travel & Tourism Guide

11-12-2003, 09:54 AM	#19
Grey_Wolf Elf Lord Join Date: Mar 2002 Location: Mirkwood, well actually I live in North-west Scania, Sweden Posts: 9,481	This may seem a bit nekulturny. Don't you think that Russian literature is indescribably dull. I can of course understand it, having to live under Soviet oppression. There isn't much to laugh about under such conditions. But have you ever read a funny Russian story? Last edited by Grey_Wolf : 11-12-2003 at 12:54 PM.

11-12-2003, 01:25 PM	#20
The Gaffer Elf Lord Join Date: Sep 2003 Location: In me taters Posts: 3,288	The only Russian author I've read is Solzhenitsyn (sp?). He works a grim humour into Cancer Ward, which I'd highly recommend.

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