This is the way The Kreutzer Sonata should be read. My God, Sofiya Tolstoy could write! A shame her children forbade her work to be published while thThis is the way The Kreutzer Sonata should be read. My God, Sofiya Tolstoy could write! A shame her children forbade her work to be published while they were alive. The fucking patriarchy, man....more
Well, it’s no secret I’m a sucker for Russian literature. I loved it. I reveled through the whole thing, particularly the ending, which was pure poetrWell, it’s no secret I’m a sucker for Russian literature. I loved it. I reveled through the whole thing, particularly the ending, which was pure poetry....more
A friend and I started reading this before the COVID-19 pandemic began, and we found it necessary to stop reading both it and Pipes� The Russian RevolA friend and I started reading this before the COVID-19 pandemic began, and we found it necessary to stop reading both it and Pipes� The Russian Revolution because the existential dread became too intense. Our own government’s denial and mismanagement of the pandemic seemed a bit too on the nose to continue reading these books in those circumstances.
With that said, the scholarship of this work is incredible, and benefits greatly from having access to the Soviet archives after the fall of the USSR, something which Pipes� The Russian Revolution lacked. That said, I think they are best read together, as they tend to balance each other out, mirror each other’s structure (almost chapter for chapter), and complement each other in terms of exploring further material. Even though both tomes are immense, I frequently found myself poring over obscure Wikipedia articles or scholarly articles on obscure characters or cultural phenomena, and adding dozens of books to my to-read list. I thoroughly enjoyed reading these!!...more
This book was such a treat. A gem, a treasure, and for a Russian classic, so brief. The first novel I’ve read by TurgeOh, Bazarov, even you can love!
This book was such a treat. A gem, a treasure, and for a Russian classic, so brief. The first novel I’ve read by Turgenev and it’s a masterpiece, one of the most beautiful, most sentimental, most melancholy books I’ve ever read. It beautifully captures the cleavages between generations, and the difficulties of growing old and finding out that the principles one firmly believed in ones youth might not be so feasible in practice. I treasured every bit of it, and found myself staring into space several times to savor Turgenev’s prose.
Considering the translators reassembled this novel from six (or more, depending on partial manuscripts) previous versions that Vasily Grossman had triConsidering the translators reassembled this novel from six (or more, depending on partial manuscripts) previous versions that Vasily Grossman had tried to get through the Kafka-esque censorship process in the Soviet Union, Stalingrad is an impressive achievement. I think I might take a bit of a breather before going on to Life and Fate, as I found that I had to revisit some Soviet History to get reacquainted with the time period and more ‘into the flow� of the novel, but I found it enjoyable. I think some of the other critiques about it being published behind the Iron Curtain are too harsh. Yes, it is a product of the Soviet system, but Grossman has a talent for circumventing the censors, and crafting his narrative around the censor’s muzzle- if you are familiar with writing of the era you will see how Grossman rather deftly evades the censors to show his true feelings. They are nuanced, but there. Robert and Elizabeth Chandler provide excellent endnotes, a foreword, and afterword to help provide guidance and also call attention to those areas. I’m glad this work is finally available in English translation (and in a more complete form, thanks to their synthesis of the previous manuscripts to provide a more complete picture of what Grossman may have intended for Stalingrad)....more
Enjoyable and understandably meandering. A good read for this year, given the subject material. The translation appears to have been excellent as wellEnjoyable and understandably meandering. A good read for this year, given the subject material. The translation appears to have been excellent as well, it flowed very well and I didn’t feel like I was missing elements of the narrative or the flow of the language....more
I’m a sham at understanding or attempting to express my feelings articulately, especially when confronted by one of the great literary masters. So he I’m a sham at understanding or attempting to express my feelings articulately, especially when confronted by one of the great literary masters. So here is my reckless take on Notes from Underground.
Gorgeous and torturously written, Dostoevsky lays bare his soul, his self-loathing, his debauchery, his disgust for said debauchery, his manipulation, jealousy, cowardice and impotence in the face of power, critique of ‘modern� ideas (for the time) and flagellates himself relentlessly... and yet in his own words, “can’t be good.� And if we are honest with ourselves, as Dostoevsky says, we will realize we are no better, peering out from underground through the floorboards. We may deceive ourselves into thinking our cowardice is ‘good sense,� and deceive ourselves into thinking we are ‘good� despite our indifference, rationalizing pursuit of selfishness as virtue, but we are no better.
Paradoxically, Dostoevsky also hints at (through censorship) his yearning for God and desire for saintliness amidst his self-loathing and vile behavior, raging at slights perceived and otherwise, and attempts at false virtue Apropos of Wet Snow... all these feelings and personages are inchoate forms of the characters from his later novels. I don’t think many other writers have understood the human condition so well as Dostoevsky.
“You can get used to anything—that is, not really get used, but somehow voluntarily consent to endure it.�
P.S. Wherever possible, after reading many poor translations of Russian authors, I look for Richard Pevear and Larissa Volokhonsky. Their translation of War and Peace put me on to them, and I have sought their translations out since....more
An excellent short story by Isaac Babel that manages to weave comedy into tragedy in a story of Jewish Mafiosos living in Odessa.
“Aunt Pessya, everyboAn excellent short story by Isaac Babel that manages to weave comedy into tragedy in a story of Jewish Mafiosos living in Odessa.
“Aunt Pessya, everybody makes mistakes, even God. A terrible mistake has been made. But wasn’t it a mistake on God’s part to settle the Jews in Russia, where they’ve had to suffer the tortured of hell? Would it be bad if the Jews lived in Switzerland, where they’d be surrounded by first-class lakes, mountain air and nothing but Frenchmen? Everybody makes mistakes, even God.�...more
I can’t say I enjoyed this one. It seemed a critique of capitalism and the falseness with people treat you if you have money, and how fast they are toI can’t say I enjoyed this one. It seemed a critique of capitalism and the falseness with people treat you if you have money, and how fast they are to (literally) discard you when it is gone, with the addition of promoting the illusion of idyllic settings and luxury for those with the money to buy such pretense. I’m not critiquing the political bent, but rather than I simply found this story to not be very engaging....more
If you want a review, go straight to my friend Petra’s review, as she is far more eloquent than I. I’d like to share two quotes from this excellent shIf you want a review, go straight to my friend Petra’s review, as she is far more eloquent than I. I’d like to share two quotes from this excellent short story:
“Painful and terrible It is when a man goes on living, while nothing changes around him; and when such an existence does not finally kill his soul, then the monotony becomes, with time, ever more and more painful.�
And:
“There are men to whom the most precious and best thing in their lives appears to be some disease of their soul or body. They spend their whole life in relation to it, and only living by it, suffering from it, they sustain themselves on it, the complain of it to others, and so draw the attention of their fellows to themselves. For that they extract sympathy from people, and apart from it they have nothing at all. Take from them that disease, cure them, and they will be miserable, because they have lost their one resource in life - they are then left empty. Sometimes a man’s life is so poor, and he is driven instinctively to prize his vice and to live by it; one may say for a fact that often men are vicious from boredom.
Ah, the pain of the timid wallflower, sparked by a chance encounter, and later embittered by dashed unrealistic hopes. Something I certainly did not fAh, the pain of the timid wallflower, sparked by a chance encounter, and later embittered by dashed unrealistic hopes. Something I certainly did not fall victim to in my youth time and time again, >.>...more
Read it twice, I think one could interpret this in many different ways, a parable, a critique of society, a cautionary tale about obsession, a moral tRead it twice, I think one could interpret this in many different ways, a parable, a critique of society, a cautionary tale about obsession, a moral tale, or even a bit of a dark comedy. I think that adds to the charm of timid Akaky Akakievich and his very mundane life.
Regardless of interpretation, I can’t seem to wrap my mind around the last paragraph, which introduces the second ghost. Who is he, and or what does he represent, if anything?...more
A short, but moving piece of fiction by Dostoevsky detailing the account of two men, the tailor Astafy and the lodger/thief Yemelyam. While I’m not teA short, but moving piece of fiction by Dostoevsky detailing the account of two men, the tailor Astafy and the lodger/thief Yemelyam. While I’m not terribly sure why Astafy is detailing this story to the narrator later in his life and as a lodger himself (perhaps to show a reversal of fortune?), I think Dostoevsky was trying to convey the depths of personality and he existence of both good and evil in people, rather than absolute morality or depravity that he demonstrated the extremes of in ‘The Idiot� and ‘Demons,� (or even Crime and Punishment).
Hence follows the story of the lodger Yemelyam, the conflicted but ‘honest� thief, and Astafy, vacillating between anger and caring for this man even after being betrayed by Yemelyam. They eventually find each other and reconcile after a fashion. It makes me think that this is part of Dostoevsky’s broader theme throughout his lifetime of work of what it meant to be a human being, particularly a religious one, which culminated in his brilliant but unfinished Brothers Karamazov....more
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