I’m looking to explore Russian literature, I feel like I am a missing an entire world that shaped books out there. Any suggestions of a good book that will introduce me to Russian literature? Preferably by authors who’ve been dead for a while now.
by AdPatient9267
8 Comments
A Gentleman in Moscow?
Crime and Punishment
-Dostoevsky
I think the best gateway Russian novels are “Hero of Our Time” by Lermontov and “Fathers and Sons” by Turgenev. They’re short, interesting, and pretty easy to get into as they share a similar structure to a lot of english novels. Other options include: “A Swim in a Pond in the Rain” by George Saunders and Pushkin’s short stories.
Just start with Dostoevsky. You’ll find yourself pulled into the spiral soon enough 😀
Nabokov.
I would start off with Dostoevsky (Crime and Punishment, The Idiot, White Nights) or Tolstoy (Anna Karenina, War and Peace, The Death of Ivan Ilytch). What got me into Russian lit was Anna Karenina, so I’d say start off with that
I would suggest starting short and building up to something bigger
Shorter works being The Kreutzer Sonata and Death of Ivan Ilyich by Tolstoy and Ward No.6 by Chekhov
Then I’d go for Crime and Punishment by Dostoevsky
You’re in for a treat though, many would agree 19th Century Russian literature is the best literary period there is to delve into
One of my favorite books is “Master and Margarita” by M.Bulgakov. It’s magic realism or something, has that dreamy vibe. It’s one of the most famous books in Russian lit.