I have a kindle. On said kindle I have Crime and Punishment, Metro 2033, and Roadside picnic.
I know Stanislaw Lem is polish but Lem is written in a style I’m used to. Solaris and The Cyberaid.
I guess the thing that I don’t understand is that across those three eras of Russian Literature that I’ve read…all 3 have this habit of kind of wandering.
Metro 2033 is obviously newer and written in a style I’m more accustomed to but it still ends up with Artyom going on mental tangents as he reflects after meeting new characters.
Crime and Punishment is long form reflection. Where it feels like each thing is just life happening and then the main character moving through his feeling about that thing. And then his feeling given this new information about the world at large. Which sometimes takes a lot of tangents because it seems like the main character is being conveyed as a human being which I actually enjoy. I’m only about 10% of the way through the book though.
And same for roadside picnic. The plot seems to be less plot point oriented and more…relationship oriented? There are things happening but the things are usually people as they relate to other people and move through it and less about people relating to some *thing*.
**I guess what I’m getting at is these books are different than what I’m accustomed to. Not bad. What is different about Russian stuff that is different from the Western stuff that I was brought up in?**
by engineereddiscontent
1 Comment
while i agree there are certain cultural differences, it still depends on what sort of books you are reading.
i just finished a book about a woman being brain transported to 1980s and majority of her internal monologue is about adapting to her new reality.
i am also currently reading a space opera where the characters spend a LOT of time in their thoughts about their own purpose and their relationships to other crew members and the fairness of their actions.
guess which one is in english and which one is in russian.