Some people I know really like Russian classical literature. They find it so different from what we are used to. It seems to me that it can really have some kind of influence on a person, Russia seems to be something very pessimistic and gray. But many Russian classics have even won Nobel prizes.
Have you ever read Russian classical literature? Which books? What influence did they have on you, or what did they teach you?
by Suspicious-Bowler341
27 Comments
I’d be tempted to tell you to try George Saunders’ A Swim in a Pond in the Rain, at once a collection of Russian short stories and excellent commentary.
I read Dostoyevsky and a few others.
One thing I noticed is that characters are always called with surnames. I think that this surname issue makes it somewhat harder to read.
Yes! Pro tip: keep a notecard of everyone’s names, nicknames, etc. They have a lot of names by western standards.
War and Peace is as epic as the size indicates. But some really powerful passages about sacrifice and perseverance.
Anna Karenina—the aching betrayal. Also the sense of fate once a bad choice has been made. Like you’re locked into an inevitable terrible end. So painful.
I’m reading Chehkov now. Started with On the Road. It is too early for me to give an overall impression of Chehkov and certainly of Russian literature, but for this story, the character development was particularly impressive, given that it is a short story, so not much time …
The vocabulary is rich, but the sentence construction and pace are not overly challenging – i.e., you don’t feel bogged down. I read it in one sitting – totally engrossed. Looking forward to the next one this afternoon.
Overall I find Russian Literature to be the most entertaining and fresh. The comedy that many Russian writers manage to find in the bleakest moments of life is unlike anything I’ve ever read.
My personal favourites are Dostoyevsky, Gogol, and Solzhenitsyn.
Asside from the obvious bug guns: Pushkin, Tolstoy, Dostoyevsky, Gogol, Pasternak; I’d like to throw in Vasily Grossman whose ‘Stalingrad’ I finished last week and I thought was marvelous.
Tolstoy, Dostoevsky, Chekhov, Gorky and Solzhenitsyn are the ones I know best. I spent some time getting confused over names – there’s usually at least 3/4 ways of naming everyone. For Pierre in War and Peace, he is technically Pyotr Kirillovich Bezukhov, also known as Pierre Bezukhov, the Bear, Petenka (a pet form of Pyotr) and the Count. I am sure there are other versions I can’t remember but you get the idea! For me, it’s going into a whole different world that is so interesting – I don’t want to spoil you on anything, but it’s so different from anything I’ve ever known, whatever the era or the milieu they’re writing about
Not that knowledgeable but here’s my two cents :
– Dr Zhivago is amazing. Perhaps the greatest historical epic I’ve ever read. I’m thankful for enjoying reading because I got to read this book. I read it after seeing the movie and in my opinion the ending in the movie is more poignant with a sense of theatrical tragedy (the heart attack in the tram), whereas the novel’s ending is more grounded and quietly sad. Either way, in terms of sentimentalist writing, Pasternak is a master.
-Crime and Punishment is a good read, I thoroughly enjoyed it. But…
-The Double is the Dostoievsky book I’ve read I like the most, it reminds me a lot of Kafka. It’s both dark and depressing like Crime and Punishment but also has a vibe of dark humor that Dostoievsky pulls off perfectly. I don’t get why it’s not one of the most famous books of his, it’s one of the most brilliant concepts in terms of tragic satire, easily as good as The Metamorphosis and The Trial. My only gripe with it is that the main character can be borderline insufferable, which in hindsight I think is a good idea in itself but when you read it, whoof.
I would recommend [Mikhail Bulgakov](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mikhail_Bulgakov)
If you want to try out something less pessimistic and gray, there’s a lot of Russian books for children, they are very good. As a kid, I loved books by [Vladislav Krapivin](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vladislav_Krapivin)
[Bazhov](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pavel_Bazhov)’s fairy tales are nice, too. [The Adventures of Dennis](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Adventures_of_Dennis) by Dragunsky are popular.
[The Black Book and Shwambrania](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lev_Kassil) by Lev Kassil is loved by many, but I managed to never read it in my childhood.
I took a Russian lit class in college and the TA was Russian. He read a few verses from *Eugene Onegin* in the original Russian and it brought tears to my eyes because it was so beautiful and musical. I loved everything we read – *Anna Karenina*, *Crime and Punishment*, *Eugene Onegin*, and a few others.
Vladimir Nabokov is also amazing – *Lolita* and *Pale Fire* are incredible novels.
It’s not technically Russian lit, but I also really enjoyed the Winternight Trilogy by Katherine Arden, which is steeped in Russian folklore
Gogol is my favorite. Are there any stories he wrote that aren’t fun, that aren’t hilarious, that aren’t interesting, that aren’t amazingly well written?
Tolstoy I used to love. I’ve read almost everything he wrote, and that’s a lot. (I studied Russian literature in college under a Russian poet.) The issue I have with him is his politics as a Christian anarchist. I don’t agree at all with his worship of poverty, and it’s something he never shuts up about, and pretty ironic, coming from a literal feudal count. It also definitely influences his depiction of poor people, who come off as foolish and idealized. I think the goal of human civilization should be to make everyone rich beyond our wildest dreams, not to live in miserable poverty. He’s also notorious for mistreating his wife, neglecting his children, gambling away his literal ancestral home, raping his serfs, etc. He didn’t support the 1905 revolution, so we can guess where he would have stood when workers and peasants decided they’d had enough of the tsar (and the liberal government that continued his imperialist policies (but more politely) for a few months starting in February 1917 before getting their asses tossed out of Russia).
Dostoevsky is the most overrated Russian writer. Apparently he’s not popular in Russia. He’s also extremely reactionary. The fact that *Crime and Punishment* ends with the main characters reading the fucking Bible always makes me laugh. (The Soviet film version of the book is fantastic, however.) Seriously, give me a break. Zola is a much better writer, and this is the guy Dostoevsky was trying to imitate, particularly *L’Assommoir*, which is un-put-downable from start to finish. *Notes From Underground* was written in reaction to Chernyshevsky’s *What Is To Be Done?*, itself a huge influence on the October Revolution and therefore very mysteriously totally unknown in the USA despite its obvious high quality and importance.
Nabokov also has appallingly reactionary politics. The dude was a supporter of the Vietnam War. A great stylist, yes, but the whole Lolita thing looks pretty gross now what with the American ruling class being exposed as just a bunch of Jeffrey Epsteins.
Solzhenitsyn’s work should be counted as fiction. [Askhistorians thread about this here.](https://www.reddit.com/r/AskHistorians/comments/3j2un8/is_solzhenitsyn_considered_a_reliable_source/) It’s definitely odd how Americans love Russian writers who would be considered far-right if they wrote in English and had English surnames.
I only read crime and punishment. It was frustrating.
I recommend Crime and Punishment and Notes from Underground, both by Dostoevski.
Tolstoy and Dostoevsky are greats for a reason. There are beautiful translations out there. War and Peace and Crime and Punishment are some of my favorite works in any language.
Check out “A Swim in a Pond in the Rain” by George Saunders. He takes six Russian short stories, presents them, and then analyzes them. It’s great for both readers and writers.
I had to read a few for school. The Brothers Karamazov, Anna Karenina, Eugene Onegin, The Government Inspector, The Gypsies, then bunch of short stories from time to time (not sure if that counts), idk if I forgot something. I also read Crime and Punishment for my own interest. While I really love Russian culture and respect their classics as hands down some of the best pieces of literature in the world, I must admit I don’t necessarily enjoy reading them because they require a hell lot of concentration because each character has like five different (nick)names and in bigger works like Anna Karenina you gotta sit through 20 pages of character A just mowing a lawn, detailed description of what character B had for breakfast, while also getting a really detailed description of everything written in the newspapers character C was reading. Plus everything is super depressing
Yes, it has massive cultural significance. Pick up Crime and Punishment or Master and Margarita amongst the many. Russian realism is a fantastic period of rich writing influential over western culture (notable one coming to mind easily; ever seen Woody Allen’s Match Point?)
Btw maybe don’t judge the country as pessimistic and gray if you never visited? In tone of literature, there are lots of influences in German classics as well. Not sure if you feel like Germany is grey and pessimistic.
I tried really hard to read Anna Karenina and it seemed to me a huge book about nothing, so I didn’t even make it halfway. I’ve heard it’s difficult to translate between English and Russian since they are very different languages, but I’m not completely sold on this idea. I still plan on reading a few of them when I’m retired or something.
I’ve only been interested in dostoevsky, though I’ve read the brothers karamazov and war and peace but that’s about it
Bulgakov’s The Master and Margarita is one of the best books of the 20th century in any language. It is well worth your time.
Yes. Speaking Russian really helped….
The Brother Karamazov is absolutely worth the hype
I started War and Peace, don’t think I got past page 100 or so.
The Brothers Karamazov (in English translation) read a bit like Dickens. Some people call it the greatest novel ever written. I don’t know about that, if I got to read any novel again for the first time I’d still rather re-experience Stephen King’s “The Stand”. But ‘Karamazov was a great read, worth the effort. Life-changing? No. I’m glad I read Dostoevsky’s greatest hit first because now I feel like I’m not missing so much if I read non-Russian classics.
I have. White Night by Dostoevsky and a book about war i couldnt remember the name. They’re great books. Russian literature are some of the finest works in the history of humanity. Definitely recommend anyone to try then
Only in translation. Various Dostoyevsky, Tolstoy, Pushkin and I’ve also read Master and Margarita by Mikhail Bulgakov. Obviously generally good experiences, given the filtering effect: we only read “the best” because it is only the best examples of foreign literature that rise to general attention.
I love Doctor Zhivago. Highly recommend. After reading that I thought I was going to become a Russian lit buff.
Buuuuuut I haven’t been able to finish a Russian novel since. They are confusing and everyone goes by five different names.
Some of these writers, like Gogol and Bulgakov, were Ukrainians who contributed to Russian literature.