What are some of your favourite novellas or short stories by Russian authors? I've read some of the classic tomes, and loved them, but I'm looking for books that won't break my arms by the sheer weight of them!
Nabokov – “The Vane Sisters”, “That in Aleppo Once”
Pelevin and Nabokov both have plenty of excellent novels in the 200-400 pg range as well.
Texan-Trucker on
“White Nights” by Fyodor Dostoyevsky. It’s maybe not a favorite of many but it does come to mind and is short (audiobook version is right at 2 hours)
theomystery on
Dostoevsky- Notes from Underground
Celena133 on
Anything by Dostoyevsky. Crime and Punishment, The Idiot, The Brothers Karamazov…
pecuchet on
Heart of a Dog by Mikhail Bulgakov.
Books_Of_Jeremiah on
If you want something more modern, look up Omon Ra by Pelevin. There’s an online one that is nicely hyperlinked for footnotes.
FloridaFlamingoGirl on
One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich
Wonderful-Effect-168 on
“The master and margarita” by Bulgakhov
Jedleft on
One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich by Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn
It’s short and very good.
orshine on
You might be interested in a collection of Russian short stories and novellas (many of which are mentioned in the other comments!) mixed with analysis by George Saunders: A Swim In A Pond In The Rain. It’s essentially the class he teaches on Russian literature in book form. I really enjoyed the extra context/thoughts it provided on some of the stories, and it introduced me to authors and works I hadn’t come across!
fulldiversity on
The Gambler and The Dream of a Ridiculous Man by Dostoyevsky.
The Captain’s Daughter by Pushkin.
ShamDissemble on
Some shorter works I can recommend:
Nikolai Leskov Selected Tales
Boris Pilnyak The Tale of the Unextinguished Moon and Other Stories
Nikolai Gogol The complete tales of Nikolai Gogol
Ivan Turgenev First Love
Alexander Pushkin Eugene Onegin
Alexander Pushkin Novels, Tales, Journeys: The Complete Prose
Varlam Shalamov Kolyma Tales
Anton Chekhov Plays
Anton Chekhov The Lady With the Dog and Other Stories
Anton Chekhov Ward No. 6 and Other Stories
Nikolai Leskov The Sealed Angel and other stories
Nikolai Leskov On the Edge of the World
Nikolai Leskov Sentry and other stories
Nikolai Leskov The Enchanted Pilgrim and other stories
Nikolai Leskov Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk and other stories
Leo Tolstoy Great Short Works
Ivan Turgenev Diary of a Superfluous Man
Leo Tolstoy Short Novels
Leo Tolstoy Sevastopol Sketches
Vladimir Nabokov Invitation to a Beheading
InvestingHabit on
You can try these novellas and short stories for a taste of Russian Literature: “The Death of Ivan Ilyich” (Tolstoy), “The Overcoat” (Gogol), “The Lady with the Dog” (Chekhov), and “Notes from Underground” (Dostoevsky) are must-reads.
I have also watched the drama inspired by “The Overcoat” in my college and it is one of the best drama I have ever seen.. It was only after that I fell in love with these Russian Literatures…
18 Comments
The Death of Ivan Illyich.
*Roadside Picnic* by the Strugatsky brothers
[A Hero of Our Time](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/226378.A_Hero_of_Our_Time) by Mikhail Lermontov
The Nose by Gogol.
Pushkin – “Queen of Spades”
Gogol – “The Nose”, “The Overcoat”
Pelevin – “Blue Lantern”
Nabokov – “The Vane Sisters”, “That in Aleppo Once”
Pelevin and Nabokov both have plenty of excellent novels in the 200-400 pg range as well.
“White Nights” by Fyodor Dostoyevsky. It’s maybe not a favorite of many but it does come to mind and is short (audiobook version is right at 2 hours)
Dostoevsky- Notes from Underground
Anything by Dostoyevsky. Crime and Punishment, The Idiot, The Brothers Karamazov…
Heart of a Dog by Mikhail Bulgakov.
If you want something more modern, look up Omon Ra by Pelevin. There’s an online one that is nicely hyperlinked for footnotes.
One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich
“The master and margarita” by Bulgakhov
One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich by Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn
It’s short and very good.
You might be interested in a collection of Russian short stories and novellas (many of which are mentioned in the other comments!) mixed with analysis by George Saunders: A Swim In A Pond In The Rain. It’s essentially the class he teaches on Russian literature in book form. I really enjoyed the extra context/thoughts it provided on some of the stories, and it introduced me to authors and works I hadn’t come across!
The Gambler and The Dream of a Ridiculous Man by Dostoyevsky.
The Captain’s Daughter by Pushkin.
Some shorter works I can recommend:
Nikolai Leskov Selected Tales
Boris Pilnyak The Tale of the Unextinguished Moon and Other Stories
Nikolai Gogol The complete tales of Nikolai Gogol
Ivan Turgenev First Love
Alexander Pushkin Eugene Onegin
Alexander Pushkin Novels, Tales, Journeys: The Complete Prose
Varlam Shalamov Kolyma Tales
Anton Chekhov Plays
Anton Chekhov The Lady With the Dog and Other Stories
Anton Chekhov Ward No. 6 and Other Stories
Nikolai Leskov The Sealed Angel and other stories
Nikolai Leskov On the Edge of the World
Nikolai Leskov Sentry and other stories
Nikolai Leskov The Enchanted Pilgrim and other stories
Nikolai Leskov Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk and other stories
Leo Tolstoy Great Short Works
Ivan Turgenev Diary of a Superfluous Man
Leo Tolstoy Short Novels
Leo Tolstoy Sevastopol Sketches
Vladimir Nabokov Invitation to a Beheading
You can try these novellas and short stories for a taste of Russian Literature: “The Death of Ivan Ilyich” (Tolstoy), “The Overcoat” (Gogol), “The Lady with the Dog” (Chekhov), and “Notes from Underground” (Dostoevsky) are must-reads.
I have also watched the drama inspired by “The Overcoat” in my college and it is one of the best drama I have ever seen.. It was only after that I fell in love with these Russian Literatures…
Almost anything by Chekhov is well worth reading.