useless Posted December 10, 2013 Share Posted December 10, 2013 Is Russian literature hard going though? I've always imagined it would be so it has always put me off it I've read most of Dostoyevsky and Kharms then bits and pieces by Tolstoy and Gogle and none of those were difficult reads and take it from me, I'm not the brightest. It threw me how difficult Dickens was when I first read Bleak House, maybe I was expecting it to be cartoony or something some of the sentences I had to really concentrate on, he really does waffle on which made me wonder that maybe some of the Russian stuff loses some of it's nuances in translation. the Master and Margarita and Crime and Punishment are the two I found the easiest to get through, although I'm sure I missed out on a load of stuff, But I had enough so that I could enjoy the stories. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mjmooney Posted December 10, 2013 VT Supporter Share Posted December 10, 2013 War and Peace scared me off for years, I assumed it would be impossible to read. In fact it's the opposite - it was written as a serial, and has short chapters that move it along smoothly - a feature that, oddly, it shares with The Da Vinci Code. Except that it's about a hundred times better. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
leemond2008 Posted December 10, 2013 Share Posted December 10, 2013 Is Russian literature hard going though? I've always imagined it would be so it has always put me off it Why do you assume all Russian literature is the same? To be honest I was mainly referring to Dostoyevsky and Tolstoy, I have always wanted to read them but always been put off by the assumption they would make for difficult reads Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AVFC_Hitz Posted December 10, 2013 Share Posted December 10, 2013 I gave up on Solzhenitsyn many times...but I've always tried to go back to them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CarewsEyebrowDesigner Posted December 10, 2013 Share Posted December 10, 2013 Crime and Punishment was a surprisingly easy read. You go into it thinking 'ugh, 19th century...', but it's incredibly modern in comparison to the dreaded Victorians. It's also **** brilliant. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rodders Posted December 10, 2013 Share Posted December 10, 2013 I love the Russian stuff that I have read. Not touched Tolstoy as that does appear fairly heavy but the short stories or plays of chekhov, dostoyevsky or turgenev ( the authors i've read, about to inc. Solzy too ) are pretty accessible really. Easier than some more obstruse 19th/20th c british or irish authors. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coda Posted December 10, 2013 Share Posted December 10, 2013 The edition of Crime and Punishment I read had a huge introduction including part of a letter written by Dos. He wrote it to a critic who he said was the only person who understood his novel. I'd be more concerned with enjoying it rather than understanding it all. Cancer Ward was a slog, such a grim story. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mjmooney Posted December 10, 2013 VT Supporter Share Posted December 10, 2013 Not sure that Nabokov counts as Russian, in that he was one of the masters of writing in English, but he's certainly one of my favourite authors. As is often the case with me, I've read almost everything by him except his Greatest Hit (see also Steinbeck). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pelle Posted December 11, 2013 Share Posted December 11, 2013 Hm, no, we've got some more common variations of it, like Carola. But A christmas Carola will make you think about whole other not good things in Sweden, I'd guess. Like a Toyota? No, not really. Carola is the name of Swedens biggest media whore. A very taalented singer who used to be hot but now seems to be just pathetic.She's released more than one album where she sings christmas carols. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pelle Posted December 11, 2013 Share Posted December 11, 2013 About russian authors my minor experience is that they're quite heavy to read. Not the language they use, it's quite normal. Well, at least the swedish translations, I think. But they're dark and gloomy. They're not light heartened, sts. They're not for me. But I'm still inclined to read War and peace. But that'll have to wait. And today I ordered Orwells Animal farm and Goldings Lord of the flies. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CarewsEyebrowDesigner Posted December 28, 2013 Share Posted December 28, 2013 Just started this Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mjmooney Posted December 28, 2013 VT Supporter Share Posted December 28, 2013 In that edition? Nice. Getting to the end of Mailer's "Harlot's Ghost" now, but took a three day break over Xmas to read this: OK, but he ain't no Kenneth Grahame. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
saturdaygig Posted December 28, 2013 Share Posted December 28, 2013 I love Solzhenitsyn, First Circle and Cancer Ward are both fabulous. I'd start with A Day In The Life Of Ivan Denisovich though, its short and very accessible. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
useless Posted December 28, 2013 Share Posted December 28, 2013 I'm half way through The Great Gatsby, I'm not really all that taken in by it, but I'll see, I've also read a few chapters of Ask the dust, that seems like a real interesting read, reminds me a bit of Hunger by Knut Hamsun, both about struggling writers who dream about how it's going to be when they're successful. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tonyh29 Posted December 29, 2013 Share Posted December 29, 2013 Had Christmas today and got End of days by James SwansonIt's an in depth look at JFK's last days Yeah it's another JFK book for my collection but it's the most in depth one of the assassination and includes details on Oswald's capture and questioning Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CarewsEyebrowDesigner Posted December 29, 2013 Share Posted December 29, 2013 'The City and the Stars' was great. Flew through it. I like Clarke, he captures wonder better than most writers, and he isn't afraid to leave things mysterious. Now on to 'Cathedral' by Raymond Carver. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nigel Posted December 29, 2013 VT Supporter Share Posted December 29, 2013 Crime and Punishment was a surprisingly easy read. You go into it thinking 'ugh, 19th century...', but it's incredibly modern in comparison to the dreaded Victorians. It's also **** brilliant. I found it boring to be honest! I suppose its a common problem with classics, they have been used as source so many times that the original feels lightweight. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AVTuco Posted December 29, 2013 VT Supporter Share Posted December 29, 2013 I use Dostoyevski as a sleeping pill. Works real well. Have been reading this book for six months now every evening. Still don't remember what it's called. Oh yeah, Idiot. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mjmooney Posted December 29, 2013 VT Supporter Share Posted December 29, 2013 Check out Gogol's short stories, especially "The Nose". Quite surreal. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
useless Posted December 29, 2013 Share Posted December 29, 2013 I really enjoyed The Idiot by Dostoyevsky, but his short stories are quite different and can also be really unreal, The Crocodile and The Dream of a Ridiculous spring to mind. I have only read The Cloak by Gogol but really enjoyed it. I find some of the turns of phrase in these Victorian books absolutely hilarious, don't know if that's always intended or just a quirk of the times or what. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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