Picked up a batch of Russian books at a charity shop very cheaply last year and have been adding to them. So far up to 43 books. So far I have read A hero of our time by Lermontov and 5 books by Turgenev. I love the book of short stories, Sketches from a hunter's album. Brilliant. Will be reading Dostoyevsky's Brothers Karamazov and Anna Karenin. Best wishes to you and your channel.
That’s a great haul. Teffi has only recently been rediscovered and is insanely good. There are a number of collections of her short stories and other works available in the UK and they’re definitely worth you tracking down. As for Platonov, translator Robert Chandler has made it a mission to translate so many of his works and I think Platonov was a genius. His Chevengur is an epic work and Chandler should be applauded for his work on it. As for Serge his fictions are incredible as are his Notebooks, which NYRB also publish. He was a truly great writer. Happy reading!
Glad you picked up some Chekhov, one of my favorite writers of all time, without a doubt. The one I have certainly read the most from too. You made a good choice! His short stories are my favorite, I think no one else comes close, but the plays are wonderful too. I also began my Chekhov journey with them. I believe the first I read was from my grandfather’s copy- The Cherry Orchard.
Shalamov's stories are great. Pretty miserable stuff, but sometimes his stories are actually beautiful. In the second volume the nyrb published his stories almost turn into essays on other writers, and those are great too.
Those war and peace editions are super neat, which translation is it? Also, as you mentioned, I would love to be a part of a Patreon book club. The most unfortunate thing about my reading life is that I have almost no one to discuss my reading with so that would be so nice.
Shoot, well there will be plenty of other books. I'm thinking we could squeeze 6-8 books within the year while giving each book a reasonable pace for everyone. We'll see!
Shalamov is a contender for one of the greatest writers of the 20th century. I think it’s a shame he gets talked about as a footnote or companion to Solzhenitsyn. Solz doesn’t come close to the horror like Shalamov does. The second volume also confirms this rep. He puts down Chekhov, Gogol, Dostoyevsky ect. and claims a deeper and unique knowledge of Gulag life. Shalamov makes a sole claim to understanding the true depths of the criminal world. It is a miracle he had the strength and courage to survive and write about his experience. Other Russians I recommend: Osip Mandelstam Sergei Dovlatov Victor Serge Vasily Shukskin Gaito Gazdanov
thank you for the video ❤️ really love russian literature, currently reading “humiliated and insulted” by dostoevsky. and book club sounds cool, id love to join
