Discovering Russian Literature discussion

The purpose of this topic is so we can ask questions, comment or make suggestions for the group.

I felt, there were some confusions about "August Nominations" from both members side and mine. So here, this topic is open for any suggestions for the moderator (me), or to get feedback from the group or anything else, that you don't know where else to comment!

Any other ideas, share it here. I'd like this place continue to be a good reading group.

I'm currently interested in your thoughts about these new ideas from some of our group members:

Side-Read discussions on more contemporary writings

Play/Drama reading as a separate part of group-reading


Say 'Yes' to your choice/s

-----------------------

I say YES to Play/Drama reading

YES to Play/Drama

I say YES to Play/Drama reading

YES to Contemporary writings... preferably "long fiction" - Death & the Penguin is on my to-read list :-)
As a general rule I'm interested in long fiction, although I might join in occationally on other reads.

I'd like to see more contemporary writings perhaps even non-Russian writers working in the same style and tradition.

Yes to it all.

YES to Play/Drama reading

Yes - to all of it. Goood idea.

Yes to all, though more slanted towards contemporary than drama

Yes, to all! :)

Yes to Play/Drama

yes

i'd be open to reading anything if there's an english translation available for free online. i need to cut back on my book purchasing :P

Kristen wrote: "i'd be open to reading anything if there's an english translation available for free online. i need to cut back on my book purchasing :P"

Try the library. It is the only way I can afford to read as much as I do!! :)

Maybe adjust the frequency of the group read to be every month and include contemporary Russian fiction as well as classic. Also, we could add some short plays into the cycle along with the short stories. Adding two more reads into the cycle would make things too hard for me to stay current. I don't know if anyone else feels this way, but that's my two cents. I get stuff from the library and they only have one copy of Master and Margarita that came in yesterday, so I'm already playing catch up. Plus, I have class homework and other book clubs.

Yes to both, honestly.
Diversity is the spice of life, though I can understand how that might be to the chagrin of someone who wants to do it all.

I would also suggest including Poetry with Drama as a separate section, though how that would work, I'm not sure.

Suggestions: a fiction reading of classic Russian lit every two months so there is adequate time to read the novels. A monthly reading of plays/poetry/stories of both contemporary and classic writers. Of course, that leaves the question of when to read longer works of fiction by more contemporary authors--consider them a part of the longer readings every two months?

Is it possible (maybe once a year, maybe from January to April) to read and discuss larger works which would take more than 2 months?

well, Id like to read contemporary literature. and well poetry, and also I'd like to read stories about Russia by non russian writers.

I'd like to see a discussion of French perceptions of Russia, to include Custine in the 19th Century and Gide and Barbusse and Romains in the 20th. Discussing a whole culture's reactions to another culture may permit us to get away from the almost inevitable personal subjectivity involved when perceptions are approached on an individual level.

I would love to join a discussion on Dovlatov's books: A Foreign Woman, The Reserve, Suitcase. Please pick one of these books for your next group reads

I also say 'Yes' to The Brothers Karamazov!

Daria wrote: "I would love to join a discussion on Dovlatov's books: A Foreign Woman, The Reserve, Suitcase. Please pick one of these books for your next group reads"

Dovlatov==a new author to me. Always like discovering things--thanks!

Prison camp literature, anyone? I became interested in this area after having to compare Shalamov and Solzhenitsyn in my research paper.

Also, has anyone read Evgenia Ginzburg's 'Journey into the Whirlwind'? That's high up on my list.

And yes to Brothers K!

Filzah wrote: "Prison camp literature, anyone? I became interested in this area after having to compare Shalamov and Solzhenitsyn in my research paper.

Also, has anyone read Evgenia Ginzburg's 'Journey into the ..."

Into the Whirlwind is one of my favorites.

Have you read Eyewitness Auschwitz? It is horrific.

I'd also like to read plays and short story collections.

I will be reading The First Circle sometime between October and December, if anyone is interested in reading it. I have been trying to clear some books off my TBR pile and this one has been on it for a while!

I've just started reading that this week!

Faye, I'm starting The First Circle today, as I had to finish off two other books before tackling this one.

Isn't there a new translation of this? Does anyone
know who it is by?

I've been reading English classics lately and am planning on getting into some of the Russian classics. As I have been reading different thing about Russian classic and different translations I have come to the conclusion that alot of people like the team of Pevear and Volokhonsky for translators. ( As opossed to Constance Gardner) The English novels that I am reading are written in the 1800's and have the verbage of that era which isn't translated but with the Russian books--How much of the feeling of having been written say in the 1800's is lost in the translation. I wouldn't want to read a classic that has been translated into sounding like something modern. I hope I have explained what I am trying to ask. Thanks Janice in Peoria AZ

Pevear and Volokhonsky are very popular, to be sure. I think it is the Oprah effect.

For what it's worth, the Russian translator I respect most hates P/V. She says they are not translators but transcribers.

I read Russian, but not if I am reading for pleasure. So my comment is more personal and less categorical. When I read the Garnett translation of Anna Karenina, I loved the book. When I read the new P/V translation, I stopped, bored to tears, on p. 100. Was that the fault of the translation? Not sure. I may just be less tolerant of 19th-century exposition these days.

One person's view. But I would also note that the Garnett translations are often free, or at least very low cost.

Interesting perspective C.P. Thanks for the comment!

C.P. wrote: "When I read the Garnett translation of Anna Karenina, I loved the book. When I read the new P/V translation, I stopped, bored to tears, on p. 100. Was that the fault of the translation? Not sure. I may just be less tolerant of 19th-century exposition these days...."

I agree with Anna Karenina's Garnett translation. I own it and I had no problem with it and true, most of the e-book available in Garnett translation.

However, personally I didn't like her treatment of Dostoevsky. Tolstoy, I guess it ok. But I think the readers should be grateful to her because she's the person who made the English readers to access Russian literature.

C.P. wrote: "For what it's worth, the Russian translator I respect most hates P/V. She says they are not translators but tra..."

That's very interesting to hear! But they do have good arguments on why P/V beats Garnett. Here's a link

From the Oxford Dictionary of National Biography:
http://www.oxforddnb.com/

"Constance Garnett's requirements for a good translation were sympathy for the author and a love of words and their meanings. She herself had faults: her dialogues are sometimes stiff; her transliteration of Russian names is illogical and inconsistent; she makes many errors. But the speed at which she worked, which was partly to blame for these, allowed her to maintain stylistic unity. Her descriptive passages are often exquisitely done and she eschews linguistic fads or slang. Conrad, for whom Turgenev was Constance Garnett, compared her to a great musician interpreting a great composer. For Katherine Mansfield, Constance Garnett transformed the lives of younger authors by revealing a new world. Without her translations, H. E. Bates believed, modern English literature itself could not have been what it is (Bates, 120)."

@ Amalie

Her Brothers K of Dostoevsky was good.

I have the PV translation of Anna K and then I went online for the Constance Garnett's translation. In the first paragraph comparing the two I see in two places one translator translated 2 and the other 3 in two different spots. To me if I was taking a Russian class and I translated 2 for 3 or visa versa that would be failing. Do P/V when they are translating sound too modern or do they stay with the feel of the time the writer is writing.?

Janice

Have we done Anna Karenina as a group read? I am not necessarily requesting it, but I do like to go back and check out discussions and maybe add to them later. I read the book almost two years ago now, but with the movie out I am thinking about it more.

I'd love to recommend Bulgakov's Heart of a Dog (or Dog's Heart, whichever way you prefer to call it), which is a very good book in my opinion. Or what about Petersburg by Andrey Bely?

I hope it's fine if I chime in.

I am interested in joining the group read for Dr. Zhivago... Does anyone want to make a recommendation on a specific translation/edition for this? I have gone with P&V for a few novels in the past.

Amyjzed wrote: "I am interested in joining the group read for Dr. Zhivago... Does anyone want to make a recommendation on a specific translation/edition for this? I have gone with P&V for a few novels in the past."

P&V are probably fine. So far I've seen only their Karenina and it is the closest to the original I could find. I checked word for word. (I'm a Russian speaker)

Anya wrote: "Don wrote: "Hi, Just checking to see if there is a March group read? Hope all is well with all the moderators. This is a great group."

I second this idea!"

Sorry for not being around. I was in a tight schedule and didn't have enough time to be online. Will let you know about the new plans soon!

I think it'll be great to have a weekly /monthly fun quiz to test our knowledge on Russian literature and the authors. Something creative like a game.

Andrea wrote: "I'd like to see a forum, or thread, on Russian Sci-Fi and Fantasy, if you think it fits the group. If you don't think it fits, can you think of another group on Goodreads where I could find someth..."

Feel free to open a discussion about it. I think it would be interesting.

Janith wrote: "I think it'll be great to have a weekly /monthly fun quiz to test our knowledge on Russian literature and the authors. Something creative like a game."

There were some in the past but weren't that active, there aren't a lot of active members in this group:
https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...
https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...


Usually I do the quizzes and trivia questions we can find in the book page, on the right side.
For example: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/4...
On the right, above "quotes".

Or you can also click on "explore" on the top of the homepage and click on "trivia" and "quizzes" and look there for something about Russian literature.

dely wrote: "Janith wrote: "I think it'll be great to have a weekly /monthly fun quiz to test our knowledge on Russian literature and the authors. Something creative like a game."

There were some in the past ..."

I took the fist quiz on authors and poets . Really good stuff !!. This is exactly what I was talking about. Please keep it up ! I joined this group recently so missed all the fun.

Andrea wrote: "I'd like to see a forum, or thread, on Russian Sci-Fi and Fantasy, if you think it fits the group. If you don't think it fits, can you think of another group on Goodreads where I could find someth..."

Since Russian Sci-Fi and Fantasy is part of Russian Literature it would fit the group. If you (or anybody else) open this thread, i would support it (by reading and participating). Fantasy is a native genre for the Russian lit (starting with Nikolai Gogol), and Sci-Fi was one of the few genres where it was still somewhat possible to express oneself during the Soviet era. I am absolutely ignorant of what has been written in Russian Sci-Fi in the last decades. Would enjoy to explore... And it seems our group needs some refreshment anyway. A new thread might do the trick.

Andrea wrote: "I'd like to see a forum, or thread, on Russian Sci-Fi and Fantasy, if you think it fits the group. If you don't think it fits, can you think of another group on Goodreads where I could find someth..."

I was not around for almost a month, I can see you've already started a thread. It's nice to see such willingness for participation and new ideas. I can move the thread to "Contemporary Fiction" folder and mark it "important" to prioritize it, if you like. Feel free to ask anything, this is a group open for new ideas.

I read a lot of French literature(Camus etc). I believe I lot of that literature is influence by Russian literature to some degree. Is there any room to discussing non-Russian literature that is influence by Russian books? As long as we discuss parallels in this group?

Abram wrote: "I read a lot of French literature(Camus etc). I believe I lot of that literature is influence by Russian literature to some degree. Is there any room to discussing non-Russian literature that is ..."

At the moment, I'm not sure but I'll consider it.