To continue on my series of favorite writers, I thought I would now deal with Russian writers. As with the other offerings in this group of posts, there are many excellent authors from which to choose, so I will choose three whom I consider to be extraordinary writers.
One of the most important Russian novelists was Fyodor Dostoevsky, who wrote many works that dealt with the interior workings of the human mind, including in its darkest states. Dostoevsky helped to usher in modernism and a deep psychological approach to writing. Among his most important and best novels are Crime And Punishment and The Idiot.
Anton Checkhov was one of the most important playwrights of the world theater. His work was revolutionary in its approach, incorporating the idea of subtext, or the meaning that exists underneath the spoken words, in his plays. His work challenged both the actors who performed in them and the audience who saw the plays. His best works are The Three Sisters and The Cherry Orchard.
The third writer I will offer is Sergei Lukyanenko, the author of the fantasy series that begins with Night Watch and continues with five others novels. His books are innovative and powerful–he creates a complex world, inhabited by supernatural beings on opposing sides.
I haven’t read anything by Russian writers but I will start reading one of the famous Russian literature which is ‘Anne Karenina’ by Leo Tolstoy.
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That is an excellent choice!
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tolstoy
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Always an excellent choice!
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Bulgakov, though honesty impels me to admit I’ve never read any other Russian works other than Crime and Punishment in high school. But The Master and Margarita is so, so amazing and subversive and dark and magical! I love it so!
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That is a wonderful choice!
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I don’t know any of these, Charles. The only Russian author I can think of that I have read is Tolstoy.
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If you wish to take a dip into this body of water of writing, try some Checkhov.
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Thank you, Charles
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You are very welcome!
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Hard to go past Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn
Just as it would be hard to escape …
the Gulag Archipelago 😎
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That is an excellent point!
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Checkhov, Dostoevsky, Tolstoy, Nabokov, Pushkin, Gorki, Bulgakov, Mayakovsky, Yesenin.
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Thank you for these excellent choices!
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Gorky and Lermontov.
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Thank you!
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The only Russian author that I recall reading is Boris Pasternak. His novel Dr Zhivago is a favorite classic of mine.
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Thank you for an excellent novel suggestion!
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Thank you. Dr Zhivago! Excellent.
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I love that one. The movie too.
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Yes, I agree!
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Isn’t it beautiful. I’ve seen the movie three times, it’s rather long too 😊
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Yes, it is, but long works for this piece!
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It is. I haven’t seen in in ages but must have watched it 5, 6 times.
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It’s often on TCM so I watch when I can.its a beautiful movie
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Yes, it is!
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And Omar Sharif is sooo sexy.
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Never really took to Russians after school forced me to read Soljenitin. Having said that i loved the night watch series. If you liked that have you tried the Rivers of London series by Ben aaronovitch? Similar idea set in London and in my view much better..!!
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Thank you for the suggestion!
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I have tried to read Russian classics but have not succeeded. It was long ago when I approached literature like cod liver oil. I might like it better now but frankly I’m intimidated and there are so many other good writers and writing that I feel I can experience literature that tastes more like candy than cod.
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I certainly would not push you, but I will gently suggest your try one again.
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Chekov was suggested. That might be my gateway.
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Yes, it would be a good one!
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Maybe start with some Chekhov short stories? They go down pretty easy.
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That is a very good idea!
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That’s a great idea! Thanks for the suggestion.
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Dostoevsky! Hands down! (The Idiot is my favorite!)
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Thank you!
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This reminded me of a Russian fantasy series that I cannot for the life of me remember! I started reading the first book about 6 years ago, never got the second. I’ve been trying to remember the name of the book or the author, but no luck! All I really remember is it’s high fantasy (like Lord of the Rings) and the dwarves are peculiar in his world as opposed to their usual depiction because they’re mostly beardless and great with magic in this book. Does that sound like anything you know of?
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Unfortunately, I do not know that series, Peter, but perhaps, someone reading this can help.
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Thank you, Charles, for your post. My favorites are Leo Tolstoy, Anton Chekhov, Alexandr Pushkin, Ivan Turgenev, Fedor Dostoevsky, to name a few.
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Marina, You are very welcome, and thank you for the suggestions.
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Chekhov, Tolstoy, and Dostoevsky.
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Liz, thank you!
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I’d forgotten about Nabokov until I read Bojana’s response. Lolita is a tour de force of the unreliable narrator.
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Yes, It absolutely is!
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