Even the most casual visitor to the Ramblings will be aware of my love of Russian books and their authors, and during the last year or so I’ve spent a lot of time immersed in volumes short and long, from Tolstoy to Dostoevsky to Krzhizhanovsky. I’ve never quite pinpointed what it is that appeals to be me so much about these works, but I came across an interesting quote on “Russia Beyond the Headlines“, whose arts pages I peruse regularly:
“I recall how once at a conference in America a Japanese professor stood up and announced: “I have studied Russian literature my whole life and have pinpointed four key qualities of Russian prose. One, it is something inordinately large in scale, and two, it purports to edify the reader. Three, it is very somber and devoid of humor. And four, the author conceitedly places himself above the reader. But then we have the author Sergei Dovlatov, in whose case all four of these qualities are reversed. It is not edifying, he converses with his reader on equal terms, he writes with brevity and is funny.”
This was an exaggeration on the part of the professor. The point there is that Russian literature is not conceited, it simply digs too deep for most ordinary people. And if we want to isolate the enzyme of Russianness, then it lies in the perception of literature as some kind of ultra-text, literature that goes beyond its boundaries and directly influences life, much like a sermon. Such a stance towards the world is not meant to be unpalatable, and there are certainly comparable situations elsewhere. But the crux is the nearly unattainable goal of translating and re-rendering this for broad consumption.”
(by Dmitry Bak, a professor at the Russian State University for the Humanities and director of the Museum of Literature)
I found myself chucking at the Japanese professor’s statement that Russian literature is “somber and devoid of humor”, as I’ve found it far from this, laughing my socks off at some of the volumes I’ve read – anything by Bulgakov, for a start. However, I think Bak really hits the nail on the head when he talks about digging too deep – it’s the depth I love in Russian literature, and I rejoice in its ability to mixture humour, pathos, deep philosophy alongside the ridiculous. I feel another year of spending time with the Russians coming on!
Liz at Libro
Jan 06, 2014 @ 12:37:44
I haven’t done ANY Russians, ever, as far as I can tell (really??) so will have to have a go – esp as deep, funny, philosophical could be applied to Iris Murdoch for example. Any suggestions on a first to try?
kaggsysbookishramblings
Jan 06, 2014 @ 13:22:19
Wow – that’s a hard one! Possibly something short – any of the short Dostoevskys I’ve reviewed, or maybe Chekhov – his short stories are exquisite, but he’s also done longer things like “The Shooting Party”. For more modern, Soviet era stuff, really anything by Bulgakov – “The Fatal Eggs” and “Heart of a Dog” are great, and of course “The Master and Margarita” if you want something more substantial. Tolstoy is great (or at least Anna Karenina, which I read last year) and then there are the more quirky authors like Sigizmund Krzhizhanovsky. I’d suggest raiding your local library, reading the first chapter of a selection of books and see what takes your fancy!
Alex
Jan 06, 2014 @ 13:57:56
It’s a long time since I read any Russian literature but even I was rising up in protest about the notion that it lacks humour. Perhaps Russian humour doesn’t travel as far as Japan.
kaggsysbookishramblings
Jan 06, 2014 @ 14:16:06
🙂 Maybe not – I don’t know a lot about Japanese humour! But certainly Bulgakov always makes me laugh!
Bruce F
Jan 06, 2014 @ 15:35:30
If you are looking for road map through Dostoevsky’s theological labyrinths, Rowan Williams is your man, although for me it fell only just within the pale of readability.
Probably the most unsung biographical work in this area is Laurence Kelly’s ‘Lermontov: Tragedy in the Caucasus’, which I would recommend to anybody.
kaggsysbookishramblings
Jan 06, 2014 @ 15:58:39
Thanks Bruce – I’ve yet to explore Lermontov’s work in any depth so a biography will be useful!
heavenali
Jan 07, 2014 @ 21:22:58
I went through a Russian phase years ago. I am surprised at my younger self now, I wonder what I saw in them as now I feel overwhelmed at the thought of reading many of them. Not Turgenev though I want to read more of him.
kaggsysbookishramblings
Jan 07, 2014 @ 22:01:01
I *was* a bit daunted at the thought of Anna Karenina and Brothers Karamazov but I ended up loving them. Mind you, the thought of Hardy overwhelms me so I guess you like what you like!! 🙂
Melusine
Jun 11, 2014 @ 04:51:42
Hardy … just to clarify, are we talking of Thomas Hardy?
kaggsysbookishramblings
Jun 11, 2014 @ 08:28:12
We are indeed!