What are you currently reading?

[Florestan]

Conrad was translated and published in Russian almost during his lifetime, but his popularity in Soviet times is not comparable to the popularity of Mark Twain, who was published in millions of copies, filmed screenings, etc.

Which only proves that Twain was much more palatable to the Soviet censorship than Conrad. 

[AnotherSpin]

Which only proves that Twain was much more palatable to the Soviet censorship than Conrad. 

You bet. A pauper taking the place of the prince as the realization of the Bolshevik hope.

[Florestan]

You bet. A pauper taking the place of the prince as the realization of the Bolshevik hope.

 

[vers la flamme]

With the James talk here recently I decided to pick up The Turn of the Screw. I have no idea how representative of his work this book is, probably not very, but I am enjoying it greatly, even though I have to read each sentence at least three times to understand what the hell the narrator is trying to say. Very, very eerie atmosphere, and definitely picking up on the strangeness that Borges referred to. I now want to read The Portrait of a Lady which I seem to recall is supposed to be from an earlier period before he adapted certain bizarre mannerisms of prose style which can be found in this later novella. The idea of reading one of his lengthier late period novels seems right now extremely daunting with how slow going even this short book is.

Edit: Thanks to Mandryka for recently re-sparking my interest in this author I've long been very curious about. Also today is the author's birthday, an interesting coincidence I discovered after buying the book.

[AnotherSpin]

I wonder if there are a few Russian members and they can provide thoughts/insights about the non-Russian editions of Russian literature. My gut feeling is that about 70 percent of the text could be translated to non-Slavic language accurately and aesthetically.

Big fan of Dostoyevsky, but I don't personally consider the Karamazov his successful work.

I live in Ukraine, however, Russian is my native language. I read almost all of Dostoevsky 30-40 years ago. There was no desire to re-read it before, and there is none now. I have nothing to say about the translations of Dostoevsky or other Russian-language authors; I never had the idea to inquire. Nevertheless, for some reason I have the feeling that Dostoevsky in translation is much more popular in the West than in the Russian-speaking environment. Perhaps he is better in translation than in the original? I don't remember meeting D.'s serious fans among my Russian-speaking friends. On the contrary, I have heard negative attitudes more than once. Compared to that, the perception of Tolstoy is much more favourable, or at least it used to be. Also Gogol, Chekhov. Pushkin and Lermontov, of course.

Perhaps it should be taken into account that all the authors mentioned above were in the program of compulsory study at secondary school in the USSR. Children were forced to read Crime and Punishment at the age of 13 or 14, War and Peace a year or two later.  For a child's psyche D. is hardly suitable, rejection could leave a trace for life. I read the rest of his main books, The Idiot, etc., in my university years.

[DavidW]

With the James talk here recently I decided to pick up The Turn of the Screw.

I reread that a few years ago.  The ambiguity in the interpretation is perfectly executed!

[Mandryka]

The idea of reading one of his lengthier late period novels seems right now extremely daunting with how slow going even this short book is.

It will always be daunting. You have to find a way of enjoying the daunt.

[vers la flamme]

Perhaps it should be taken into account that all the authors mentioned above were in the program of compulsory study at secondary school in the USSR. Children were forced to read Crime and Punishment at the age of 13 or 14, War and Peace a year or two later.  For a child's psyche D. is hardly suitable, rejection could leave a trace for life. I read the rest of his main books, The Idiot, etc., in my university years.

Sheesh Sounds like a crime against children. That being said, I was 15 when I first read Crime & Punishment (in translation, the P&V), and I loved it—but I think I'd have hated it if I'd been forced to read it rather than picking it up on my own curiosity.

It will always be daunting. You have to find a way of enjoying the daunt.

Of course—I'm under no illusions that I'm getting any smarter with age. Rather the contrary, hence why I'm on this kick of tackling challenging stuff that I never got to before, before it's too late.

[AnotherSpin]

Sheesh Sounds like a crime against children. That being said, I was 15 when I first read Crime & Punishment (in translation, the P&V), and I loved it—but I think I'd have hated it if I'd been forced to read it rather than picking it up on my own curiosity.

[..]

In Soviet schools we were not only forced to read, but also to make correct conclusions, in full accordance with Lenin's testaments.

[Mandryka]

Of course—I'm under no illusions that I'm getting any smarter with age. Rather the contrary, hence why I'm on this kick of tackling challenging stuff that I never got to before, before it's too late.

Though I would say this: in those later novels, you have to have experienced a bit of life and love to make sense of them. The early novels is basically innocent American meets wicked and calculating Europeans and gets taken for a ride. That's there in the later stuff -- but there's a lot more of something else . . . I don't know the word . . . it's to do with the fundamental unknowability of ourselves and others  -- like in Proust (which was, for me, much easier to read.)  That unknowability, the horror of that unknowability,  only became clear to me after a fair amount of emotional water had passed under my personal bridge.

[vers la flamme]

Though I would say this: in those later novels, you have to have experienced a bit of life and love to make sense of them. The early novels is basically innocent American meets wicked and calculating Europeans and gets taken for a ride. That's there in the later stuff -- but there's a lot more of something else . . . I don't know the word . . . it's to do with the fundamental unknowability of ourselves and others  -- like in Proust (which was, for me, much easier to read.)  That unknowability, the horror of that unknowability,  only became clear to me after a fair amount of emotional water had passed under my personal bridge.

Very interesting. I have not read Proust yet either. I figured I'd tackle his stuff when I turn 30 which, damn, is coming up 

I have always enjoyed books which deal with the kind of social/interpersonal alienation that I think you describe. I read a few books of fiction this past year which, I think, might examine that to some degree or another: Ben Lerner's Leaving the Atocha Station, and a few books by Kazuo Ishiguro, especially The Unconsoled. Of course these are writers of much later and much different generations/cultures (a Millennial American and a Boomer Japanese-Brit, respectively) but I would recommend checking them out if this kind of alienation is a theme that resonates with you. Edit: Obvious caveat that I haven't read Proust or James and can't speak to how similar they are. So take the recommendations with a grain of salt.

[Florestan]

Children were forced to read Crime and Punishment at the age of 13 or 14, War and Peace a year or two later.  For a child's psyche D. is hardly suitable, rejection could leave a trace for life.

Indeed. Actually, the whole notion of studying Tolstoy and Dostoevsky in school is preposterous. Professional critics devote whole years of their adult life, if not THE whole adult life, to interpreting and analyzing them and can't come up with a consensus, yet literature teachers somehow got into their head the idea that kids can successfully solve T and D problems in a semester. 

[Florestan]

you have to have experienced a bit of life and love to make sense of them.

Indeed and this is precisely why Tolstoy and Dostoevsky, along with lots of other great writers, are eminently unsuitable for kids.

I remember having started reading Stendhal's The Red and the Black when I was 13 or 14. I couldn't make it past the first three chapters, it bored the hell out of me. Twenty years and a passionate yet ill-fated love after, it was a page turner.

[AnotherSpin]

Indeed and this is precisely why Tolstoy and Dostoevsky, along with lots of other great writers, are eminently unsuitable for kids.

I remember having started reading Stendhal's The Red and the Black when I was 13 or 14. I couldn't make it past the first three chapters, it bored the hell out of me. Twenty years and a passionate yet ill-fated love after, it was a page turner.

When I was a kid, my parents had a 200 volumes edition of Library of World Literature (Библиотека Всемирной Литературы) at home. I read almost all the volumes as a teenager. Including Stendhal's selections, as well as volumes of Hugo, Flaubert, Balzac, Zola, France, Barbusse, Rolland, etc. That's from the French, but there was the rest. From Homer and ancient China to 20th century writers from various countries. To that  several dozens of collected works editions and numerous single volumes of Russian and foreign authors. Was it too early? There must be strong arguments in favor of that conclusion. At the same time, reading serious literature at a tender age must have had its positive effects. At the very least, I can read now whatever weird books I want without worrying about missing out on the classics

[Florestan]

When I was a kid, my parents had a 200 volumes edition of Library of World Literature (Библиотека Всемирной Литературы) at home. I read almost all the volumes as a teenager. Including Stendhal's selections, as well as volumes of Hugo, Flaubert, Balzac, Zola, France, Barbusse, Rolland, etc. That's from the French, but there was the rest. From Homer and ancient China to 20th century writers from various countries. To that  several dozens of collected works editions and numerous single volumes of Russian and foreign authors. Was it too early? There must be strong arguments in favor of that conclusion. At the same time, reading serious literature at a tender age must have had its positive effects. At the very least, I can read now whatever weird books I want without worrying about missing out on the classics

I am not against kids reading the classics (I myself read a lot of them as a kid, even if for many of them real understanding came only when re-reading them later in life), I am against kids being forced to read them in school and being graded for that.

[AnotherSpin]

I am not against kids reading the classics (I myself read a lot of them as a kid, even if for many of them real understanding came only when re-reading them later in life), I am against kids being forced to read them in school and being graded for that.

The longer I live, the less often I feel like I'm understanding what's going on around. Or, more precisely, the less I feel the desire to understand it. 

[T. D.]

Joseph Conrad was published in Romanian translation in the 1960s: Lord Jim, Heart of Darkness, Nostromo. He's one of my favorite writers, a truly unique style and a sumptuous use of English, despite him being Polish.

Yes, Conrad wrote beautiful English prose. He and Vladimir Nabokov stand out in that regard for me, despite English not having been their first language.

[DavidW]

I am not against kids reading the classics (I myself read a lot of them as a kid, even if for many of them real understanding came only when re-reading them later in life), I am against kids being forced to read them in school and being graded for that.

There is a spectrum though.  In high school, teachers usually expose students to short, easier reads like The Great Gatsby and not some gigantic Russian doorstop (at least in the US, it looks like the Ukraine is a different story).

[AnotherSpin]

There is a spectrum though.  In high school, teachers usually expose students to short, easier reads like The Great Gatsby and not some gigantic Russian doorstop (at least in the US, it looks like the Ukraine is a different story).

It was in USSR. There are no Russian doorstops in school program in Ukraine anymore.

[steve ridgway]

In Soviet schools we were not only forced to read, but also to make correct conclusions, in full accordance with Lenin's testaments.

That sounds frustrating; I found an hour's indoctrination at Sunday School once a week bad enough  .