Question by Sweet Voltaire: What are some of the greatest works of Russian literature?
Russia (and its history) has always fascinated me, and I’m interested in reading some Russian literature to broaden my knowledge on the topic. The only Russian literature I’ve read so far was “We” by Yevgeny Zamyatin, and it’s one of my favorite books.
Other suggestions?
Answers and Views:
Answer by Chicken Tenders!
Crime and Punishment. That books really good but very complicated.
What do you think? Answer below!
lizzybennet245 says
Russians read the following classical works of the19th century at school (it's possible to call them the greatest ones):
"Yevgeny Onegin", "The Tales of the Late Ivan Petrovich Belkin", "Boris Godunov" by Alexander Pushkin;
"Crime and Punishment" by Fyodor Dostoyevsky;
"War and Peace", "Anna Karenina" by Leo Tolstoy;
"A Hero of Our Time" by Michael Lermontov;
"The Dead Souls", "The Inspector General" by Nikolai Gogol
My favorite book is "A Hero of Our Time".
The Duck [Happy CNY! says
If you want something recent, try the World of Watches series by Sergei Lukyanenko. It's not -lit- in the classic sense, but it's pretty good. Modern day fantasy. Contains random snippets of philosophy just like most Russian novel's I've read. I wonder why Russian authors love philosophy so much.
citizenx319 says
The only Russian literature I've read, part or in full, and it's long ago, were Dostoyevsky (sp?) and of course, Tolstoy — one should definitely read Tolstoy … definitely. Real nitty gritty of life .. I've heard there are some good Russian science fiction, but i don't know if it comes in English yet. ("I'm a dinosaur")
piggly5000 says
My favorite so far was Master and Margarita by Bulgakov. Very very funny and thought provoking.
Runner up was Anna Karenina.
Check out some poetry by Pushkin while you're at it, amazing stuff.
Happy reading!
Emily C says
It depends on the era, of course. The following are some of the greatest from the Golden Era and early 19th century:
– Aleksandr Pushkin: Pushkin’s most renowned work, the novel in verse Evgeny Onegin & prose including The five short stories that form his Povesti pokoinogo Ivana Petrovicha Belkina (1831; The Tales of Belkin), the story “Pikovaia dama” (1834; “The Queen of Spades”) Kapitanskaia dochka (1836; The Captain’s Daughter),
– Mikhail Lermontov: The best-known of his long poems, Demon.
also wrote his novel Geroi nashego vremeni (1837-1840; A Hero of Our Time) consists of five interconnected stories.
– Nikolay Gogol was the most original master of Russian prose of the 19th century. Gogol’s early short stories, collected as Vechera na khutore bliz Dikanki (1831-1832; Evenings on a Farm near Dikanka), his second collection, Mirgorod (1835), “Nos” (1836; “The Nose”), “Shinel” (1842; “The Overcoat”). Gogol’s best-known work is the novel Mertvye dushi (1842; Dead Souls),
Leo Tolstoy: Detstvo (1852; Childhood, Sevastopolskie rasskazy (1855-1856; Sebastopol Tales), Kazaki (1863; The Cossacks), and the one I first read when I was 8, Voina i mir (1865-1869; War and Peace)
There a lot more. You may check them out on MSN Encarta