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I realize there is not a large number of people who will be as excited about this as I am, but I just had to share anyway. :-) After reading Tolstoy and Dostoyevsky last year and reading about a whole bunch of other classic Russian novels I'm now anxious to explore, I just had to have this. I also picked up a book of some of Gogol's short works, and I'm developing a weird obsession with reading Nabokov's other work despite the fact that I hated Lolita. Have you read the little blurbs on any of his other books? Here are a couple:
Invitation to a Beheading
:Like Kafka's The Castle, Invitation to a Beheading embodies a vision of a bizarre and irrational world. In an unnamed dream country, the young man Cincinnatus C. is condemned to death by beheading for "gnostical turpitude." an imaginary crime that defies definition. Cincinnatus spends his last days in an absurd jail, where he is visited by chimerical jailers. an executioner who masquerades as a fellow prisoner, and by his in-laws. who lug their furniture with them into his cell. When Cincinnatus is led out to be executed. he simply wills his executioners out of existence: they disappear, along with the whole world they inhabit.
Despair
:Extensively revised by Nabokov in 1965--thirty years after its original publication--Despair is the wickedly inventive and richly derisive story of Hermann, a man who undertakes the perfect crime--his own murder.
My imagination is captivated. I don't know why. I bought Despair the other day. Perhaps this cold has finally gotten to me. :-)
10 comments:
Nabokov's Lolita was not one of my favorites either.
I did love Fyodor Dostoevsky's Crime and Punishment, though I haven't finished The Brothers Karamazov, and who doesn't love Tolstoy?
Oh I also have a fascination with Russian lit although I haven't read much so I'm not sure why that is. It's definitely one of my goals to read more. Too cool!
Have fun! I love Russian lit. :) If you haven't read it, I highly recommend The Master and Margartia by Mikhail Bulgakov.
Serena ~ I can't stress enough how much I hated Lolita, so this current fascination with Nabokov really is odd. I haven't read BK, but I've been told I must remedy that. :-)
Amanda ~ I'll have to keep on eye on your blog to see which ones you choose. It will be fun to compare notes on what we liked!
Eva ~ I thought of you when I ordered this. :-) I do have the Bulgokov book on my shelf. I'll move it to a more prominent spot to make sure I get to it.
Lezlie
This could be interesting and really as long as you're excited about it that's all that matters. Sadly the UPS man hasn't been by my house lately. lol.
Yay for Russian Literature! I like Gogol's Dead Souls. I think he wrote "The Nose" if I'm remembering correctly, and I laughed my head off while reading it. Have fun reading! Oh, and do try to stay warm. I wish I could ship some of our unseasonal heat your way. Too bad we don't have a giant thermostat so we can average out the temps for everyone.
Dar ~ I'm actually super-excited about it! It will be all I can do to leave it alone for a few days while I finish up some other things.
Terri ~ I've been looking at that book forever! I almost bought it, but I decided on the short fiction just to test out his writing. "The Nose" is in there, so maybe I'll start with that! And if you can figure a way to send a little warm, that would be awesome! It's currently above zero, so I'm pretty tickled. :-)
Lezlie
Wow, I never knew Russian lit could be so intruiging! :-) I like introductions like this one too, I have a intro to British lit, to Irish lit and to American lit sitting on my shelf. I minored in Literature too! :-)
Invitation to a Beheading sounds like an incredible story. Enjoy!
Joanna ~ I think I'll be stocking up on these Cambridge Intros. There are so many good ones!
Ladytink ~ If I enjoy Despair, I think I'm going to read through his novels in the order he wrote them. Though I'm kind of anxious to get to Beheading! :-)
Lezlie
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