March 14, 2020

Coronavirus Coping: Russian Lit has the Answers


Coronavirus Coping: Russian Lit has the Answers
Portrait of Natalia Petrunkevich (1892) Nikolai Nikolaevich Ge

As all Russophiles know, Russian literature has an answer for everything.

It is a deeply comforting thought that we love to share with the world. And so, in these times of unusual crisis and uncertainty, we recommend turning to the classics for solace and illumination.

Of course, not everyone interprets reality in the same way. We are all looking to solve different problems. With that in mind, here are 17 recommendations for how Russian literature can meet you where you are at, and hopefully take you away from all this madness, if only for a little while...

If you feel this Try reading this  
We are under attack, in the midst of a deep existential crisis, and it is going to take the boundless efforts of all the people to counter this threat. War and Peace, by Lev Tolstoy War and Peace

There is something surreal, even farcical about these times. It is as if a battle of Good vs. Evil is being played out through each of us, yet in a very curious way. I expect to be invited to a supernatural ball any day now. Master and Margarita, by Mikhail Bulgakov

Master and Margarita


These are dark, dark times, yet I cannot help but kindle hope for the future. We will get through this, so long as we fasten ourselves to love and community. Into the Whirlwind, by Evgenia Ginzburg

Into the Whirlwind


I have a cartload and a half full of nostalgia for the way things were and just don’t want to face this future I see unfolding before us. Can’t things just go on as they have been? The Cherry Orchard, by Anton Chekhov

The Cherry Orchard


If there is one good thing to come from all this social distancing, it is a tearing down of the falsehoods and petty veneer of social convention. We all need to battle against our pride and selfishness and not be so self-centered. Yevgeny Onegin, by Alexander Pushkin

Onegin


Humor, I need humor in dark times. How about something with a Quixote-esque quest embedded in it, and plenty of sharp jabs at society and corruption? Oh, and the characters have to be eccentric yet believable. The Little Golden Calf, by Ilf and Petrov

Little Golden Calf


I believe life is a bit gloomy, oppressive, and senseless, and the best way to cope is to prepare well against adversity and live an ordered life. Or perhaps we can wrest beauty from ugliness by escaping to the country and creating a less complicated existence. Or, better yet, maybe one should just not be governed by banalities but by human love and compassion. The Little Trilogy (“The Man in the Case,” “Gooseberries,” and “About Love”), by Anton Chekhov

Little Trilogy


I am haunted by the people we may lose, by the futures that will be crushed, the families destroyed, by this tiny virus. House on the Embankment, by Yuri Trifonov

House on the Embankment


We must endure. Survival is our utmost concern. The odds may be against us, but with the right attitude and a heavy dose of resilience and luck, we can get through this. One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich, by Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn

One Day Ivan Denisovich


What we are living through now is only a simulacrum (an imposter, if you will) of something far direr. We are fooling ourselves if we think the "real thing" is here already. The Inspector General, by Nikolai Gogol

Inspector General


I am particularly worried about those who are trying to profit from this global pandemic at the expense of others. Such people represent the moral decay of our society and  should be raised up as symbols of ridicule. Dead Souls, by Nikolai Gogol

Dead Souls


I need a refuge. I just want to escape from our over-busy, over-complicated lives to a simpler life. How about rural life in nineteenth-century Russia? Sure, it was far from perfect, but at least it was real. A Sportsman’s Notebook, by Ivan Turgenev

Sportmen's Sketches


Sure, a refuge sounds great, but I don't want to go any further back than the mid-twentieth. And I would like to disappear into stories of love and passion. Is there anything like that in Russian literature, a novel or story collection devoted entirely to love in its many forms? Dark Avenues, by Ivan Bunin

Dark Avenues


I am a bit of an idealist and feel we can all do a bit better than the middling lives we accept for ourselves. Call me mad, but I find our social vanities and consumerism to be hypocritical and short-sighted when so much of the world needs better of us. Woe from Wit, by Alexander Griboyedov

Woe from Wit


I need some good dystopian literature, to remind me that things could be far, far worse. But it should be really well written. The Slynx, by Tatyana Tolstaya

Slynx


The pace and scope of change surrounding us are just frightening – at times even debilitating. Add to that a culture that is materialistic, self-absorbed, greedy and manipulative, and I really feel we could use an anti-hero – someone who is compassionate and selfless, thoughtful and deliberate – in short, a good person. The Idiot, by Fyodor Dostoyevsky  

The Idiot


 

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Some of Our Books

Woe From Wit (bilingual)

Woe From Wit (bilingual)

One of the most famous works of Russian literature, the four-act comedy in verse Woe from Wit skewers staid, nineteenth century Russian society, and it positively teems with “winged phrases” that are essential colloquialisms for students of Russian and Russian culture.
At the Circus (bilingual)

At the Circus (bilingual)

This wonderful novella by Alexander Kuprin tells the story of the wrestler Arbuzov and his battle against a renowned American wrestler. Rich in detail and characterization, At the Circus brims with excitement and life. You can smell the sawdust in the big top, see the vivid and colorful characters, sense the tension build as Arbuzov readies to face off against the American.
Bears in the Caviar

Bears in the Caviar

Bears in the Caviar is a hilarious and insightful memoir by a diplomat who was “present at the creation” of US-Soviet relations. Charles Thayer headed off to Russia in 1933, calculating that if he could just learn Russian and be on the spot when the US and USSR established relations, he could make himself indispensable and start a career in the foreign service. Remarkably, he pulled it of.
Turgenev Bilingual

Turgenev Bilingual

A sampling of Ivan Turgenev's masterful short stories, plays, novellas and novels. Bilingual, with English and accented Russian texts running side by side on adjoining pages.
Survival Russian

Survival Russian

Survival Russian is an intensely practical guide to conversational, colloquial and culture-rich Russian. It uses humor, current events and thematically-driven essays to deepen readers’ understanding of Russian language and culture. This enlarged Second Edition of Survival Russian includes over 90 essays and illuminates over 2000 invaluable Russian phrases and words.
Tolstoy Bilingual

Tolstoy Bilingual

This compact, yet surprisingly broad look at the life and work of Tolstoy spans from one of his earliest stories to one of his last, looking at works that made him famous and others that made him notorious. 
Steppe / Степь (bilingual)

Steppe / Степь (bilingual)

This is the work that made Chekhov, launching his career as a writer and playwright of national and international renown. Retranslated and updated, this new bilingual edition is a super way to improve your Russian.
The Pet Hawk of the House of Abbas

The Pet Hawk of the House of Abbas

This exciting new trilogy by a Russian author – who has been compared to Orhan Pamuk and Umberto Eco – vividly recreates a lost world, yet its passions and characters are entirely relevant to the present day. Full of mystery, memorable characters, and non-stop adventure, The Pet Hawk of the House of Abbas is a must read for lovers of historical fiction and international thrillers.  
Murder and the Muse

Murder and the Muse

KGB Chief Andropov has tapped Matyushkin to solve a brazen jewel heist from Picasso’s wife at the posh Metropole Hotel. But when the case bleeds over into murder, machinations, and international intrigue, not everyone is eager to see where the clues might lead.
Jews in Service to the Tsar

Jews in Service to the Tsar

Benjamin Disraeli advised, “Read no history: nothing but biography, for that is life without theory.” With Jews in Service to the Tsar, Lev Berdnikov offers us 28 biographies spanning five centuries of Russian Jewish history, and each portrait opens a new window onto the history of Eastern Europe’s Jews, illuminating dark corners and challenging widely-held conceptions about the role of Jews in Russian history.
The Moscow Eccentric

The Moscow Eccentric

Advance reviewers are calling this new translation "a coup" and "a remarkable achievement." This rediscovered gem of a novel by one of Russia's finest writers explores some of the thorniest issues of the early twentieth century.
The Little Humpbacked Horse (bilingual)

The Little Humpbacked Horse (bilingual)

A beloved Russian classic about a resourceful Russian peasant, Vanya, and his miracle-working horse, who together undergo various trials, exploits and adventures at the whim of a laughable tsar, told in rich, narrative poetry.

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