books about living in Soviet Union?

[HollyDay]

We are currently studying the differences between various economies in Econ and also the rise of communism in History.  Could someone recommend some books about living in the USSR?

[Pat in MI]

Midnight in Siberia by David Greene  maybe??

[Sebastian (a lady)]

We are currently studying the differences between various economies in Econ and also the rise of communism in History.  Could someone recommend some books about living in the USSR?

 

One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich

 

Grey is the Colour of Hope (a gulag memoir) 

 

The Endless Steppe (WWII novel about a family deported to Siberia - I forget where they were originally from, maybe the Baltics, perhaps occupied Poland)

[HomeAgain]

How long are you spending on the subject?

 

There is a tween's book called The Wall: Growing Up Behind The Iron Curtain.  It is exceptionally well done in a comic style (mostly) and is autobiographical - the author grew up in Prague.  If your library has it it's worth checking out.

[Daria]

Gray is the Color of Hope was the first book that came to mind.  Also, the Master and Margarita.

[Rosie_0801]

I can't remember titles (and would have to go and dig through the shed to find out) but books written by foreign correspondents are hugely illuminating. You get to hear all sorts of things that don't get published in newspapers.

[lllll]

nm

Edited October 5, 2016 by Cathi

[Mike in SA]

Honestly - and not meaning to be contrarian - these are not particularly realistic representations of life for the typical Soviet citizen. They're extreme examples.

 

That may be sufficient for your needs, though. If you want a more typical example, I can try to hunt down something translated from Russian. Kniga (like Amazon for Russian books) may also have options. A high rating from a native speaker will let you know how impactful the content was in the correct cultural perspective.

[Sebastian (a lady)]

Honestly - and not meaning to be contrarian - these are not particularly realistic representations of life for the typical Soviet citizen. They're extreme examples.

 

That may be sufficient for your needs, though. If you want a more typical example, I can try to hunt down something translated from Russian. Kniga (like Amazon for Russian books) may also have options. A high rating from a native speaker will let you know how impactful the content was in the correct cultural perspective.

 

That is a good point.  It is also worth remembering that the Soviet era covers over 70 years, including the 1930s, World War Two, and the Cold War.

 

In the late 1980s there was a large format photo book called A Day in the Life of the Soviet Union.  You might pair that with The Commissar Vanishes.  I also have a book called The Russian Century, which is another big photo book covering all of the 1900s.  So it included photos of the imperial family, WWI, the revolution and through the Soviet Union.  The captions and text were really good.  There seems to also be a paperback copy, but I don't think it includes the photos.  I would hold out for one of the photo books.

 

The Russians by Hedrick Smith was a staple of the 1970s and 1980s.  It would be too dated to use as a book about what Russia is currently like, but might cover the Soviet period well for your purposes.  He updated it in 1990 with The New Russians.

[Guest]

Not a book, but if you can get your hands on the movie Burnt by the Sun, I would highly recommend it in this case.

[chiguirre]

For a lighter, but IMHO realistic, read about living in the USSR, I'd recommend the Child 44 trilogy by Tom Rob Smith. The first one takes place during the famine in the Ukraine, The Secret Speech is set in 1956 and Agent 6 is set in the 60s. These aren't academic books but they're excellent thrillers and they rung true based on my own knowledge of life in Hungary during the Communist era.

 

Another choice is Svetlana Alexievich. She writes narrative nonfiction that will literally make you cry. Voices from Chernobyl is very powerful.

[Little Nyssa]

Try reading Breaking Stalin's Nose by Yevgeny Yelchin. Terrific book. We met him at a book signing and he is Wonderful. he has some other books too.

 

https://www.amazon.com/Breaking-Stalins-Nose-Eugene-Yelchin-ebook/dp/B0051O9MOA

 

If you are interested in a Christian angle, read Everyday Saints:

 

https://www.amazon.com/Everyday-Saints-Russian-Orthodox-Archimandrite/dp/0984284834

 

"A Prayer for Chernobyl" is awesome. She won the Nobel for it. But it is very, very dark- just warning you so you can discern whether your kids should read it. I was destroyed after I read it. But it will give you a very, very good picture of life there.

 

There is a book called Black and White about growing up in an orphanage there. I think it's by Galiego or Gallegos. I've been told about it, but it is reportedly very, very dark also and I could not handle it so soon after reading Chernobyl Prayer.

 

Good luck!

[Little Nyssa]

for movies, also, Moscow Does Not Believe in Tears.

 

And for a satirical look at the USSR while you learn Russian, look at Alexander Lipson's curriculum.

 

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/089357080X/ref=pd_sim_14_1?ie=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=TSSY1WP7BR16N3G0M95W