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[Paisley Hedgehog]

..

[anissa]

Only one I have read is Crime and Punishment. I enjoyed it. I love tackling these kind of books. I just started Dr Ziavago which takes place in Russia.

[Melinda in VT]

I read both War and Peace and Anna Karenina, but I was much too young. Given that, I'm not sure how much my reactions should be trusted.

 

The long descriptions of military campaigns in War and Peace were boring and difficult for me to follow. (Is there a version that provides maps for those chapters? That would have really helped me.)

 

But I found Anna to be horribly whiny and very annoying. I wanted to strangle her for most of the book. But again, I was very young and had not even had a boyfriend. It might resonate with me more as a middle-age woman.

 

I am curious, what was your big book for 2010? I like that idea.

[Kim in Appalachia]

I've read Crime and Punishment and Anna Karenina. I loved them both. C &P is shorter and moves at a better pace. It is an incredible book, and I would suggest reading that one first. A K is also very good, a little more slow moving, but you want to keep reading it.

 

I have not read War and Peace, and honestly, I don't know if I want to. It didn't look like I would want to finish it.

[Hedgehog]

I'd suggest The Idiot by Dostoyevsky. It's a fascinating study of human personality and the reaction of society to epilepsy. As I understand it Dostoyevsky himself was an epileptic so it's a very "real" book.

[Kirch]

I've read Crime and Punishment and Anna Karenina. Of those two, I'd recommend Anna Karenina. I was in high school when I read C&P, but I really felt like 80% of the book was the main character wandering around town thinking about his crime. It was S-L-O-W. I might do better with it as an adult, but I haven't cared to find out. I read Anna Karenina a few years ago, and while I agree she was somewhat whiny, it was much more interesting (to me) than C&P. It was one of those books that when I finished it, I knew I'd want to go back and read it again sometime so I can catch more of it the next time around.

[Catherine]

A vote for Anna Karenina. Read it as a college student and loved it.

[Ester Maria]

I greatly prefer Dostoevsky to Tolstoy.

Dostoevsky-wise, my favorite remains The Brothers Karamazov, but Crime and Punishment is a classic reading, and The Idiot is very good too. Overall, you cannot go wrong with Dostoevsky, the chances are that whatever you pick is going to lead to some great reading.

 

Tolstoy... War and Peace is written the way it is (superficial characters, etc.) partially purposefully, i.e. a lot of people don't like it, but by the end, you read some great thoughts as well. Anna is more... tolerable. As a rule of the thumb I've noticed that, among people who have read both, men tend to prefer War and Peace and women tend to prefer Anna Karenina. I recommend The Death of Ivan Illich, if you want to read an excellent Tolstoy writing, or The Kreutzer Sonata, or Resurrection. For some odd reason, I found the less talked-about Tolstoy works to be more enjoyable - though of course, reading the two 'canonical' writings one cannot go wrong either.

 

I've read a lot of Russian literature in a certain phase of my life. I'm quite fond of Dostoevsky and Turgenev, personally, more so than Tolstoy.

[Jyniffrec]

I vote for The Brother's Karamazov by Dostoyevsky, but I also loved Anna Karenina. I loved the main character's ramblings, too, although I could see how I wouldn't have at another time in my life.

[duckens]

I have not read either Anna Karenina or War and Peace, but in my early twenties, I read many, many, many classics for fun. (Yeah, I needed a hobby, or a boyfriend, or something.)

 

Whichever you choose, this is my advice:

 

1) For W&P, I have heard that there are a ton of characters. If you choose to read it, start a sheet of paper to list the characters and a few things about them to keep the characters straight.

 

This is also a good strategy to introduce to our kids when we read "The Westing Game" with them.

 

2) Do not be afraid of Cliff's Notes. Many of the classics I read, I bought/read the Cliff's Notes simultaneously. I got SOOOOOOO much more out of each book because of it. The Cliffs often summarizes author biography and historical context.

 

The standard (but not always) structure of Cliffs is to summarize the text, chapter by chapter (or a group of chapters) and then to discuss the historical or symbolic nature of the text (which is something I am not good at).

 

This is helpful if you miss something important in the text, or if there is a period of chapters that simply draaaaaaaaags (like the 5 chapters of Les Miserables that discusses the Paris sewer system. Yes, 5 CHAPTERS).

 

You inspire me to start reading classics again!!!

[Onceuponatime]

I've read Anna Karenina and War and Peace. I vote for War and Peace. Anna Karenina is over rated in my opinon.

[Crissy]

Anna Karenina.

I re-read it this year and I loved it all over again.

[DianeW88]

Anna Karenina.......:ack2: I seriously did NOT like that woman. It did have a very satisfying ending though. :lol:

 

Diane W.

married for 22 years

homeschooling 3 kiddos for 16 years

[MSNative]

Another good book to consider - Thucydides: History of the Peloponnesian War - the Landmark Edition. I just started reading this version and it's fantastic. Makes it so much easier to understand.

 

Not a big Anna Karenina fan. War and Peace - drags in parts, but worthwhile.

[TKDmom]

I read Crime and Punishment for AP English and hated it. I probably hated everything I read in that class, But the mental illness was too disturbing for me.

 

I tried to read Anna Karenina at one point, but I had to put it down. I was fairly young and naive, and the adultery bothered me.

 

I read War and Peace over Christmas break during college (I did nothing but read that break), and I really liked it.

 

So my vote is for War and Peace. I keep thinking I should go back and read these, now that I'm an adult (rather than a college student)...

[Jyniffrec]

 

1) For W&P, I have heard that there are a ton of characters. If you choose to read it, start a sheet of paper to list the characters and a few things about them to keep the characters straight.

 

This is absolutely true for any Russian novel you read. The names are absolutely confusing and you almost need a list with columns for the different names people are called and why (mother's surname, father's surname, the town they are from, nick-names). I have never thought of doing that.

[GWOB]

Anna Karenina.

 

I have tried many times to read War and Peace. I pick it up when I am having bouts of insomnia. I just cannot get through the book. I can barely make it a whole chapter.

 

I did enjoy Anna Karenina. Some parts are a little slow, but overall the book was great. Dostoevsky works too. Maybe a little more approachable than Tolstoy.

 

Now you have me wanting to read my Russians again! Good luck!

[TXMomof4]

. For some odd reason, I found the less talked-about Tolstoy works to be more enjoyable - though of course, reading the two 'canonical' writings one cannot go wrong either.

 

.

 

I've found this to be true of most of the "must read" authors. I greatly prefer their lesser known books.

 

That being said, I absolutely preferred Crime & Punishment to Anna K. I really thought I was going to pull my eyeballs out reading A.K. However, someone on here mentioned trying to read a different translation might prove it to be a little more enjoyable. So, maybe I'll give it another go - although I'm not sure why I need to....:001_huh:

[Stacy in NJ]

introduction. Dostoevsky is wonderfully complex, but I would suggest him after Tolstoy.

[MIch elle]

Anna Karenina is over rated in my opinon.

 

:iagree:

[MIch elle]

Anna Karenina.......:ack2: I seriously did NOT like that woman. It did have a very satisfying ending though. :lol:

 

Diane W.

married for 22 years

homeschooling 3 kiddos for 16 years

 

I began to HATE her! Weak woman!

Edited September 10, 2010 by MIch elle

[Mona100]

I own War and Peace and Anna Karenina. I enjoyed AK much more than War and Peace. I also own C&P even though I have never finished it. I can't get into that book for whatever reason.

 

I am going to have to agree with the PPs about The Brothers Karamazov. I really enjoyed that. I read all of these books as an older teenager/young adult and loved them. I would love to start reading these again.

 

My vote would be Anna Karenina with The Brothers Karamazov afterwards.

[Paisley Hedgehog]

..

[Mrs Mungo]

I'd suggest The Idiot by Dostoyevsky. It's a fascinating study of human personality and the reaction of society to epilepsy. As I understand it Dostoyevsky himself was an epileptic so it's a very "real" book.

 

I agree, this is my favorite. The Brothers Karamazov is good too. I prefer Dostoyevsky over Tolstoy.

 

I am going to somewhat disagree that you really need to keep the characters straight, a lot of them are just archetypes. Make a mental note of what they symbolize and move on. ;)

 

And I've said it before, but I really can't stand Ulysses. Whenever anyone tells me it's their favorite book, I automatically think they are lying. It's horrible of me, I know.

Edited September 9, 2010 by Mrs Mungo

[KnitWit]

I am reading Tolstoy and Dostoevsky.

 

I read Anna Karenina again last year...but a different translation. I loved it the second time around!!!

 

I am enjoying the Russians far more under the translation of Richard Pevear and Larissa Volokhonsky. I highly recommend them, and their publisher posts a nice character list with relational notes. :)

[Alice]

the translation of Richard Pevear and Larissa Volokhonsky. I highly recommend them, and their publisher posts a nice character list with relational notes. :)

 

I second these translators.

 

I read Anna Karenina and Crime and Punishment last year. I enjoyed both quite a bit, but they are very different so it's hard to say just one. I'm reading War and Peace now and enjoying it but finding it harder to get into. I've also read The Brothers Karamazov and really liked that. I think any would be good picks.

 

Definitely keep a list of characters!

[angela in ohio]

I read AK last year. (Some of you may remember that I posted that I was called out at our old church for reading a book "about adultery," and I think just for reading classic literature in general. :001_huh:) If you can read that book and think that (1.) it is just about adultery, or (2.) it isn't making a statement against adultery, you are reading a different version than I did. ;)

 

Possible spoilers, I suppose:

The way he compares the effects of adultery on a woman's life to the breaking of a horse's back. Pow! The train, the political and social commentary.... so, so good!

Edited September 9, 2010 by angela in ohio

[kalanamak]

I'd suggest The Idiot by Dostoyevsky. It's a fascinating study of human personality and the reaction of society to epilepsy. As I understand it Dostoyevsky himself was an epileptic so it's a very "real" book.

 

:iagree: It is a good place to start for a fat Russian novel. For just starting a Russian novel, I'd start with A Day in the Life of Ivan D. and move to The Idiot next.

 

As a younger woman, I'm sure Anna K was best, but as I matured, I enjoyed War and Peace done with a history book and with maps of the war.

 

When in doubt, I pick a Constance Garnett translation.

 

Don't forget some humor:

Heart of a Dog...short and very funny. Dead Souls....everyone should read this, and I rank it well above Anna K. The Master and Margarita....the Devil visits the USSR. Wikipedia has a nice entry on it.

 

Turgenev is good reading, too.

Edited September 9, 2010 by kalanamak

[kalanamak]

Another good book to consider - Thucydides: History of the Peloponnesian War - the Landmark Edition. I just started reading this version and it's fantastic. Makes it so much easier to understand.

 

 

This book is beyond wonderful. It might be the best book I've ever read. It is not light reading. The syntax is amazingly complex, as it is trying to get across a huge amount in each sentence. I read it 10 pages at a time, and I read it aloud and I am IN LOVE with this book. The speeches are best of all, and it is true, there is nothing new under the sun. I feel as if all of history is contained in this book: no human motive, action, or response is missing.

 

Back to the Russians....

[pqr]

Another good book to consider - Thucydides: History of the Peloponnesian War - the Landmark Edition. I just started reading this version and it's fantastic. Makes it so much easier to understand.

 

Not a big Anna Karenina fan. War and Peace - drags in parts, but worthwhile.

 

 

I agree, the funeral oration by Pericles is superb and well worth a read even if nothing else in the History is read.

 

 

As to Russian literature how about Pasternak's Dr. Zhivago?

Bulgakov's White Guard

or for an incredibly sad read but much more contemporary try Kuznetsov's Babi Yar

Edited September 9, 2010 by pqr

[lisabelle]

I'd go with Anna Karenina over War and Peace (though I do have the newer translation of W&P in my book pile; I want to see how it compares with the Maude).

 

Like so many others, I really prefer the works of Dostoevsky. In my hs AP English class (oh so many years ago) it was required summer reading. But I didn't, and planned to fake my way through it with Cliff's Notes. Then the school year started and when teacher-led discussion of C&P started, I realized I was missing out and that it sounded like a really good book! In college I read Brothers K and loved that too, though the older me thinks if I went back to it I might find it a little overwrought.

 

The thing about Anna Karenina I realized as I've read the classics over the years, is that it seems like every culture has a novel about an unfaithful woman who is ultimately punished for her transgressions. For the Russians it's AnnaK. For the Germans Effi Briest. The French: Madame Bovary. Etc., etc.

[Rosie_0801]

I read both War and Peace and Anna Karenina, but I was much too young. Given that, I'm not sure how much my reactions should be trusted.

 

The long descriptions of military campaigns in War and Peace were boring and difficult for me to follow. (Is there a version that provides maps for those chapters? That would have really helped me.)

 

 

Urgh, That's all I can say about War and Peace too. I read it when I was about 24, and had been able to read and enjoy Les Miserables at 15 (to give some kind of yard stick) but War and Peace was so dull it took me 18 months to finish.

 

I haven't read Anna Karenina yet. I tried, but it's not the sort of thing you can get into while sitting on the couch breastfeeding with a toddler climbing on your head. It can't be as excruciating as War and Peace, I'm sure!

 

Rosie

[ChristineW]

I really liked War & Peace (Pevear translation). MIL purchased it for me as a Christmas present two years ago and I spent all of January and part of February on bedrest while pregnant with DD2. That book kept me occupied so that I didn't worry so much or get bored. After it ended, I wanted to name DD Natasha but DH said absolutely not.

 

I also liked Ak but found the heroine and the supposed hero really selfish and annoying at times. Brother K was a bit over my head when I read it in college but I bet I'd love it now.

 

Christine W

[BamaTanya]

 

I haven't read Anna Karenina yet. I tried, but it's not the sort of thing you can get into while sitting on the couch breastfeeding with a toddler climbing on your head. It can't be as excruciating as War and Peace, I'm sure!

 

Rosie

 

:lol::lol::lol:

 

So I DO have an excuse for the past years of brain mush??? :D

[kalanamak]

I

 

The thing about Anna Karenina I realized as I've read the classics over the years, is that it seems like every culture has a novel about an unfaithful woman who is ultimately punished for her transgressions. For the Russians it's AnnaK. For the Germans Effi Briest. The French: Madame Bovary. Etc., etc.

 

I've not read Effi, but I never saw it that way, but that the very thing that led them to a bad end also had led them to infidelity. Tragedy in the sense of a character flaw that leads them over a bumpy path that predictably ends poorly.

[angela in ohio]

I've not read Effi, but I never saw it that way, but that the very thing that led them to a bad end also had led them to infidelity. Tragedy in the sense of a character flaw that leads them over a bumpy path that predictably ends poorly.

 

:iagree: Infidelity was surely not the only vice in the women, either, just the most noticable to readers apparently. It was one of multiple signs of a flawed character.

 

You could add Myrtle from The Great Gatsby as the U.S. contribution to the list, though. ;)

[ma23peas]

I've read both, have to say, I would vote for "Count of Monte Cristo" :) or "Lord of the Rings" :) My life is just too boggled with homeschooling to put me through the angst of the first two you mentioned...dark, brooding, sad, give me a little more hope in my reads of late! :)

 

Enjoy and let us know how you liked the one you chose!

Tara