Last year I linked up with Rose City Reader for her TBR 23 in '23 Challenge to read 23 books from your TBR shelves in 2023. I like this idea because it encouraged me to read books I've had for a while. I'm signing up again this year for the TBR 24 in '24. Gilion … Continue reading Reading Plan for 2024
Russian Novels
The Death of Ivan Ilyich by Leo Tolstoy (1886)
The Death of Ivan Ilyich is a powerful and intense story that Tolstoy wrote when he was in his late fifties, almost a decade after his masterpiece, Anna Karenina. It is the story of a man whose main aim in life was to be comfortable, to enjoy life, and to be approved by society - … Continue reading The Death of Ivan Ilyich by Leo Tolstoy (1886)
Back to the Classics: Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy (1873-1877)
One of the problems with classic literature is that we may think we know what the book is about before we even read it. I can think of many classic books that I’ve never read but could tell you their basic plot. *SPOILER ALERT* This was the problem I had with Anna Karenina because my … Continue reading Back to the Classics: Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy (1873-1877)
Cancer Ward by Alexander Solzhenitsyn (1966)
Russian author and Nobel Prize winner, Alexander Solzhenitsyn, completed his book Cancer Ward in 1966. English translations were published in 1968, and although book was banned in the Soviet Union, unauthorized Russian copies were distributed in samizdat.The story takes place in a male cancer ward of a Soviet hospital in the mid-1950's and revolves … Continue reading Cancer Ward by Alexander Solzhenitsyn (1966)
We by Yevgeny Zamyatin – 'a study of the Machine, the genie that man has thoughtlessly let out of its bottle and cannot put back again.'
Dystopian or anti-Utopian literature is a genre that has always interested me. I can't really describe this type of reading as enjoyable, but I'm attracted by the ideas and thoughts suggested by these types of books and the implications there might be for today's society. We by Yevgeny Zamyatin was completed in 1920-21 before Stalin's … Continue reading We by Yevgeny Zamyatin – 'a study of the Machine, the genie that man has thoughtlessly let out of its bottle and cannot put back again.'
The Year of the Russian Novels
This has been my year of the Russian novel. Mind you, I've only read three but the first two, The Brothers Karamazov and Crime and Punishment both by Fydor Dostoevsky were epics - not just because of the length of the books themselves but also due to the rambling narrative and the confusion of keeping … Continue reading The Year of the Russian Novels
Crime & Punishment by Fyodor Dostoevsky
Well, the 'Crime' occurred in the seventh chapter of this large book, leaving the rest of the book - another thirty-two chapters and an epilogue to deal with the 'Punishment.' Raskolnikov, the main character, believed that some men are extraordinary; they are men of genius and as such are above the law. He … Continue reading Crime & Punishment by Fyodor Dostoevsky
journey & destination 