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"Byt" in Russian Literature | ||
Tags: Literature | Russian | ||
 Language Learning Forum : Books, Literature & Reading |  | |
| TixhiiDon Tetraglot Senior Member Japan Joined 5455 days ago 772 posts - 1474 votes  Speaks: English*, Japanese, German, Russian Studies: Georgian | Message 1 of 5 24 December 2009 at 1:41am | IP Logged |
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I have a fascination with the Soviet period, and in particular the "Urban Prose" that became popular in the 60s and 70s. I have read, and loved, Trifonov's Moskovskie Povesti and Baranskaya's Nedelya kak Nedelya, but although I have searched hard, I have never really been able to find other works of this type, i.e. fiction that depicts everyday life ("byt") under Soviet rule post-Stalin.
So, to all the Russians and Russianists out there, I would be truly grateful if you could give me some more recommendations. I can read Russian, so don't limit yourselves to translated works in your replies. I realize it's rather an obscure request, but here's hoping! 1 person has voted this message useful | |
| TixhiiDon Tetraglot Senior Member Japan Joined 5455 days ago 772 posts - 1474 votes Speaks: English*, Japanese, German, Russian Studies: Georgian | Message 3 of 5 24 December 2009 at 11:07pm | IP Logged |
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Fantastic, bzoh (sorry I can't produce all the accents in your name, let alone have the first idea how to pronounce it!) Thanks for the tip.
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| nadia Triglot Groupie Russian Federation Joined 5505 days ago 50 posts - 98 votes Speaks: Russian*, English, French Studies: Hindi | Message 4 of 5 31 December 2009 at 3:56pm | IP Logged |
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TixiiDon - can you believe it, I absolutely misread your nickname; :) I read it "TiksiDon". And "Quiet Flows the Don"/"Тихий Дон" is a book I will always remember as it made a huge impact on me!
And then I couldn't figure out what "byt" meant - I thought it must be a word in English I don't know yet. :) Anyway, to reply to your answer - your request is indeed very specific. I am no expert on the kind of books you ask (I haven't read the ones you mention). I am more into books about WWII/the Great Patriotic War as we know it or the books that describe the times before 1940s, like "The Twelve Chairs" and others. I have recently read "Bury me behind the skirting board"/"Похороните меня за плинтусом" by Pavel Sanaev/Павел Санаев. This book came out just 7 years ago but it is about the author's childhood and he grew up in the Soviet Union - in the 1970s I think. That book depicts "byt" VERY faithfully. It is quite easy to read and you can find it online - here for example. A screen adaptation has come out recently. The book is about the author's unhappy childhood with his grandmother and grandfather who basically took him from his mother and won't give him back. The language is very authentic and "picturesque". This book is sometimes funny, sometimes poignant and practically unputdownable but your Russian has to be rather good. I also like short stories by Viktor Dragunsky - he also described his childhood memories and pranks but in a very funny way, and of course, you can see the "byt" in them as well. Then there is a trilogy by Vasili Aksenov "The Moscow Saga"/"Московская сага" (actually it's English name is "Generations of Winter"). I know about it because a series was made a few years ago but I personally haven't read or seen it. I just know that it's about the life a family in the Stalinist era. You can find it here. Well, that's all I can think of right now... Edited by nadia on 02 January 2010 at 9:20am 1 person has voted this message useful | |
| TixhiiDon Tetraglot Senior Member Japan Joined 5455 days ago 772 posts - 1474 votes Speaks: English*, Japanese, German, Russian Studies: Georgian | Message 5 of 5 02 January 2010 at 6:42am | IP Logged |
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Nadia, thanks VERY much for your recommendations. All of the books you suggested sound like just the kind of thing I love.
I actually wanted to make my nickname DomNaNaberezhnoe, as it is my favorite work of literature in the whole world, but it was too long so I came up with TixhiiDon, which ironically enough I haven't even read!! I did watch the old Russian TV adaptation of it, though, which I loved. My Russian is very rusty after 14 years in Japan with almost no practice, but I can still read OK, so I'll definitely hunt down your recommendations. And I can wholeheartedly recommend the works I mentioned in my first post. 1 person has voted this message useful |
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