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Russian through literature

  Tags: Literature | Russian
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tricoteuse
Pentaglot
Senior Member
Norway
littlang.blogspot.co
Joined 6706 days ago

745 posts - 845 votes 
Speaks: Swedish*, Norwegian, EnglishC1, Russian, French
Studies: Ukrainian, Bulgarian

 
 Message 41 of 148
02 December 2008 at 12:07pm | IP Logged 
So I may be taking back what I said about Turgenev yesterday ^^ Today I got the pleasure of reading more or less totally incomprehensible Dostoevski in the original. He doesn't seem to like words very much... The story is incredibly bitter, and I'm not sure I like it. It reminds me of a Per Lagerkvist short story from his "Onda Sagor" (Evil Tales).

Наконец, обнаружила признаки могильного воодушевления схороненная поутру под катафалком знатная барыня.

Urgh -_-

Read my 10 pages though.
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Siberiano
Tetraglot
Senior Member
Russian Federation
one-giant-leap.Registered users can see my Skype Name
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465 posts - 696 votes 
Speaks: Russian*, English, ItalianC1, Spanish
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 Message 42 of 148
03 December 2008 at 1:39am | IP Logged 
This is an overproduced, overcomplicated language. Nobody who wanted to be understood wrote like that.

Finally, the noble lady, laid away in the morning under the catafalque, showed signs of tomb inspiration.
Actually, I don't understand myself what "tomb inspiration" stands for :-D
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tricoteuse
Pentaglot
Senior Member
Norway
littlang.blogspot.co
Joined 6706 days ago

745 posts - 845 votes 
Speaks: Swedish*, Norwegian, EnglishC1, Russian, French
Studies: Ukrainian, Bulgarian

 
 Message 43 of 148
04 December 2008 at 11:09am | IP Logged 
Siberiano wrote:

Actually, I don't understand myself what "tomb inspiration" stands for :-D


I'm glad :D "Это ободряюще", is that appropriate here? I don't know where I picked that up...

---

Only read 5 pages yesterday due to... whatever, but 12 today. I finished Бобок. Sorry Dostoevski, not very impressed by that one. I wasn't overly impressed by Tolstoy's Три Стартца that I read today either, but it was very much alright and way easier than Бобок.

Next up is Nikolay Leskov's Штопальщик. I have never heard of Leskov, so it will be interesting. Then - Chekhov's Спать хочется, which I really look forward to. I read it many years ago and it's exactly the kind of story I like.

I've tried listening to the adventures of that captain with the name I can't remember, but I think it's a little bit beyond me at this point. Especially when they whisper :P Need more vocab!

+ Today I realized how very much easier articles actually are compared to fiction.   
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Siberiano
Tetraglot
Senior Member
Russian Federation
one-giant-leap.Registered users can see my Skype Name
Joined 6521 days ago

465 posts - 696 votes 
Speaks: Russian*, English, ItalianC1, Spanish
Studies: Portuguese, Serbian

 
 Message 44 of 148
04 December 2008 at 12:29pm | IP Logged 
"Это радует." You may say это ободряет, which has a clear sense, but I've never heard that used colloquially. Also we say "спасибо, утешил" (утешила)
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tricoteuse
Pentaglot
Senior Member
Norway
littlang.blogspot.co
Joined 6706 days ago

745 posts - 845 votes 
Speaks: Swedish*, Norwegian, EnglishC1, Russian, French
Studies: Ukrainian, Bulgarian

 
 Message 45 of 148
07 December 2008 at 9:56am | IP Logged 
No reading on Friday as my colleague chose to be ill.
10 pages yesterday and 7 today, and that was Leskov's Штопальщик. It was a nice enough story, quite easy to read, but nothing really spectacular. I do like the way he writes though, not unnecessarily complicated or ornate. I have now read 218 of 331 pages (Rus + Eng) of the book, so I guess I will have no trouble finishing it before going to Sweden for Christmas. In a city 1/5 the size of Oslo way up north you can actually find Russian second hand books at acceptable prices (I once found some here in Oslo at a flea market and the guy wanted like 15 euros/book). With some hope, the weird poetry ones I saw last time in *the only* true 2nd hand book store in town (where I also got a northern Swedish classic in Hungarian...) will still be there, ready to be bought by me.

I once went into a second hand bookstore in Oslo and when they asked me what I was searching for I answered "anything Russian, Icelandic, Hungarian..." and before I had even said the third word they were just shaking their heads. Go Oslo, such a multicultural city!
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tricoteuse
Pentaglot
Senior Member
Norway
littlang.blogspot.co
Joined 6706 days ago

745 posts - 845 votes 
Speaks: Swedish*, Norwegian, EnglishC1, Russian, French
Studies: Ukrainian, Bulgarian

 
 Message 46 of 148
09 December 2008 at 5:55am | IP Logged 
The last two days I've read Checkhov's Спать хотется and Sologub's В плену. Both were good, especially the latter, which was really really sweet. I definitely want to read more Sologub!

I've been doing my 10 pages/day minimum so far, and added some words to Anki yesterday. The story I'm reading now, Bunin's Солнечный удар, seems very promising.
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tricoteuse
Pentaglot
Senior Member
Norway
littlang.blogspot.co
Joined 6706 days ago

745 posts - 845 votes 
Speaks: Swedish*, Norwegian, EnglishC1, Russian, French
Studies: Ukrainian, Bulgarian

 
 Message 47 of 148
10 December 2008 at 3:55pm | IP Logged 
Reading this book makes me remember why I was so obsessed with books some years ago and would almost cry at the thought of my books burning up. (A fellow book fetischist gave me that idea by telling me it was her worst fear, and then of course I couldn't stop thinking about it.)

10 pages a day - done.

Солнечный удар was lovely and sweet, an easy to read story of passion. Or of a one night stand, which is what it actually was. I always get amazed when I read such things that were written a hundred or two hundred years ago. They surely were at it back then as well.
But, what is interesting about this one, is that it is Annie Ernaux - THE MALE VERSION. Ernaux tales of female yearning for a man who often doesn't seem to care that much are very intense, and this is a tale of the inverse. A woman who lets herself be seduced by a man and then leaves in the morning, happy and untroubled, leaving a man who did NOT take it that lightly. How refreshing. One hundred years ago. And it was easy to read.

Now, Zamyatin's Пещера is not easy to read, at all. Reading the English translation I really appreciate it, I love the weird, abrupt way in which it is written, but it is a style that is best enjoyed by someone who knows the language perfectly. The tale, absurd future-past Adam-Eve living in caves in misery and being made of clay and stealing firewood is... yes... you got it, not very easy to understand in Russian. It makes me think of a book by Marianne Fredriksson (sometimes quite brilliant now dead Swedish author) on the Adam-Eve theme, that was also written in a somewhat chopped up style.

Still though, I fell in love with this story from the first lines.
"Ледники, мамонты, пустыни. Ночные, чёрные, чем-то похожие на дома, скалы; в скалах пещеры."

Edited by tricoteuse on 14 December 2008 at 8:31am

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tricoteuse
Pentaglot
Senior Member
Norway
littlang.blogspot.co
Joined 6706 days ago

745 posts - 845 votes 
Speaks: Swedish*, Norwegian, EnglishC1, Russian, French
Studies: Ukrainian, Bulgarian

 
 Message 48 of 148
14 December 2008 at 8:30am | IP Logged 
As usual, towards the end of the week all my discipline goes to hell -_-

I have however finished this somewhat tedious Пещера and gotten to page 314 in the book. Two short stories are left. I *did* like Пещера, but I did not like reading it in Russian. I will give it another try in a year.

Anki word count is at 633 now.


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