Last week, I blogged about the Afisha’s list of Best XXIst Century novels, now I’ll conclude that post with a summary of contemporary Russian books that ended up on that list. Some of these books or other books written by the shortlisted authors are available in translation in English and other languages and I’ll underline and hyperlink them to websites where you can download them.… Read the rest
Обращение в слух by Антон Понизовский
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Обращение в слух, which can be translated as Turning into a Listening Ear, is an important work marking the return of the so-called ‘novel of ideas’. The book won the biggest Russian literary prize this year – The Big Book.… Read the rest
Andrei Rubanov presenting his book Chlorophilia
Many writers create amazing things they’ve never lived through just out their imagination. Still I find writers who experienced terrifying shortcomings of life are able to create truly vibrant prose. Andrei Rubanov is a modern Russian author who has both a very adventurous personal history and a vivid imagination.… Read the rest
The Night Watch by Sergey Lukyanenko is an international sci-fi bestselling novel turned into a film blockbuster
I was brought up on classical literature, there wasn’t much else in my parent’s library, save for some detective stories that never appealed to me since I considered Crime and Punishment was the way to write a detective story.… Read the rest
Vladimir Sorokin (credit: Elke Wetzig, via Wikimedia Commons)
Vladimir Sorokin is often called L’Enfant terrible of the Russian literary establishment.Yet mostly this is envy, as Sorokin’s word-wielding skills got him a reputation of the master of prose and put him on the same level with Russian masters.… Read the rest
Fatsia covered in snow, Hammersmith, London, December 2010
Johann Goethe is one of my role models, he was a multitalented person, most known for his literary work and especially his masterpiece, Faust.
Goethe was also a botanist, a specialist in plant morphology.… Read the rest
Today’s post is all about famous Russian love stories. Some of them are straighforward romance, others are psychological or political thrillers. But in the end, all of them are about love.
To download the book in epub or mobi format, just click on the thumbnail.… Read the rest