Books on the power-line by Katja Ullrich (Own work) [CC BY 3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0)], via Wikimedia Commons
As a society, we don’t question the importance of reading as a tool of personal development, of building a view of the world and understanding of science, culture and ethics.… Read the rest
In 2012 an unlikely book exploded bestseller charts in Russia, easily outselling its close competitors. It is a collection of stories about life of the Russian Orthodox Church called Everyday Saints and other stories. In some of these, the author, Arkhimandrit Tikhon, described his path of becoming a clergyman and his early life in the Pskov-Pechora monastery.… Read the rest
Natasha Perova, the founder of Glas
Today I am thrilled to present you Natasha Perova, whose titanic efforts resulted in many English translations of great contemprorary Russian books becoming available for international readership. Natasha helped to show the world that Russian literature not only survived collapse of the Soviet Union, it is very much in blossom.… Read the rest
The Winners of 2014 ReadRussia Translation Prize (photo credit: Russian Institute of Translation)
War tears nations apart and it takes more than long negotiations and ultimate truce to mend broken peace, – magic glue, perhaps. Literature like any other form of art can be this mending glue.… Read the rest
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
Tatiana Moskvina (photo credit – Alexei Balakin, Wikimedia Commons)
Very often incredibly talented people are modest and underappreciated. Three years ago I have read a novel that thrilled me to pieces, it was called Shame and Purity (Позор и Чистота).… Read the rest