readingenvyrussia

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This is my 6th Litsyversary! Huzzah.

This was a quick read for the non fiction quarter of #readingenvyrussia - the artist was present for many 21st century protests in Russia, and also did some reportage with groups of people like "working women" and a group of people who had been basically slaves imported from bordering countries but the local government turned a blind eye.↘️

ReadingEnvy Some of the graphic art is in the moment, like during a court proceeding or a protest march, while some is more refined. Both styles are powerful, and Victoria Lomasko's art and activism are deeply intwined. 2y

Jas16 Happy Litsyversary 🎉📚🙌🏽📖 2y

Nute Happy Litsyversary, Jenny!💕 I really enjoy your podcast! 2y

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Leftcoastzen Happy Litsyversary!👏 2y

Maria514626 Thanks for the recommendation, @ReadingEnvy I look forward to reading this after my current book—highly recommended!

Words Will Break Cement: The Passion of Pussy Riot

vivastory Happy Litsyversary! 2y

ReadingEnvy @Maria514626 ooh thanks 2y

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ReadingEnvy

Symphony for the City of the Dead: Dmitri Shostakovich and the Siege of Leningrad | M.T. Anderson

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I've had this on my TBR forever but it took the non-fiction quarter of #readingenvyrussia to finally get to it. If you're like me and struggle to read history, make it a cultural history like this one, where the history is told sideways through the life and work of an artist, in this case the composer Dmitri Shostakovich and his hometown of Leningrad, up until and during the Siege itself. ↘️

ReadingEnvy The publisher is also YA and while this book is considered YA, I didn't find it overly simplified in its discussion of the music or the history. The author does a fantastic job narrating his own work, bringing a vibrance to the political and musical worlds of Shostakovich. ↘️ 2y

ReadingEnvy Many of you know one of my goals this year was to better understand how Russia moved from WWI into the 1950s and still remain a powerhouse despite - or as I'm learning on top of - the devastation to the country and its people. The background of this story displays many of the missteps made by the Soviet government - really mostly Stalin - on the German front in particular, but also in dealing with their own citizens. ↘️ 2y

ReadingEnvy One somewhat sordid argument this author uncovers is that it was Stalin's history of food deprivation that may have trained the citizens of Leningrad to survive what should have been an impossible solution. I don't want to give him that much credit, but it was an interesting tangent.

And who will now go on a Shostakovich listening spree? It's me! 2y

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andrew61 Fantastic review jenny. I read a novel about the recording a few years ago and found it fascinating the whole process of recording a symphony inbthe midst of starvation and war. I will definitely be finding some of his music to listen to and also looking for this book. Increasingly I find my route to classical music through references in novels. 2y

Daisey This is one of my most memorable nonfiction audiobooks! I need to listen to it again. 2y

ReadingEnvy @andrew61 yes they mention that briefly! I was going to look to see if I could find it. Knowing several.members of the symphony died between him finishing and that performance is pretty insane 2y

ReadingEnvy @Daisey yes! 2y

EvieBee Yes! I loved this sooo much and the audio version was a smash. 2y

ReadingEnvy @EvieBee 💃 2y

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ReadingEnvy

The Genius Under the Table: Growing Up Behind the Iron Curtain | Eugene Yelchin

so-so

I slid into the non-fiction quarter of #readingenvyrussia with a short illustrated memoir of a childhood under the "iron curtain." I loved the illustrations, particularly of the mother, always shown in one ballet position or another. These were difficult times and moreso for this family, being Jewish. There is no indication of what happened later on in his life, so it just feels like a capture of a moment in time.

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ReadingEnvy

The Possessed: Adventures with Russian Books and the People Who Read Them | Elif Batuman

Those of you who read The Possessed and/or a Russian novel for the first quarter of #readingenvyrussia - reminder we are having an online discussion at 2 pm EST today!
Send me an email if you aren't part of the Goodreads group and want a link, my username at gmail.

If you switched course and went with Ukrainian lit, I'd love to have you join us too!

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ReadingEnvy

Good Talk: A Memoir in Conversations | Mira Jacob

Library haul!

Two for foster son, one for April Sword and Laser, one I've been meaning to read forever, one for #readingenvyrussia non-fiction quarter, and one Booker International longlist title that followed me home.

sarahbarnes I‘m intrigued by the “leisure” sticker on the very long Books of Jacob. 😂 I‘m still working my way through that one. 2y

ReadingEnvy @sarahbarnes at our academic library it's more like "this is a novel" 2y

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ReadingEnvy

Zuleikha | Guzel Yakhina

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This 21st century Russian novel, by a woman and about a woman, rose to the top of the novels I was considering for #readingenvyrussia - it is set in the 1930s as the Red Army is moving through rural regions of the country, removing people from land they owned and had worked while moving toward collectivism for all farming. ↘️

ReadingEnvy I had the mistaken impression that Communism was pro-peasant class but learned that landowning people, referred to as kulak, were treated as enemies. Many were killed outright, as Zuleikha's husband is, and many were sent to work camps in Siberia, as Zuleikha is. Neither of these are really spoilers although they take some time to happen.↘️ 2y

ReadingEnvy Other parts of interest - Zuleikha and her husband are Muslim, something I haven't seen much of in Russian literature so far. She also is in service to her mother in law, a terrible woman. The underlying premise seems to be that her life improves in Siberia. There are other memorable characters like a doctor, the commandant, a female soldier, even an artist. But the real star is Zuleikha. 2y

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ReadingEnvy

The Possessed: Adventures with Russian Books and the People Who Read Them | Elif Batuman

It's time for the first quarter discussion for #readingenvyrussia - the novels. Please send me a message or find the Zoom link in the Goodreads group. It will be May 27th at 2 pm EST.

I know this has been the worst year ever to focus on Russia. If you ended up reading Ukrainian lit instead, feel free to join the discussion. ↘️

ReadingEnvy Also please come if:
1. You read a Russian novel to participate in the challenge
2. You started a Russian novel for the challenge that you did not finish for REASONS
3. You still hope to finish that Russian novel you started.

This will also be when we discuss Elif Batuman's book The Possessed.

The discussion will be recorded but only the audio will be used; video is always optional; captioning is provided.
2y

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ReadingEnvy

Putin's Russia: The Rise of a Dictator | Darryl Cunningham

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To read the story of Putin is to better understand the story of Russia, unfortunately. He was born in Leningrad/St Petersburg only eight years after the siege and clawed his way to positions of power and money. He's like the Dick Cheney of Russia, where for every shady situation, you pull back the curtain and there he is. ↘️

ReadingEnvy This is content that probably exists in biographies and other critiques of Putin and his policies, but for me, easier to consume in graphic form. It's really astounding how Putin can have such a high popularity rating when we know about the people he's had killed (goodbye, free press, goodbye, vocal opponents), the countries he's invaded or destroyed, but since we have a person who copies his playbook, it also feels familiar.↘️ 2y

ReadingEnvy In my year of #readingenvyrussia I worry I lack the knowledge to understand the subtext of the literature I'm reading, and from that perspective this graphic non fiction book helps provide context about Russia's power and control from the fall of the Soviet Union to the present day. Putin has been there all along.... 2y

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