Welcome to Litsy!

This didn‘t work for me as a novel (as its described) because there is no plot and there are no main characters who you get to know or care about (The narrator is an observer not driving most scenes). But as a documentary it‘s interesting, with intricate detail & some vivid scenes from prison life in Siberia in the 1850s. I found it slow & dense but it‘s a valuable record for anyone researching the subject, done with an eye for human nature.

“…in the mud I comforted myself with being a hero at other times….”

This was very strange, and so very Russian. It contains almost every Russian trope and is full of allegory, including a modern Christ figure. Most of it is dialogue and digression, and almost every character has episodes of mania, delirium, or hysteria. It wore me out a bit by the end, and I had a lot of "wth is going on?!?" moments, but it's still a pick.

As always with Dostoyevsky a bit of an uncomfortable read, where the author makes you hate everyone, but this time I couldn't feel that I was empathising with any character, perhaps I'm now too old to relate to raw youths. At times it felt like the story was wandering aimlessly, but I flew through the last chapters. It is probably my least favourite Dostoevsky so far, but his worst work is still better than many other author's best.

I picked this up from the library a couple of weeks ago, my eye initially being attracted to the Faber Editions styling, as I've enjoyed the other books I've read in that imprint. I was encouraged, also, by my cursory scan of the blurb making comparisons to Dostoevsky, which if only 50% hyperbolic would be positive. Now I've taken it up to read, I see that it's a dual timeline novel, part fictionalisation of Dostoevsky's disastrous honeymoon,👇🏻

Laptev falls madly in love with Yulia who does not reciprocate his feelings but marries him anyway. They move to Moscow,the only thing that makes the marriage bearable for her.Both suffer. “There did not seem anything to talk about, and both had been silent since morning. From time to time he looked at her over the top of his book and thought:whether you marry for passionate love or entirely without love-isn‘t it all the same?”

We're back after winter break to talk about a books! We begin by discussing “The Spectre of Alexander Wolf“ by Gaito Gazdanov. A book with a tremendous premise but we discuss why the book fails to build on that.

Next we add a bunch of short stories to our TBR. Lots of interesting selections to look forward to!

https://open.spotify.com/episode/02ichtYoZ7hSJsreXPA3Yf

I‘ve been having the greatest reading adventures lately - diving into older works and translations and generally reading outside the mainstream North American publishing world. This collection of short stories by Gogol dives into the absurdity of life in pre-revolution Russia with its rigid hierarchy and social norms. The stories are sly and humorous and pokes fun at the establishment. Very much enjoyed!

Two bingos, thanks to strategic “Free“ space reading 😉

The library took Hood Feminism before I finished and it'll be weeks to get it again. I enjoyed the tagged enough to finish well-ahead of schedule. Discomfort was the most felt-in-the-body read and Skylark was hopeful-poignant-then sad. The two main characters in Night Boat had a rhythm to their conversation that reminds me of Godot (also because Irish and because waiting)

#BookSpinBingo

Bold and evocative. Pushkin immerses the reader in Russian life and a Russian winter with his lively words and biting wit. His hero left much to be desired but Russia was the heroine of the story.