paragonanimal's review against another edition

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3.0

Most of the stories I didn't care too much for, but I really liked Volodya.

smtornio's review against another edition

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4.0

One marvels at the freshness of his style.

rafaela_borges's review against another edition

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adventurous lighthearted reflective medium-paced
  • Loveable characters? Yes

4.0

This is one of those books where nothing seems to happen and it's mostly a travelogue, but it's still very enjoyable to read, to the author's credit. The descriptions are very vivid and made me feel like I was there. It's very immersive, in my opinion.

alexysvalenzuela's review against another edition

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5.0

Es un libro increíble, ningún relato tiene un final feliz pero es un libro magistral. Imperdible.

kg_wulf's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional informative mysterious sad fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Complicated
  • Loveable characters? Complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

lycanjamie's review against another edition

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3.0

Most of the stories I didn't care too much for, but I really liked Volodya.

sara444's review against another edition

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slow-paced

4.0

cgcang's review against another edition

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3.0

Bozkır'ı ani bir kararla edinip okudum. Araya başka şeyler girmeseydi daha hızlıca da okurdum. Bu ani kararımın altında basit bir neden vardı: Bizim Memduh Şevket'in büyük bir Çehov düşkünü olduğunu öğrenmek.

Okuma isteğimin altında bu yatınca, Bozkır'ı biraz da Memduh Şevket'in bu Çehov sevgisi penceresinden okumuş bulundum.

Gerçekten, iki yazarın biçem ve teknikleri arasındaki genel uyum gözden kaçacak gibi değil. Memduh Şevket'in Çehov'un biçemini bir yere dek benimsemiş olduğunu söylemek olanaklı. Memduh Şevket'i çok seven bir okurun Çehov'u da aynı oranda sevmesi beklenirdi herhalde.

Oysa Bozkır'ı sevdiğimi söyleyemeyeceğim. Keyifle okudum ama beni heyecanlandırmadı, heveslendirmedi, dilini özel olarak lezzetli bulmadım. İnsanların -ve Memduh Şevket'in de- Çehov'u niye sevdiğini anlıyorum ama en azından Bozkır benim zevklerime çok uyan bir yapıt değil.

Yine de başka öykülerini okuyacağım, belki ilgisizliğim Bozkır'a özeldir.

haroshinka's review against another edition

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Chekhov wrote that Gogol "the tsar of the steppe" might be envious. And here, you see Gogol's influence most vividly compared to any other of Chekhov's stuff.

Like "Dead Souls", The Steppe is virtually plotless - like an episodic TV show. Its a string of adventures that have no internal connection. It also, like Dead Souls, is infuriatingly impossible to convey in translation (this is always the case with Russian, but particularly so here). The language is the only way to understand the natural descriptions and the human flimsiness.

saraaaa's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional lighthearted relaxing fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes

5.0

Every once in a while, you'll find a book that has not a single flaw to you. I don't give 5 stars lightly, but this one was that book for me. Seeing the world, a journey, from a child's perspective was absolutely delightful and endearing. The steppe and its inhabitants are described with such a poetic and suggestive style, it completely sucks you in from the very first page. The realism succeeds in its accurate depiction of late 1800s' Imperial Russian society, with its peculiarities and its faults, its preconceptions and its genuineness, without ever using the – in my opinion unnecessary – extreme crudeness of other contemporary authors.