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fourfootedbeasts's review against another edition
adventurous
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
jasonfurman's review against another edition
5.0
Wonderful to have a complete collection of Pushkin's prose--including all the incomplete writings and fragments. While the published ones are the best (Tales of Belkin, The Queen of Spades and The Captain's Daughter), everything Pushkin wrote is various combinations of direct, vivid, insightful, funny, satirical, suspenseful and perceptive. The Richard Pevear and Larissa Volokhonsky translations are controversial with many but no issues jumped out with me and the accurate and completeness outweigh any downsides, especially when many of these are only available in very dated translations.
If you have not read Pushkin before, however, would start with the ones listed above and then sample from the rest.
If you have not read Pushkin before, however, would start with the ones listed above and then sample from the rest.
booklightexplorer's review against another edition
4.75
Pushkin is considered one of the most quintessential writers in Russian inspiring all those that we know so well including Tolstoy and Dostoevsky. While most known for his poetry, after reading this book of his prose I can totally see why. This book was a compilation of his prose pieces including even fragments and sketches that never made it completion or publication and I really enjoyed it.
"The Tales of the Late Ivan Petrovich Belkin," "The Queen of Spades," and "The Captain's Daughter" were my favorites but I found most of his stories very entertaining reads and I can see how Pushkin has become such an iconic author in Russia. If you found the waxing philosophy of Tolstoy and Dostoevsky too much but want to check out some Russian lit, I would definitely recommend this book.
Also, I found the sketches and fragments inspiring - like as in, they made me want to write stories of my own which almost never happens for me so that was also pretty fun.
"The Tales of the Late Ivan Petrovich Belkin," "The Queen of Spades," and "The Captain's Daughter" were my favorites but I found most of his stories very entertaining reads and I can see how Pushkin has become such an iconic author in Russia. If you found the waxing philosophy of Tolstoy and Dostoevsky too much but want to check out some Russian lit, I would definitely recommend this book.
Also, I found the sketches and fragments inspiring - like as in, they made me want to write stories of my own which almost never happens for me so that was also pretty fun.
petrauusimaa's review
3.0
Firstly, I really appreciated how this book is published and the translation is incredible, as usual. This book is enjoyable journey through Pushkin's prose. However, I think that it would have been better to start with a smaller collection when starting to read Pushkin because at some parts I was very overwhelmed with the number of stories and fragments in the book. I really love Pushkin's writing style and really hope he would have written something grand and massive as Dostoevsky and Tolstoy have. I enjoyed this collection very much and am looking forward to delving into Pushkin's poetry.
thebee's review against another edition
4.0
wow Pushkin is great. guess my lil bro's got good taste
faves were The Captain's Daughter, Journey to Arzrum. I loved the fragments. it's so rare you get to see the works in progress of renowned authors
faves were The Captain's Daughter, Journey to Arzrum. I loved the fragments. it's so rare you get to see the works in progress of renowned authors
kesterbird's review against another edition
5.0
Beautifully illustrated. The translations... make for weird verse, and not always fully successful verse, but the stories shine through that, and, really, it's all for those illustrations.
thebee's review
4.0
wow Pushkin is great. guess my lil bro's got good taste
faves were The Captain's Daughter, Journey to Arzrum. I loved the fragments. it's so rare you get to see the works in progress of renowned authors
faves were The Captain's Daughter, Journey to Arzrum. I loved the fragments. it's so rare you get to see the works in progress of renowned authors
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