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ellekiriel's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
slow-paced
4.0
kylehazelton's review against another edition
4.0
Ulitskaya was a joy to read. She placed me directly within her characters, and I felt them accordingly. I have a deeper understanding of what it means to live in a different place and time. The text truly came together in the last chapter when she connected the characters beyond the time that was there own. This book will stick with me.
sampotasz's review against another edition
4.0
Worth checking out for sure. Beautifully written but just too long and a little slow for me. Reminded me of Beauty is a Wound in that sense.
Possibly over my head with Russian literature references and allusions?
BOOM UPDATED!
Picked this back up again this month, and just finished it. Loved it. Still assume so much of it is over my head, but it's a great comfort read getting to know and love these characters over the 500 pages. It's like pulling up a blanket, picking up this book to read.
Possibly over my head with Russian literature references and allusions?
BOOM UPDATED!
Picked this back up again this month, and just finished it. Loved it. Still assume so much of it is over my head, but it's a great comfort read getting to know and love these characters over the 500 pages. It's like pulling up a blanket, picking up this book to read.
sarashakouri's review against another edition
lighthearted
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
2.0
simo_t's review against another edition
4.0
Hengästyttävä kirja Venäjän lähihistoriasta ja ihmisistä, jotka rakastivat taidetta ja toisiaan Neuvostoliiton kuristuksessa. Luin kirjan ilman mitään ennakkotietoja kirjailijasta, enkä ollenkaan aavistanut miten fantastiselle matkalle Ljudmila Ulitskaja minut veisikään.
Kirjassa seurattiin kolmen kaveruksen ja heidän todella laajan ystäväpiirinsä elämää Neuvostoliitossa 50-luvulta eteenpäin. Kaverukset kasvoivat kirjan aikana koululaisista aikuisiksi ja Vihreän teltan alla onkin eräänlainen kasvukertomus. Samalla se on myös rakkaudentunnus Neuvostoliiton tiukan kurin ja kontrollin alla pinnistelevälle vastakulttuurille, jossa tärkeintä on nauttia (lukea, lausua, kirjoittaa ja kuunnella) taiteesta ja venäläisestä kulttuurista, vaikka tämä kulttuuri usein onkin kiellettyä.
Viides tähti oli hyvin lähellä, ja oikeastaan ainoa kirjassa häirinnyt asia oli se, että jatkuvat viittaukset venäläisiin säveltäjiin, runoilijoihin ja ajattelijoihin eivät sanoneet minulle mitään. Tämä on kuitenkin pieni puute, sillä Ulitskajan teksti on joka tapauksessa kaunista ja puhuttelevaa, ja kirjan tarinat mukaansatempaavia.
Kirjassa seurattiin kolmen kaveruksen ja heidän todella laajan ystäväpiirinsä elämää Neuvostoliitossa 50-luvulta eteenpäin. Kaverukset kasvoivat kirjan aikana koululaisista aikuisiksi ja Vihreän teltan alla onkin eräänlainen kasvukertomus. Samalla se on myös rakkaudentunnus Neuvostoliiton tiukan kurin ja kontrollin alla pinnistelevälle vastakulttuurille, jossa tärkeintä on nauttia (lukea, lausua, kirjoittaa ja kuunnella) taiteesta ja venäläisestä kulttuurista, vaikka tämä kulttuuri usein onkin kiellettyä.
Viides tähti oli hyvin lähellä, ja oikeastaan ainoa kirjassa häirinnyt asia oli se, että jatkuvat viittaukset venäläisiin säveltäjiin, runoilijoihin ja ajattelijoihin eivät sanoneet minulle mitään. Tämä on kuitenkin pieni puute, sillä Ulitskajan teksti on joka tapauksessa kaunista ja puhuttelevaa, ja kirjan tarinat mukaansatempaavia.
oysterkatcher's review against another edition
4.0
The Big Green Tent caught my attention because, hello, contemporary Russian literature rarely makes its way to small-town Texas! The bio heralds it for celebrating classic literature and being descendant of big names like Dostoevsky--and it isn't wrong. While I wouldn't agree that this novel is the "sweeping saga" promised, it certainly has all the wit, charm, and drama of the old favorites.
If you aren't a fan of Russian lit (and, while disappointed, I respect that) I'd go ahead and skip this one, as it does require a bit of effort to keep track of the storm of characters, relationships, and passage of time. (It's worth it, though!)
I decided to give this one four stars because Lyudmila Ulitskaya truly captures the style and feel of classic Russian lit (which happens to be my favorite genre) while using a more modern vocabulary and dialogue.
If you aren't a fan of Russian lit (and, while disappointed, I respect that) I'd go ahead and skip this one, as it does require a bit of effort to keep track of the storm of characters, relationships, and passage of time. (It's worth it, though!)
I decided to give this one four stars because Lyudmila Ulitskaya truly captures the style and feel of classic Russian lit (which happens to be my favorite genre) while using a more modern vocabulary and dialogue.
frogggirl2's review against another edition
dark
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
This book is dense - optimally the reader would have an extensive grasp of Russian literature and history. I do not, so I always felt like I was missing some larger context.
Experiencing a character's death and then going back to various points in their life after having followed completely different characters through the first section of the book - it all feels very messy and disjointed. Narrative cohesion deteriorates throughout the book. As with any multi-POV book, not every POV is equally interesting/valuable/connected.
The constant lists of names and the inability to affix just one name to one character makes this book sometimes a bit tedious to get through (this is exacerbated by the point of view and time shifts). The occasionally odd sexual content, like everyone (including the mother) taking the occasion of an injured teenage boy coming to their house for help as a chance to oggle his large cock, took me aback.
On the plus side, this book is very evocative and truly has a sense of time and place. I finished this book feeling like I had a greater understanding of the Russian experience. The first section of this, the one with a cohesive story, was very compelling and I was interested in the lives of those characters.
Experiencing a character's death and then going back to various points in their life after having followed completely different characters through the first section of the book - it all feels very messy and disjointed. Narrative cohesion deteriorates throughout the book. As with any multi-POV book, not every POV is equally interesting/valuable/connected.
The constant lists of names and the inability to affix just one name to one character makes this book sometimes a bit tedious to get through (this is exacerbated by the point of view and time shifts). The occasionally odd sexual content, like everyone (including the mother) taking the occasion of an injured teenage boy coming to their house for help as a chance to oggle his large cock, took me aback.
On the plus side, this book is very evocative and truly has a sense of time and place. I finished this book feeling like I had a greater understanding of the Russian experience. The first section of this, the one with a cohesive story, was very compelling and I was interested in the lives of those characters.
asbach's review against another edition
4.0
Follows in the tradition of great Russian novels before it through its wide ranging narrative style, its ability to weave together the lives of many characters, and its poignant portrayal of the impacts of the historical and cultural time on the daily lives of individual people. I thought the atemporal narrative worked quite well for a story of this type, although I did lose the thread a few times. Reading this book feels like listening to many good friends tell you winding stories of their parents and grandparents (and then slowly coming to see how interconnected those stories are).
mjpatton's review against another edition
3.0
Maybe it is one of those lost-in-translation things, but I had some problems with the narrative voice - heavy reliance on formulated expressions and cliches. Not likely due to the translation, however, but also having to do with the style of The Big Green Tent, I found the narrator's tendency to announce conclusions of storylines before telling the story annoying, telling us someone dies and then backing up to lead into the death, for example. Speaking of death, Ulitskaya uses it too conveniently to spark a shift in direction. Perfectly, healthy people suddenly die, which, of course, then changes the lives of those friends, spouses, children left behind. Without the deaths, the story would simply have meandered around. It felt sort of like, "Hmm, where can I go from here? Life is just going to go on tediously, but, wait, what if _____ dies! Ah, yes, off we go." This can work occasionally, after all healthy people do sometimes die unexpectedly, but Ulitskaya leans on this crutch a bit too often. I had much higher hopes when I began reading this novel.
ilkkaee's review against another edition
hopeful
informative
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
3.75