Scan barcode
msand3's review against another edition
4.0
This is the most complete collection of Pushkin’s verse available, covering his entire short career and including both his lyrics and narrative poems. All narrative poems are here except The Prisoner of the Caucasus and The Robber Brothers. The former I found elsewhere, while the latter I have been unable to track down in English translation. This book also contains his major fairy tale verses and a selection from [b:Eugene Onegin|27822|Eugene Onegin|Alexander Pushkin|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1388373138s/27822.jpg|1795311]. Walter Arndt’s translations are superb and his introductions and notes provide essential context. My only complaint is that his introduction to the entire book focused on the topic of translation rather than on Pushkin’s life, which Arndt stated could be found in other books.
As for Pushkin’s verse, his early work (both lyric and narrative) is brash and brilliant, with equal parts comic wit and political commentary, with a little sex thrown in. Frankly, I found some verse he wrote after his exile to be a little less interesting than what he wrote when he was younger. Still, this is an essential book for reading Pushkin and Russian literature in general. Ardnt’s notes have lead me to explore countless other writers and works that inspired Pushkin and are a little less well-known to English-speakers, which was also an advantage of this particular translation.
As for Pushkin’s verse, his early work (both lyric and narrative) is brash and brilliant, with equal parts comic wit and political commentary, with a little sex thrown in. Frankly, I found some verse he wrote after his exile to be a little less interesting than what he wrote when he was younger. Still, this is an essential book for reading Pushkin and Russian literature in general. Ardnt’s notes have lead me to explore countless other writers and works that inspired Pushkin and are a little less well-known to English-speakers, which was also an advantage of this particular translation.
More...