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casparb's review against another edition
5.0
Even among those into Russian lit, Petersburg - Bely - appear to be swept under the rug. I've never read a Russian novel with such a strong sense of authorial voice. In fact, there's very few novels I can think of at all that entertain the notion of the living author so fully. I was told that this reads like a Modernist Anna Karenina, and I can see how one approaches this reading, but altogether Petersburg seems to me like a much more charismatic, modernist Crime and Punishment. Bely leaves Bulgakov in the dust. I can't emphasise enough the madness of this prose:
'There is an infinity of prospects racing in infinity with an infinity of intersecting shadows racing into infinity. All Petersburg is the infinity of a prospect raised to the power of N.
While beyond Petersburg there is - nothing.'
How often does an author describe the settling night as 'It was getting dark: it was getting dark blue'?
At one point, the narrative slips into real time - perhaps that sounds unremarkable, but I can't think of a novel that does this:
'The lackey was going up the staircase; he suffered from breathlessness, though we are not concerned with that now, but with ... the staircase: a beautiful staircase! And it has steps - as soft as the convolutions of the brain. But the author does not have time to describe to the reader that same staircase, up which ministers have climbed more than once (he will describe it later), because the lackey is already in the reception hall...'
The entire novel shatters itself temporally. To be clear, Petersburg was published in 1916, and at one point declares that Petersburg exists beyond three dimensions - that we must enter fourth-dimensional space.
Bely seems to call himself a Symbolist, but I'm more inclined to call this Russian high modernism. The Joycean comparison is present, but does a disservice to both Joyce and Bely. This novel was highly unexpected, and is at present highly underrated - perhaps it bears more similarity to Dostoevsky in terms of framing, but I wouldn't be ashamed to present Bely as the modernist answer to Tolstoy.
'There is an infinity of prospects racing in infinity with an infinity of intersecting shadows racing into infinity. All Petersburg is the infinity of a prospect raised to the power of N.
While beyond Petersburg there is - nothing.'
How often does an author describe the settling night as 'It was getting dark: it was getting dark blue'?
At one point, the narrative slips into real time - perhaps that sounds unremarkable, but I can't think of a novel that does this:
'The lackey was going up the staircase; he suffered from breathlessness, though we are not concerned with that now, but with ... the staircase: a beautiful staircase! And it has steps - as soft as the convolutions of the brain. But the author does not have time to describe to the reader that same staircase, up which ministers have climbed more than once (he will describe it later), because the lackey is already in the reception hall...'
The entire novel shatters itself temporally. To be clear, Petersburg was published in 1916, and at one point declares that Petersburg exists beyond three dimensions - that we must enter fourth-dimensional space.
Bely seems to call himself a Symbolist, but I'm more inclined to call this Russian high modernism. The Joycean comparison is present, but does a disservice to both Joyce and Bely. This novel was highly unexpected, and is at present highly underrated - perhaps it bears more similarity to Dostoevsky in terms of framing, but I wouldn't be ashamed to present Bely as the modernist answer to Tolstoy.
manoushp109's review against another edition
3.75
got 350 pages in and read for class but i’m not counting it as a dnf sue me. i thought it was rly good and impressive work but it would’ve been impossible to rly enjoy or understand without my professor. i felt like it was not an easy read in the slightest and definitely incredibly time consuming. but good writing and i enjoyed talking ab it in class
giovydsb's review against another edition
4.0
Se continuate a sentire “uuuuuuuu”, state tranquilli: è il sottofondo di Pietroburgo. Anzi, non state tranquilli per niente, perché nelle città sospese tra mito e realtà non si sa mai come va a finire. Dopo aver assistito alle vicende dei personaggi di Puškin, Gogol' e Dostoevskij, uno dovrebbe aver imparato che non è prudente aggirarsi per città del genere, e invece ci si casca sempre, Pietroburgo continua ad attirare autori e lettori fra i suoi meandri. E così ci si trova catapultati nell'incubo congegnato da Belyj: una città costantemente avvolta dalla foschia, dove l'umidità e gli scarafaggi sono i padroni indiscussi della scena. In questa atmosfera inquietante i personaggi si muovono circospetti, avvertono la tensione sospesa nell'aria, non distinguono sogno e realtà e hanno la costante sensazione di uscire dal loro corpo. Quindi siate prudenti, se volete addentrarvi in un romanzo del genere: Belyj è un incantatore e farà di tutto per trascinarvi nell'abisso con la sua prosa poetica.
pino_sabatelli's review against another edition
5.0
A cosa servono le classificazioni? È la domanda che mi sono posto mentre leggevo questo bellissimo libro. Perché se è innegabile l’utilità didascalica e didattica di quelle che potremmo chiamare macrocategorie, visto che consentono di essere ragionevolmente certi che quando parliamo di Illuminismo (o di Umanesimo, Rinascimento, Romanticismo e così via) intendiamo tutti, più o meno, la stessa cosa, il discorso cambia radicalmente di fronte al singolo artista. Specie se appartiene alla categoria dei fuoriclasse che, per definizione, sfuggono a qualsiasi criterio ordinatore e tassonomico. Uno come Laurence Sterne, ad esempio, come lo classifichiamo?
Ma la lettura di Pietroburgo mi ha fatto riflettere anche sulla sottile, ma decisiva, differenza che separa il concetto di moderno da quello di contemporaneo. Per me moderno significa qualcosa (o qualcuno) in grado di esprimere lo “spirito del tempo” che sto vivendo; mentre contemporaneo, più semplicemente, è qualcosa (o qualcuno) che storicamente si sovrappone, anno più anno meno, all’arco temporale della mia esistenza. Le due caratteristiche non sempre coincidono, potendo trovarci di fronte opere contemporanee ma assolutamente aliene dallo Zeitgeist, oppure opere non contemporanee eppure assolutamente moderne.
La recensione completa su http://www.ifioridelpeggio.com/ma-chi-e-angelo-peri-pietroburgo-di-andrej-belyj/
Ma la lettura di Pietroburgo mi ha fatto riflettere anche sulla sottile, ma decisiva, differenza che separa il concetto di moderno da quello di contemporaneo. Per me moderno significa qualcosa (o qualcuno) in grado di esprimere lo “spirito del tempo” che sto vivendo; mentre contemporaneo, più semplicemente, è qualcosa (o qualcuno) che storicamente si sovrappone, anno più anno meno, all’arco temporale della mia esistenza. Le due caratteristiche non sempre coincidono, potendo trovarci di fronte opere contemporanee ma assolutamente aliene dallo Zeitgeist, oppure opere non contemporanee eppure assolutamente moderne.
La recensione completa su http://www.ifioridelpeggio.com/ma-chi-e-angelo-peri-pietroburgo-di-andrej-belyj/
dalyunger's review against another edition
informative
inspiring
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
The city of St. Petersburg is the main character of the story, and therefore it is difficult to describe the character. Yet the city, in all its rabble, diversity, and sprawl, is a most fascinating character.
yellagal57's review against another edition
challenging
dark
funny
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
mmillerb's review against another edition
5.0
imperial tsarist russia’s hottest new club is: PETERSBURG! you may at first be attracted by its bartender’s newest concoction—a tangy bacilli-packed slurry called the neva—but at *this* Party of the people there’s everything and so much more: human myriapods, parallelepipeds, your long-lost mother, heterosexual ballroom dancing, a rope soaping station, your long-lost brother as bouncer wearing a glue-on pushkin beardpiece who makes you do mental multiplication problems where you carry the 1, streets, a specter of… the orient, that report on salt consumption in the netherlands you should’ve had on your boss’ desk by, like, yesterday, and a dashing young revolutionary with a [spoiler] in his [spoiler] who, dangerous as he may seem, you just can’t help but want to blow you out of the neva… ;)
sarapalooza's review against another edition
4.0
Petersburg
Andrei Bely
An incredibly immersive and entertaining read. This particular translation was quite a task (enjoyable!) to dive into. The annotations and background were almost as long as the book itself, but very illuminating. There’s just so much helpful information provided!
This is a fascinating work. Imagine Joyce’s Ulysses meeting turn of the century revolution, with a heavy dollop of Tolstoy, Dostoevsky, Pushkin, and Gogol. It’s pretty difficult to avoid the giants of Russian lit - and why would one want to? I’m really happy I waited so late into my Russian literature journey to read this, because the background is very helpful.
The book also holds its own as a work of modernism, as it came before Joyce’s work in the genre and is groundbreaking for its time.
The work is also heavily influenced by Symbolism and anthroposophy - two realms I know little about - so the notes were very helpful!
Sadly, all of the wealth of info in the extremely detailed notes mostly served to teach me that one cannot truly appreciate this unless that person reads it in Russian, but I sure appreciated the glimpse I got.
Definitely recommend for anyone interested in this time period, modern literature generally, or those looking to expand their knowledge of Russian literature. It definitely gave me some strange dreams.
Very interested on thoughts of folks who have read this in Russian / another language and their experiences.
Andrei Bely
An incredibly immersive and entertaining read. This particular translation was quite a task (enjoyable!) to dive into. The annotations and background were almost as long as the book itself, but very illuminating. There’s just so much helpful information provided!
This is a fascinating work. Imagine Joyce’s Ulysses meeting turn of the century revolution, with a heavy dollop of Tolstoy, Dostoevsky, Pushkin, and Gogol. It’s pretty difficult to avoid the giants of Russian lit - and why would one want to? I’m really happy I waited so late into my Russian literature journey to read this, because the background is very helpful.
The book also holds its own as a work of modernism, as it came before Joyce’s work in the genre and is groundbreaking for its time.
The work is also heavily influenced by Symbolism and anthroposophy - two realms I know little about - so the notes were very helpful!
Sadly, all of the wealth of info in the extremely detailed notes mostly served to teach me that one cannot truly appreciate this unless that person reads it in Russian, but I sure appreciated the glimpse I got.
Definitely recommend for anyone interested in this time period, modern literature generally, or those looking to expand their knowledge of Russian literature. It definitely gave me some strange dreams.
Very interested on thoughts of folks who have read this in Russian / another language and their experiences.
rasmussimmermann's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
informative
mysterious
reflective
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0