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shannon_jayne1's review against another edition
emotional
funny
informative
reflective
3.75
This was a great introduction to Teffi for me. This edition offers a well rounded selection of her writing. One piece that stands out and I particularly enjoyed was ‘Staging Posts’.
bluestarfish's review
4.0
This is a collection of short stories and some non-fiction by Teffi the pen name of Nadezhda Alexandrovna Lokhvitskaya. It feels slightly surreal to me that she met both Tolstoy and Rasputin and we get an account of both, but the fiction pieces are remarkable too whether she's writing from the perspective of a young child forgotten in her parents' divorce or instructions on how to write various letters. 'A Radiant Easter' is a parody of the sort of moralistic Easter stories I luckily haven't had too much exposure too, but it was a funny way to start my introduction to Teffi.
Translated from the Russian by Anne Marie Jackson with Robert and Elizabeth Chandler, Clare Kitson, Irina Steinberg and Natalia Wase.
Translated from the Russian by Anne Marie Jackson with Robert and Elizabeth Chandler, Clare Kitson, Irina Steinberg and Natalia Wase.
glowbird's review against another edition
3.0
The Rasputin essay was amazing. Some of the others have just faded with time. You would need to be a serious Russian historian to appreciate some of the people discussed.
lauren_endnotes's review against another edition
4.0
"Yes, they want to kill me. Well, so what! ... But there's one thing they don't understand: if they kill me, it will be the end of Russia. Remember, my clever girl: if they kill Rasputin, it will be the end of Russia. They'll bury us together."
From "Rasputin", in Tolstoy, Rasputin, Others, and Me: The Best of Teffi. By Teffi (nee Nadezhda Lokhvitskaya), 1924. Translated from the Russian by Anne Marie Jackson. This compilation edition by NYRB, 2016.
Gathered from the generous introduction to this work, and some other sources online, Teffi's short-form prose and satirical works were so well-known and loved in pre-Revolutionary Russia that she managed to have both Tsar Nicholas II AND Vladimir Lenin as admirers of her work. With that kind of praise, it is interesting that so few non-Russians know of her now.
This NYRB edition collects memoirs, articles, and short stories published over decades of her life, from pre-Revolution to her exile / emigre life in Paris. Many of the stories blend this tragic/comic element that was her signature style. Bourgeoisie life, society foibles and gossip, and then a well-placed statement to foreshadow or bring the reader back with gravitas.
However, it is TWO specific stories in this collection that I will never forget now that I've read them, and both of them concern Teffi's interaction with two figures that indelibly changed modern Russia...
From the quote above, you can guess that one is Grigori Rasputin, in the eponymous story. Teffi, invited to a dinner party, has some *very* close encounters with the "Mad Monk". She is both revolted by him, and digging for a story, true to her journalist ways. He is apparently enamoured with her, keeps calling her "clever girl", touching her arms, and keeps inviting her to "come to him" (he even says one time so they "can pray" together.) That is just the tip of the iceberg... there's much more. This story left me wide-eyed and mouth agape.
The other story, entitled "New Life" is not as creeptastic, but still unsettling as to what it foreshadows. Teffi describes her work on the short-lived St. Petersburg newspaper, New Life, and the frequent editorial visits by Vladimir Lenin. While not directed specifically at Teffi, who he seemed to like and conversed with on several occasions, he attempts to make the newspaper a Bolshevik party rag, and the writers fear him and his influence.
Other stories include childhood memories, one particular interlude with Lev Tolstoy when she was a young teen, asking him to please change parts of War and Peace to keep her favorite character alive.
Teffi gives us a brief glimpse of a country - a whole way of life - on the cusp of a dramatic change. Her [b:Memories: From Moscow to the Black Sea|25733829|Memories From Moscow to the Black Sea|Teffi|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1461532853l/25733829._SY75_.jpg|45572152] also comes highly recommended from Jenny @readingenvy and others.
From "Rasputin", in Tolstoy, Rasputin, Others, and Me: The Best of Teffi. By Teffi (nee Nadezhda Lokhvitskaya), 1924. Translated from the Russian by Anne Marie Jackson. This compilation edition by NYRB, 2016.
Gathered from the generous introduction to this work, and some other sources online, Teffi's short-form prose and satirical works were so well-known and loved in pre-Revolutionary Russia that she managed to have both Tsar Nicholas II AND Vladimir Lenin as admirers of her work. With that kind of praise, it is interesting that so few non-Russians know of her now.
This NYRB edition collects memoirs, articles, and short stories published over decades of her life, from pre-Revolution to her exile / emigre life in Paris. Many of the stories blend this tragic/comic element that was her signature style. Bourgeoisie life, society foibles and gossip, and then a well-placed statement to foreshadow or bring the reader back with gravitas.
However, it is TWO specific stories in this collection that I will never forget now that I've read them, and both of them concern Teffi's interaction with two figures that indelibly changed modern Russia...
From the quote above, you can guess that one is Grigori Rasputin, in the eponymous story. Teffi, invited to a dinner party, has some *very* close encounters with the "Mad Monk". She is both revolted by him, and digging for a story, true to her journalist ways. He is apparently enamoured with her, keeps calling her "clever girl", touching her arms, and keeps inviting her to "come to him" (he even says one time so they "can pray" together.) That is just the tip of the iceberg... there's much more. This story left me wide-eyed and mouth agape.
The other story, entitled "New Life" is not as creeptastic, but still unsettling as to what it foreshadows. Teffi describes her work on the short-lived St. Petersburg newspaper, New Life, and the frequent editorial visits by Vladimir Lenin. While not directed specifically at Teffi, who he seemed to like and conversed with on several occasions, he attempts to make the newspaper a Bolshevik party rag, and the writers fear him and his influence.
Other stories include childhood memories, one particular interlude with Lev Tolstoy when she was a young teen, asking him to please change parts of War and Peace to keep her favorite character alive.
Teffi gives us a brief glimpse of a country - a whole way of life - on the cusp of a dramatic change. Her [b:Memories: From Moscow to the Black Sea|25733829|Memories From Moscow to the Black Sea|Teffi|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1461532853l/25733829._SY75_.jpg|45572152] also comes highly recommended from Jenny @readingenvy and others.
antlersantlers's review
3.0
I definitely would not have picked this up but for my 2015 reading challenge. It is a book of short stories by Teffi, a Russian writer and humorist who was extremely popular in her day. There were definitely some gems in the mix, particularly The Lifeless Beast. I am going to add that to my repertoire of good single short stories to recommend. I also enjoyed her account of meeting Rasputin, the titular story "Subtly Worded," and "My First Tolstoy." Unfortunately my interest flagged by the end of the book. I'm not sure if it's because of the subjects of the pieces or me wanting to be done with the book. Probably both.
I read this for the Book Riot Read Harder Challenge! Task 19: A book that was originally published in another language! And technically I already read one originally published in another language ([b:The Strange Library|23128304|The Strange Library|Haruki Murakami|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1419549475s/23128304.jpg|42676389]), I'm trying not to double dip.
I read this for the Book Riot Read Harder Challenge! Task 19: A book that was originally published in another language! And technically I already read one originally published in another language ([b:The Strange Library|23128304|The Strange Library|Haruki Murakami|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1419549475s/23128304.jpg|42676389]), I'm trying not to double dip.
libellus's review against another edition
4.0
Tolstoy, Rasputin, Others, and Me: The Best of Teffi by Teffi (Nadezhda Lokhvitskaya)
Edited by Robert Chandler and Anne Marie Jackson
May 2017
4,5/5
*Read in English from the original Russian, translation by Rose France and Elizabeth Chandler
I finished this book over three months ago, therefore I cannot give my best and usually long review of it. However, I will say that this book lives with you long after reading it. There is something about the penmanship of Teffi that makes you feel right at home. I still think of the stories inside this book when I go to bed or read another book about Russia. I highly recommend this to anyone who’s scared to dive into the menacing-looking Russian literature world. I am no expert myself, but I think that this gives you a great and easy to read introduction to the views of a Russian on Russian classics.
Further recommendations
Same subject: What we see when we read by Peter Mendelsund
Same genre: Tales from Firozsha Baag by Rohinton Mistry
Wild card: Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel
Edited by Robert Chandler and Anne Marie Jackson
May 2017
4,5/5
*Read in English from the original Russian, translation by Rose France and Elizabeth Chandler
I finished this book over three months ago, therefore I cannot give my best and usually long review of it. However, I will say that this book lives with you long after reading it. There is something about the penmanship of Teffi that makes you feel right at home. I still think of the stories inside this book when I go to bed or read another book about Russia. I highly recommend this to anyone who’s scared to dive into the menacing-looking Russian literature world. I am no expert myself, but I think that this gives you a great and easy to read introduction to the views of a Russian on Russian classics.
Further recommendations
Same subject: What we see when we read by Peter Mendelsund
Same genre: Tales from Firozsha Baag by Rohinton Mistry
Wild card: Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel
blixa's review against another edition
i'm just bad at finishing things. will finish someday!