Reviews

Banger and definitely one to dispel the image of the Russian novel as a nine hundred page ticket to depression. Pushkin is joy - the verse reeks of joy. Very impressive to translate a verse novel into verse also. Falen makes a convincing job of it.

It's not hard to see how this becomes a national epic thank you AP

carmenx9's review against another edition

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5.0

I think this is my third time reading Onegin, and it's definitely my first time reading it all the way through since graduating high school. I think the barely-there story becomes more poignant and fascinating now that I'm older than most of the characters (at least at the books beginning!). The combination of poetry and satire and heartbreak is choice.

Also, Tatyana may be my favourite heroine in Russian (all?) literature and I'd die for her.

(I should probably check out the Nabokov or Arndt translations someday but I really like Deutsch's and my copy is *gorgeous* 1943 version with woodcut illustrations)

carmenx9's review against another edition

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5.0

The last English translation I'll likely read (she says, overly confident). Anyway this was a really brilliant translation from the little Russian I can read - it flows, hit the feminine rhymes, and doesn't feel forced at any point so the story comes through. And the essay at the beginning on the translating process is very good (Yevgeny scans so differently from Eugene and it's good to keep it!). Very much a translation I'd recommend to anyone looking for a first Onegin or anyone looking to upgrade from an older (or the Nabokov) translation.

On the book itself - possibly my fourth time reading it? There's nothing more tragic than a Russian comedy.

whatrachyreads's review against another edition

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funny reflective medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.5

juulolantern's review

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5.0

holy shit this book slapped

mdrosend's review against another edition

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challenging lighthearted medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

2.0

amurray914's review against another edition

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4.0

The Falen translation of Pushkin’s “novel in verse” masterpiece really drew me in and was a very enjoyable read. Falen remains true to the original Russian rhyme and metre scheme and adds an excellent introduction and annotations. There is much to be appreciated here; the excitement and splendor of 18th century aristocratic Russia, contrasted with Onegin’s boredom and ennui, his “spleen”; a timeless story of love, rejection, loss, guilt; and Pushkin’s allusions to his development as an artist, a transition from poet to prose writer.

And scorning then Apollo’s ire
To humble prose I’ll bend my lyre:
A novel in the older vein
Will claim what happy days remain.

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