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Thread: Russian book club

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    Quote Originally Posted by kflaux View Post
    Excellent. I salute you, and your father.

    It's never too late to learn, though. The great German mathematician Carl Friedrich Gauss took up Russian in his late 60's, IIRC, partly in order to be able to correspond with Nikolai Lobachevsky, a co-discoverer of non-Euclidean geometry.
    Great point. I have been making it a point to improve my atrophied Russian by conversing with my Russian relatives here in North America, and leveraging my trips to Belarus.

    To follow up on this tangent, those 18th and 19th century scientists strike me as renaissance men and women in every sense of the word. I just read a book about Alexander Humboldt, and his breadth and scope of knowledge seems astonishing, simply beyond comprehension. To this day, when I read classic scientific papers from the 19th century, I am struck by how well-spoken and literate they were, and how keen their powers of observation were in the absence of the technology we have readily at hand.

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    Quote Originally Posted by christiefan915 View Post
    Read Anna even if it takes months, it's well worth it. I read it going back and forth to work via public transportation and it did take a long time, but it's a great book... sad and depressing but great. Picture Vivien Leigh as Anna while you're reading. She was just so beautiful.

    Almost finished with Anna. Any suggestions as to what movie version does the most justice to it? Just rented the latest version with Jude Law. Seems to concentrate on visually artistic, stylish aspect which gets in the way of the storyline.

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    Quote Originally Posted by Cypress View Post
    Great point. I have been making it a point to improve my atrophied Russian by conversing with my Russian relatives here in North America, and leveraging my trips to Belarus.

    To follow up on this tangent, those 18th and 19th century scientists strike me as renaissance men and women in every sense of the word. I just read a book about Alexander Humboldt, and his breadth and scope of knowledge seems astonishing, simply beyond comprehension. To this day, when I read classic scientific papers from the 19th century, I am struck by how well-spoken and literate they were, and how keen their powers of observation were in the absence of the technology we have readily at hand.
    Do you travel to Belarus on business? Yes, it's great if you have opportunities to use the language.

    I have a half-Russian sister-in-law, but I almost never see her....

    Not many people read classic scientific papers from long ago. Are you a student of the history of science? As it happens, I did a master's in history and philosophy of science at Univ. Toronto.

    If need be, we could take this discussion to a new thread....

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    Quote Originally Posted by aloysious View Post
    Almost finished with Anna. Any suggestions as to what movie version does the most justice to it? Just rented the latest version with Jude Law. Seems to concentrate on visually artistic, stylish aspect which gets in the way of the storyline.
    I have no opinion on movie versions--have not seen one yet--but one of the most remarkable parts of the book, for me, was the passage describing her mind during her final trip from home. Starting with where she sees herself in the mirror and doesn't recognize herself.

    It seems to me that Tolstoy brilliantly described the psychological implosion of a human mind. Not that I'm an expert on e.g. madness or the like, but it rang true to me.

    And, of course, the scene in which Levin proposes to Kitty (...the second time!) is wonderful...and much else besides......

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    Quote Originally Posted by kflaux View Post
    Do you travel to Belarus on business? Yes, it's great if you have opportunities to use the language.

    I have a half-Russian sister-in-law, but I almost never see her....

    Not many people read classic scientific papers from long ago. Are you a student of the history of science? As it happens, I did a master's in history and philosophy of science at Univ. Toronto.

    If need be, we could take this discussion to a new thread....
    Not business. Family is from Belarus, and cousins throughout Belarus and Russia. The only thing I dread is the constant vodka drinking, I am a lightweight! I am afraid I am not putting in a good showing for Uncle Sam with my vodka soaked Slavic relatives.

    Re: your background -- Holy smoke, check out the brain on kflaux! Impressive. That is the kind of scholarly endeavor I can respect. Parents I know are always telling their kids to major in engineering, computer science, or something that supposedly makes a lot of money. My advice? Study what you like, and what interests you as long as you feel you can excel in it.

    My career involves a scientific research, and it just so happens that in the course of literature review I sometimes run across old scientific papers, and my curiosity leads me sometimes back into the earlymost 20th century and late 19th century. Interesting stuff, someday I would like to take a gander at Darwin's original published work!

    Regarding the question on movies, I cannot stand movies made by americans and british that purport to be an adaptation of a great Russian novel. The Americans and the Brits just don't get it right, they do not understand the nuance and the intangibles of the Russian soul. Which gets back to your earlier comment about translation. A translation from the original Russian has to be authentic and culturally relevant. Which is why I appreciated your comment on the Prevear-Volokonsky translation team which bring both the native Russian and the native English speaker perspectives to the work.

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    Quote Originally Posted by kflaux View Post
    I have no opinion on movie versions--have not seen one yet--but one of the most remarkable parts of the book, for me, was the passage describing her mind during her final trip from home. Starting with where she sees herself in the mirror and doesn't recognize herself.

    It seems to me that Tolstoy brilliantly described the psychological implosion of a human mind. .
    I felt like that was a result of an addiction to morphine which she was using to help with sleep.

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    Quote Originally Posted by Cypress View Post

    Regarding the question on movies, I cannot stand movies made by americans and british that purport to be an adaptation of a great Russian novel. The Americans and the Brits just don't get it right, they do not understand the nuance and the intangibles of the Russian soul.
    To be fair, how often does a movie do justice to any book?

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    Quote Originally Posted by Cypress View Post
    Not business. Family is from Belarus, and cousins throughout Belarus and Russia. The only thing I dread is the constant vodka drinking, I am a lightweight! I am afraid I am not putting in a good showing for Uncle Sam with my vodka soaked Slavic relatives.
    Aha. I can relate, to an extent. My wife is Japanese, and on trips to Japan, sake and etc. are part of every meal with friends. Sometimes it's not something I'm real keen on--I must be getting old--but as in Russia, it's part of the culture.

    My career involves a scientific research, and it just so happens that in the course of literature review I sometimes run across old scientific papers, and my curiosity leads me sometimes back into the earlymost 20th century and late 19th century. Interesting stuff, someday I would like to take a gander at Darwin's original published work!
    His Origin is an interesting read. He did a very good job of gradually making the malleability of species something people could accept, by talking about e.g. pigeon breeding and the like.

    Most of what I did was in history of physics and math, however. Master's dissertation on Faraday's discovery of E-M induction.

    Regarding the question on movies, I cannot stand movies made by americans and british that purport to be an adaptation of a great Russian novel. The Americans and the Brits just don't get it right, they do not understand the nuance and the intangibles of the Russian soul. Which gets back to your earlier comment about translation. A translation from the original Russian has to be authentic and culturally relevant. Which is why I appreciated your comment on the Prevear-Volokonsky translation team which bring both the native Russian and the native English speaker perspectives to the work.
    I guess they are both translations, so to speak, aren't they. And any "translation" of a book into a movie will be imperfect, in the same way that there is no such thing as a perfect translation into another language. "To translate is to traduce".
    Last edited by kflaux; 07-06-2017 at 09:50 AM.

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    Quote Originally Posted by kflaux View Post
    Aha. I can related, to an extent. My wife is Japanese, and on trips to Japan, sake and etc. are part of every meal with friends. Sometimes it's not something I'm real keen on--I must be getting old--but as in Russia, it's part of the culture.


    His Origin is an interesting read. He did a very good job of gradually making the malleability of species something people could accept, by talking about e.g. pigeon breeding and the like.

    Most of what I did was in history of physics and math, however. Master's dissertation on Faraday's discovery of E-M induction.


    I guess they are both translations, so to speak, aren't they. And any "translation" of a book into a movie will be imperfect, in the same way that there is no such thing as a perfect translation into another language. "To translate is to traduce".
    Japan, a country I would suffer a plane ride to visit. I am fascinated by their culture.

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    Quote Originally Posted by aloysious View Post
    To be fair, how often does a movie do justice to any book?
    True dat. Some are tolerable. Many are not.

    A very few however rise above their textual origins, transcend them. My favorite example of this is Rashomon, the film that first got Akira Kurosawa noticed. Based on two interesting but not widely known or appreciated short stories by R. Akutagawa.

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    Quote Originally Posted by Mott the Hoople View Post
    Ahh Russian novelist...why say in 3 words what can be said in 30,000!
    unlike Dickens, they weren't paid by the word.....and if you can't hack the long books, try Turgenev or the grossly underappreciated Lermontov

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    Quote Originally Posted by Mott the Hoople View Post
    Ahh Russian novelist...why say in 3 words what can be said in 30,000!
    Ever see an unabridged copy of The Recognitions?

    Now take a peek at the font......

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    Quote Originally Posted by Cypress View Post
    For real!

    I blame it on the long, dark, cold Russian winters. Being trapped indoors for eight months a year either turns one towards vodka.... or it gives one lots of time to think about the human condition. Tolstoy and Dostoyevsky were basically philosophers of a sort, and their massive tomes I believe give a false impression that Russian literature is by nature epic and vast. Anton Chekhov was, in fact, basically the inventor of the modern short story and writes in an economical, almost impressionistic way. Gogol, Turgenev, Tolstoy and others wrote many short stories which are quite good.

    But I totally know what you mean. It took me about six months to finish Brothers Karamazov. And a couple weeks ago I almost picked up Tolstoy's Anna Karenina, but it took two hands to even lift it! I was so intimidated by the size, I ended up getting some comic books instead!

    If you are gonna go BIG, there are far more enjoyable options than Tolstoy.....

    The Sot Weed Factor for one.....and it is a f...ing riot....not to mention, a great primer on pre-revolutionary American history....

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    Quote Originally Posted by christiefan915 View Post
    Read Anna even if it takes months, it's well worth it. I read it going back and forth to work via public transportation and it did take a long time, but it's a great book... sad and depressing but great. Picture Vivien Leigh as Anna while you're reading. She was just so beautiful.

    but so sadly troubled....she almost didn't get the Scarlett role because her boobs were too small for US audiences......but they fixed that by bolstering them with tape....

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    Quote Originally Posted by Cypress View Post
    Thanks, it is on my bucket list, and I appreciate the recommendation.

    Reading during the commute is the way to go.
    I like to read on my lunch break at work. Almost every day. That is how I finished Dostoyevsky tome, and that's how I finished reading all six bloody books in the Harry Potter series (p.s. I should punch myself in the mouth for being such a geek).

    You can floss away the Potter with some Philip Pullman.......that shit is awesome....in an exchange with a Yale/Chicago lit PhD, she named him as her fave...I had no idea who he was.

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