I will quit smoking on Monday. Next week I will start running and join the gym. At the weekend I'll clean up the room and find a job. You have to do more, right?
2019 has landed on our shoulders. It's time to get off the couch, open your eyes, drink mineral water and finally start. I have compiled for you 2 lists of books of world and Russian literature, which you should familiarize yourself with at least in 2016, if you have not done so before. Let's start, perhaps, with the "boring" Russian classics. Listen!
Fyodor Dostoevsky "Dream of a Ridiculous Man"
Have you thought about suicide at least once in your life? If not, then this is no reason to bypass Dostoevsky's story. Everyone knows this author purely from the book "Crime and Punishment", however, in my opinion, in order to fully understand the essence of Dostoevsky, one should start with the story "The Dream of a Ridiculous Man". How to understand the essence of human existence before the last shot in the head? How to exchange paradise for world wars and hatred of one's neighbor? And most importantly - how not to pull the trigger. The end of the story can be titled with the expression "Cherchez la femme", if you understand why, then everything was not in vain.
Anton Chekhov "Ward number 6"
Do you think Russian classics go better with a glass of vodka? I have a subjective opinion on this matter, but what about the views of Comrade Gromov? How to combine reading books, a glass of vodka, a psychiatric hospital and two brilliant people with completely different and at the same time the same views on existence in this world? Such an oxymoron permeates the whole story about the sad truth of the cheerful Chekhov. Have you already figured out how to drink literature?
Evgeny Zamyatin "We"
Yevgeny Zamyatin can be safely considered the founder of the great genre of dystopia. I'm sure if you chose him, then you simply must know such great anti-utopians as Orrwell and Huxley. If these names mean something to you, then without even thinking, get Zamyatin for yourself and start absorbing it with tablespoons. The military system, coupon relations and solid capital letters. Instead of people. Instead of names. Instead of life.
Leo Tolstoy "Death of Ivan Ilyich"
On the cover of this book, I would write in huge red letters: “Caution! Causes frustration, pain and awareness. Sentimental stupid people are strictly forbidden.” Forget about the hackneyed book "War and Peace", you have a completely different side of Leo Tolstoy, which is worth all the volumes of a huge novel. Trying to find a deep semantic subtext in the story "The Death of Ivan Ilyich", you will miss the most important thing that lies on the surface. A banal, simple truth that is available to everyone, every time eluding us. If you found it in the story, and besides, you learned to live by it, my bow to you and white envy.
Ivan Goncharov "Oblomov"
That's something, and in the novel "Oblomov" to find yourself as easy as shelling pears. Alas. How beautiful is the contemplation of this life from the outside, when the stupid vanity of this world bypasses you. First love that somehow makes you get off the couch, obsessive friends, always trying to pull your lazy ass into the light - how absurd this whole "seething life" is. Avoid it, contemplate, think and dream, dream, dream! If you are a supporter of this statement, congratulations, your soul mate has been found in the protagonist of the novel Oblomov.
Maxim Gorky "Passion-face"
It is no coincidence that Gorky's work received such a symbolic name "Passion-muzzle", because the story cannot be read without trembling in the knees. If you love children too much, don't read. If you are impressionable and emotional - do not read. If girls with syphilis disgust you, don't read. In general, do not listen to me now, open the book and start to be afraid of the cruel realities of this life. The social bottom, dirt, vulgarity and yet truly happy, "pure" people in children's and adult swords about impossible happiness.
Nikolai Gogol "Overcoat"
A small person against a huge terrible society, or how to lose everything that is dear to you, even if it is a simple overcoat. A stingy official, an unnecessary environment, a small happiness in exchange for a great disappointment and death as the only logical conclusion. It is on the example of Akaki Bashmachkin that we will consider a large weighty and significant problem of society - the theft of an overcoat.
Anton Chekhov "The Man in the Case"
How do you keep in touch with your work colleagues, classmates or friends? I will advise one great way to improve your communication skills - come to visit them and be silent. I give you a 100% guarantee that society will be delighted with you. An umbrella in a case, a watch in a case, a face in a case. A kind of shell behind which a person tries to hide, protect himself from the outside world. A man who even managed to shove his sincere love into a case and protect it not only from the object of love, but also from himself. So what about maintaining relationships? Shall we keep quiet?
Alexander Pushkin "The Bronze Horseman"
And again we meet the big problem of the little man, only this time in Pushkin's work "The Bronze Horseman". Eugene, Parasha, Peter and a love story, it would seem, what could be more ideal for the plot of a romantic drama? But no, this is not "Eugene Onegin" for you. We break love, we break a city, we break a person, we add to this a drop of the symbolic image of the Bronze Horseman and we get the perfect recipe for one of Pushkin's best poems.
Fyodor Dostoevsky "Notes from the Underground"
And the last one on the list of Russian classics will be the one with whom we, in fact, began - the great beloved Dostoevsky. It is no coincidence that I put “Notes from the Underground” in the final place. After all, this work is not just exciting, it is wild in places, so to speak. Increased awareness of being is a deadly disease. Activity is the lot of the limited and stupid. If you like these interpretations, then you will like Dostoevsky, and if you also humiliated prostitutes at least once in your life, then the "underground" will become your favorite place to stay.
Read about the top 10 foreign classic books in the second part of the book list for 2016. Love Russian classics.
Historically, everything in Russia is not the same as in other countries. Here is a special way of development of literature, the Russian soul is incomprehensible and mysterious to anyone. Russia is balancing between Asia and Europe. Therefore, the genres of Russian classics are special. Classical literature amazes readers with spirituality and truthfulness. One of the main characters in classical Russian literature is the soul. The heroes of dramas, novels and poems do not strive for wealth, fame or position, the main thing for them is the search for a place of life, ideals and truth. A distinctive feature of Russian literature has become the eternal search for spiritual and moral ideals.
At the beginning of the 19th century, poets turned to the life of the soul and all its diversity. Mikhail Lermontov and Alexander Pushkin reached the heights of poetry. Love for the motherland, joy and pain for it, admiration for nature, desire for freedom, bitterness of loss, joy of friendship, love sound in verses. In poetry, images of people who are looking for application on their own, suffering from their imperfection and the imperfection of the world around them, appear. These heroes were called superfluous people. These two poets took a step towards realism.
Three novelists were very popular in the second half of the 19th century - these are Leo Tolstoy, Ivan Turgenev and Fyodor Dostoyevsky. They were different people, had different views, complex characters and talents that were completely different. They created great novels - Russian classics, which can be read online on many sites today. These works had a strong impact on the life of the Russian people.
Another feature of Russian classics is ridiculing the shortcomings of man and society, a critical look at reality. Satire and humor are characteristic features of the works of Saltykov-Shchedrin and Gogol. Critics said that the writers were engaged in slander. Readers understood that suffering was hidden behind humor. The characters were both tragic and comic at the same time. Their main task is to excite souls.
Many writers were also talented playwrights. Read books of Russian classics online, it is convenient and relevant in our time. Pay attention to such works: "Boris Godunov" by Pushkin, "The Government Inspector" and "Woe from Wit" by Gogol. At one time, these works were a real event. Alexander Ostrovsky made a real revolution in the theater.
In the late 19th century, novels and short stories became popular. The masters of these genres were Anton Chekhov and Ivan Bunin. Chekhov created a gallery of sad and comical images, showed the problems of an intellectual who is at odds with himself. Bunin became famous for his love stories. In these works, all the stages and shades of feelings were very subtly described.
1. Emily Bronte "Wuthering Heights" (1847)
Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte is not just a golden classic of world literature, but a novel that turned the notion of romantic prose upside down in its time. Years and decades pass, but the story of the fatal passion of Heathcliff, the adopted son of the owner of the Wuthering Heights estate, for the owner's daughter Catherine does not lend itself to the passage of time. "Wuthering Heights" has been read for many generations of women - they continue to be read even now. This book never gets old, just like true love never gets old...
2. Jane Austen "Pride and Prejudice" (1813)
The pride of a woman, practically impoverished and completely free - in her poverty, in her irony, in the strength of her character ... Is there anything equal to such pride? sincerity of male feelings and stop thinking about it. This is Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen. The book, without which there would probably be no "psychological" novel, no "feminist" literature, or - simply - "elite" prose as such!
3. William Shakespeare Romeo and Juliet (1597)
Romeo and Juliet is a tragedy in 5 acts by William Shakespeare, which tells about the love of a young man and a girl from two ancient warring families - the Montagues and the Capulets.
4. Charlotte Bronte "Jane Eyre" (1847)
Jane Eyre, a modest but proud and independent orphan, takes a job as a governess on Mr. Rochester's estate. Having fallen in love with each other, Jane and Rochester are going to get married. Having become the bride of a loved one and having experienced unprecedented happiness, Jane retains her composure and independence. She continues to give lessons to his daughter and rejects the groom's luxurious gifts. But on the day of the wedding, a terrible secret is revealed that can forever destroy the dreams of lovers and completely change everything in their lives.
5. Margaret Mitchell Gone with the Wind (1936)
The novel Gone with the Wind (1936) by the American writer Margaret Mitchell (1900–1949) is a fascinating, sharply social work, the main problem of which is the fate of human values in the world of buying and selling. The book is set in one of the most difficult periods in US history and covers the years of the Civil War (1861-1865) and the subsequent Reconstruction.
6. Michael Ondaatje, The English Patient (1992)
Michael Ondaatje's novel subtly and poetically depicts the intertwining of four twisted destinies in an abandoned Italian villa at the end of World War II. And in the center of this intersection is the "English patient", a nameless, burnt beyond recognition man - a mystery and a challenge for those who pass by. Based on the novel "The English Patient", a famous film was made, in 1997 it was awarded the "Oscar" award in nine categories.
7. Daphne du Mourier "Rebecca" (1938)
A young woman serving as a companion of a wealthy American goes with her to the Cote d'Azur and accidentally meets a British aristocrat named Maximilian de, the owner of the amazingly beautiful Manderly estate. After a brief courtship, she agrees to marry him and return to Manderly together. Almost immediately, the newlywed realizes how difficult it will be for her to erase the image of his ex-wife, Rebecca, from her husband's memory. She died about a year ago, sailing on a yacht.
8. Boris Pasternak Doctor Zhivago (1957)
The action of the novel takes place at that difficult time, when all the trials fell to the lot of Russia at once: the First World War and the Civil War, the abdication of the tsar, the revolution. The novel by Boris Pasternak is about the fate of his generation, which became a witness, participant and victim of this madness. This is the story of young people who entered the twentieth century with hopes of great change that would bring happiness to all, and how their hopes were dashed. This is a story about moral experience and deep reflections on the fate of the country. “In terms of content, clarity, absorption in my favorite work, the life of recent years is almost a continuous holiday of the soul for me.
9. David Lawrence Lady Chatterley's Lover (1928)
Novel by David Lawrence, first published in 1928. The publication of the novel caused a big scandal associated with numerous frank descriptions of scenes of a sexual nature and was at one time banned in different countries. The novel has been filmed many times. The author created three versions of the novel and recognized the last of them as final. The novel describes a classic love triangle: a beautiful young wife, a disabled husband, and a gloomy, even somewhat spiteful forester looking after the estate. In addition, the novel also touches on social (husband, lady and forester come from different classes) and sexual aspects (detailed descriptions of the awakening of sexual attraction to the forester in Constance and their love scenes).
10. Far from the Madding Crowd, Thomas Hardy (1874)
Having inherited a rich farm from her uncle, the young Bathsheba Everdeen energetically gets down to business, gaining workers for herself. She also takes the bankrupt farmer Gabriel Oak, an experienced and honest man. Gabriel at one time asked for her hand, but failed. Now her neighbor, a wealthy farmer William Boldwood, offers her hand and heart, but the wayward Bathsheba does not yet agree to become a wife, asking herself time to think. The meeting with the narcissistic handsome sergeant Frank Troy becomes fatal for Bathsheba.
11. Alan Jay Lerner, My Fair Lady (1956)
The novel tells about the poor girl Eliza Doolittle - an ignoramus and a mess, from which Professor Higgins, having argued with his friends, decides to make a "beautiful lady" - the personification of style and politeness. And he succeeds! And, of course, Higgins himself falls head over heels in love with the fruit of his efforts.
12 Cecil Scott Forester The African Queen (1935)
A novel about the journey of the boat "African Queen" along the rivers of colonial Africa in the 1st World War.
13. Francis Scott Fitzgerald The Great Gatsby (1925)
The action of the novel takes place in New York, on Long Island, in the twenties of the XX century: following the chaos of the First World War, American society entered an unprecedented period of prosperity: in the “roaring 20s”, the US economy was developing rapidly. At the same time, Prohibition made many bootleggers millionaires and gave a significant boost to organized crime. Admiring the rich and their charm, Fitzgerald at the same time denounces the unrestrained materialism and lack of morality of America at that time.
14. Jane Austen "Sense and Sensibility" (1811)
At the center of the novel is the fate of the Dashwood sisters. Marianne, the embodiment of sensibility, falls passionately in love with a charming but frivolous gentleman, and her sensible sister Elinor chooses a completely reliable young man as the object of her affection. What is the key to happiness - sensitivity or feeling? You can answer this question by reading Jane Austen's novel.
15. Arthur Laurents "The Way We Were" (1972)
Young radical Kathy dreams of becoming a writer. But day and night she is preoccupied with the injustice of this world. Cathy devotes all her time to rallies and demonstrations, which causes the warm support of some of her friends, and constant ridicule from others. But quite unexpectedly for herself, the original Katie realizes that she is in love with the first handsome man of the Hubble school. She is ugly and feels miserable. But years later, in 1945, they meet and love breaks out between them. More dissimilar people cannot be imagined. Breakup is inevitable. But while they are together, their happiness is endless.
16. Leo Tolstoy "War and Peace" (1865)
The carefree life of representatives of the elite of society in the early 19th century: luxury, balls, ceremonial receptions, in honor of the tradition of "highly cultured" France. But all this ends with the beginning of the war. What the Russian nobles used to admire was now condemned. Russian peasants go to war as cannon fodder to ensure an idle and carefree life for the nobility. Leo Tolstoy will also talk about the difficult relationship between the main characters of the novel: Andrei Bolkonsky and Natalia Rostova...
17. Daphne Du Maurier French Bay (1942)
In the novel French Bay, the beautiful Dona St. Columbus, on the threshold of her thirtieth birthday, is clearly aware of the emptiness and worthlessness of high society life and, obeying an impulse, leaves London for the secluded castle of Navron on the coast of Cornwall. There she meets the elusive leader of the pirates, whom everyone calls simply the Frenchman, and with him - both her love and her own, albeit short-lived, happiness.
18. Jane Austen's Persuasion/Reason (1818)
The Elliot family, mired in debt, is forced to rent out their family estate. The tenant is Admiral Croft's family. Ann, who does not want to go to Bath with her family, leaves for a few months to stay with Mary, her younger sister, who lives just a few miles away. At this time, the brother-in-law, Captain Frederick Wentworth, comes to the admiral, with whom Ann was in love in her youth, and she refused to marry him, having listened to "reasons of reason". Eight years have passed, Frederick Wentworth has money and connections, and he becomes an enviable and profitable party. Everyone expects Frederick's imminent matchmaking with one of Ann's cousins, Louise. But he again gives his preference to Ann.
19. Kingsley Amis "Look for a mate" (1960)
Bored in a small position in the library, John Lewis is "bored" in the family. The monotony of family life and abstinence makes itself felt. So he would have gone into all serious trouble, and here also the position “fatter” looms, and his wife frivolously advises to charm the wife of the chairman of the library council.
20. George Eliot "Daniel Deronda" (1876)
Daniel Deronda - the adopted son of Sir Hugh Mullinger - saves a Jewish girl who has arrived in England from suicide. Friendship develops between young people. Daniel tries to help Mira find her family. Deronda is secretly in love with Gwendolen and unexpectedly finds out about her upcoming marriage.
What did you read from this list? What did you think of it?
All the romantic pathos that shrouded the Middle Ages is presented in Ivanhoe. Valiant knights, beautiful ladies, castle sieges and the political subtleties of vassal relations - all this found a place in the novel by Walter Scott.
In many ways, it was his creation that contributed to the romanticization of the Middle Ages. The author described the historical events that affect the period in the history of England after the Third Crusade. Of course, there were some serious artistic improvisations and fiction, but this made the story only more exciting and beautiful.
It was impossible not to include in this selection the most famous creation of Nikolai Vasilyevich Gogol. For many schoolchildren, the study of "Dead Souls" is the highlight of the literature lessons.
Nikolai Gogol is one of the few classics who knew how to write about the problems of petty-bourgeois life and Russia as a whole in such a sarcastically direct tone. There is neither the epic heaviness of Tolstoy, nor the unhealthy psychologism of Dostoevsky. Reading is easy and enjoyable. However, hardly anyone will deny him the depth and subtlety of the observed phenomena.
The adventure novel "The Headless Horseman" is multi-layered: detective and love motives are intertwined in it. The plot intricacies create intrigue and keep you in suspense until the very last pages of the book. Who is this headless horseman? A ghost, a figment of the heroes' imagination, or someone's insidious trick? You are unlikely to fall asleep until you get an answer to this question.
Charles Dickens was extremely popular during his lifetime. People were waiting for his next novels in much the same way that we are now waiting for the release of some Transformers. The educated English public loved his books for their inimitable style and plot dynamism.
The Posthumous Papers of the Pickwick Club is Dickens' funniest work. The adventures of English snobs, who proclaimed themselves to be researchers of human souls, are full of ridiculous and comical situations. Social issues, of course, are present here, but it is presented in such a simple form that it is simply impossible not to fall in love with the English classic after reading it.
Madame Bovary is rightfully considered one of the greatest novels of the world classics. This title does not detract from the fascination of Flaubert's creation - the defiant story of Emma Bovary's love adventures is bold and daring. After the publication of the novel, the writer was even brought to trial for insulting morality.
The psychological naturalism that permeates the novel allowed Flaubert to clearly reveal the problem that is relevant in any era - the convertibility of love and money.
The most famous work of Oscar Wilde touches the nerve with a deeply developed image of the protagonist. Dorian Gray, an aesthete and a snob, has an extreme beauty that contrasts with the internal ugliness that develops over the course of the story. You can revel in watching Gray's moral decline, allegorically reflected in the visual change in his portrait, for hours on end.
"An American Tragedy" is the underside of the American dream. The desire for wealth, respect, position in society, money is characteristic of all people, however, for the majority, the path to the top is closed by default for various reasons.
Clyde Griffiths - a native of the lower classes, who is trying with all his might to break into high society. He is ready to do anything for his dreams. But society, with its ideals of success as an absolute life goal, is itself a catalyst for the violation of morality. As a result, Clyde breaks the law in order to achieve his goals.
To Kill a Mockingbird is an autobiographical novel. Harper Lee described her childhood memories. The result is a story with an anti-racist message, written in simple and accessible language. Reading the book is useful and interesting, it can be called a textbook of morality.
Not so long ago, a continuation of the novel was published under the title " Go set a watchman". It turns inside out the images of the characters of the writer's classic work so much that cognitive dissonance cannot be avoided when reading.
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(Russian) is a broad concept, and everyone puts their own meaning into it. If you ask readers what associations it evokes in them, then the answers will be different. For some, this is the basis of the library fund, someone will say that the works of classical Russian literature are a kind of sample with high artistic merit. For schoolchildren, this is everything that is studied at school. And they will all be absolutely right in their own way. So what exactly is classical literature? Russian literature, today we will talk only about it. We will talk about foreign classics in another article.
Russian literature
There is a generally accepted periodization of the formation and development of Russian literature. Its history is divided into the following time periods:
What works are called classics?
Many readers are sure that classical literature (Russian) is Pushkin, Dostoevsky, Tolstoy - that is, the works of those writers who lived in the 19th century. It's not like that at all. The era of the Middle Ages and the 20th century can be classical. By what canons and principles to determine whether a novel or a story is a classic? Firstly, a classical work must have a high artistic value, be a model for others. Secondly, it must have worldwide recognition, it must be included in the fund of world culture.
And you need to be able to distinguish between the concepts of classical and popular literature. A classic is something that has stood the test of time, and a popular work can be quickly forgotten. If its relevance continues for more than a dozen years, perhaps it will eventually become a classic as well.
Origins of Russian classical literature
At the end of the 18th century, the newly formed nobility of Russia split into two opposing camps: conservatives and reformers. Such a split was due to different attitudes towards the changes that took place in life: Peter's reforms, understanding of the tasks of the Enlightenment, the sore peasant question, attitude towards power. This struggle of extremes led to the rise of spirituality, self-consciousness, which gave rise to Russian classics. We can say that it was forged in the course of dramatic processes in the country.
Classical literature (Russian), having been born in the complex and contradictory 18th century, was finally formed in the 19th century. Its main features are: national identity, maturity, self-awareness.
Russian classical literature of the 19th century
The growth of national consciousness played an important role in the development of the culture of that time. More and more educational institutions are being opened, the social significance of literature is increasing, and writers are beginning to pay much attention to their native language. even more made me think about what is happening in the country.
Karamzin's influence on the development of 19th century literature
Nikolai Mikhailovich Karamzin, the greatest Russian historian, writer and journalist, was the most influential figure in Russian culture of the 18th-19th centuries. His historical novels and the monumental "History of the Russian State" had a huge impact on the work of subsequent writers and poets: Zhukovsky, Pushkin, Griboedov. He is one of the great reformers of the Russian language. Karamzin introduced a large number of new words into use, without which we cannot imagine modern speech today.
Russian classical literature: a list of the best works
Selecting and compiling a list of the best literary works is a difficult task, since each reader has his own preferences and tastes. A novel that for one will be a masterpiece, another will seem boring and uninteresting. How, then, to compile a list of classical Russian literature that would satisfy the majority of readers? One way is to conduct surveys. On their basis, it is possible to draw conclusions about which work the readers themselves consider the best of the proposed options. These data collection methods are carried out regularly, although the data may vary slightly over time.
The list of the best creations of Russian classics, according to the versions of literary magazines and Internet portals, looks like this:
In no case should this list be considered a reference. In some ratings and polls, not Bulgakov, but Leo Tolstoy or Alexander Pushkin may be in the first place, and some of the writers listed may not exist at all. Ratings are extremely subjective. It is better to make a list of your favorite classics for yourself and focus on it.
The Importance of Russian Classical Literature
The creators of Russian classics have always had a great social responsibility. They never acted as moralizers, did not give ready-made answers in their works. Writers set a difficult task for the reader and forced him to think about its solution. They raised serious social and social problems in their works, which are of great importance to us even now. Therefore, Russian classics remain as relevant today.
