Russian literature recommendations
Since most posts about Russian literature on Tumblr are about Tolstoy and Dostoevsky, I thought it could be nice to broaden the spectrum a little. There are books out there that deserve more love!
- Nikolai Gogol: if you search his name on Tumblr, the first three pages or so are all about an anime guy. You’re doing this man wrong. Dead Souls is really good, and so are The Viy and Evenings on a Farm Near Dikanka (which you should definitely read if you are interested in Eastern European folklore).
- Alexander Griboyedov: Woe from Wit is a comedy that makes fun of Russian aristocracy in the 19th century. In 1825 Pushkin wrote that half of the lines of this play were bound to become proverbs, and that’s exactly what happened.
- Teffi: she was a humorist who wrote in the first half of the 20th century. My favourite book by her is Memories: From Moscow to the Black Sea, an account of her journey to exile after the revolution.
- Mikhail Bulgakov: look, I know everyone and their grandma has read The Master and Margarita. BUT! He wrote so many other wonderful books! Heart of a Dog is a delightful satire of daily life in the USSR during the 20s, which features a dog that is turned into a human. A Young Doctor’s Notebook is darker and vaguely autobiographical, and also a great read.
- Ilya Ilf and Yevgeny Petrov: The Twelve Chairs is an adventure novel, with a main character that was so beloved by the readers that he was given the Sherlock Holmes treatment (spoiler alert: even if he dies at the end of the book, the writers had to bring him back to life for a second novel.)
- Daniil Kharms: it could be said that Kharms was a master of Absurdism, if it weren’t for the fact that his works, written mainly in the 30s, were published in the West only after 1968. If you want to get a taste of his works, Today I Wrote Nothing is a nice selection.
- Sergei Dovlatov: his semi-autobiographical books relate about his daily life, the impossibility of being published in the USSR and emigration. They are all very funny, but in a bittersweet way. Should you decide to give them a chance, please drop me a dm, because I love this man and his works. My favourite ones are The Suitcase, The Invisible Book and A Foreign Woman.
- Venedikt Erofeev: Moscow to the End of the Line is really difficult to describe. It’s a railway poem in free verse, a drunken travel in an everyday Inferno full of word plays and pain. Please, do yourself a favour and read it. You’re welcome.
- Arkady and Boris Strugatsky: mostly science fiction with social undertones. Roadside Picnic is a classic, Hard to Be a God and City of Doom are also worth reading.
- Viktor Pelevin: his books are kind of a hit or miss for me, but Omon Ra is really good. If you think you might like space race stories with a grotesque twist, this is probably a book for you.
- Lyudmila Petrushevskaya: if creepy, unsettling fairy tales and post-apocalyptic settings are your jam, go for it! There Once Lived a Woman Who Tried to Kill Her Neighbour’s Baby is a good collection of short stories.
This is not meant to be, by any means, a comprehensive list, or an impartial one – I focused mainly on the 20th century, because I like it best. If your favourite book is not here, either a) I haven’t read it, b) I did read it, but I didn’t like it, or c) I just straight up forgot about it. Feel free to add more suggestions!
