Kip Potapych Reads

[KipPotapych]

Nothing to do with the theme of this forum, but I thought some people may be interested.

I am not an audiobook guy by any measure, though prefer podcasts, lectures, intellectual discussions/debates, etc to music more often than not. However, I randomly stumbled upon this reading of Bulgakov’s Master and Margarita and it is superb. Like really, great stuff. I have had the privilege to read it in the original language (twice) and tried for kicks to read it in English previously, but it never took. This reading though (and translation as well) is top notch. Wish I found it earlier.

One thing to note, the book, while being, arguably, my favourite, is not for everyone. Having some general ideas of Russian and Soviet history (especially of the time when the book was written) helps quite a bit. Most people, of course, have no such knowledge and still enjoy it a lot (a world classic for a reason). Maybe it can be an inspiration to do some further reading and familiarize oneself with the country’s history (this is a lame attempt to tie this to the thread’s topic, haha). Anyway, without further ado,

There are 33 parts and I would recommend listening to the last, 33rd, part first, which talks a bit about Bulgakov himself. Since this forum automatically converts Youtube links to embedded videos, if you copy the following address and paste it to your browser, it will take you to the playlist if all the parts of the book, beginning with the first.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=1XBhZ-KknEQ&list=PL-lY2fdb59Of61NGdOmXUagd0f1B_RUXC&ra=m

Edit: my current (re)reading:



I am fairly certain the probability of me finding a worthy audiobook or a hardcopy of this in English is virtually zero (I tried with printed books). But if someone has a lead, I would greatly appreciate it.

Edit 2: apologies, that is Dostoevsky’s Crime and Punishment.

 

[Feanor]

Moved to correct forum into a new thread.

I think Soviet literature in general is poorly known in the west Leo Tolstoy is extremely well know for War and Peace, and among the more educated for Anna Karenina (though his far better Sevastopol' Stories are unheard of). But Aleksey Tolstoy is virtually unknown despite being easily one of the strongest Russian authors of the 20th century. Overall the whole thing seems to be badly colored by the Cold War, with dissidents like Pasternak or Solzhenitsyn being easy to find, but strong Soviet authors being very hard to find. Good luck getting ahold of Yuri Bondarev, or Konstantin Simonov. Bulgakov in particular is a very strong author, probably one of the best. His Deviliad, or The Fatal Eggs is quite good too. And of course The White Guard is fantastic. The movie is great too (The Flight) though I think it's more based on the play Days of the Turbiny (same story in play and novel form).

 

[harvestman]

I began intensive study of Russian last year partly because access to anything other than classic Russian literature is so poor in English. I’m not yet good enough to read more than Chekhov, but it is coming along. I’ve read Master and Margarita in English but it would be nice to revisit it in the original one day. Thank you for the audiobook recommendation, Kip.

There is a huge political bias in the availability of Soviet and post-Soviet authors in English. Solzhenitsyn can be found in droves, but I can’t say I’ve ever seen any of those other names in bookshops. I found a surprising haul of slightly more obscure Russian authors in a second-hand bookshop in Carlisle but overall pickings are extremely slim. Of more recent authors, Sorokin is easy to find, being a Penguin imprint, as is Boris Akunin, but otherwise there’s very little.

Well, for now I am going to continue with Chekhov’s short stories and then attempt «Драма на охоте» once I feel brave enough. It’s very difficult finding Russian-language books in the UK (where I am based), but I visited the big Foyles in London and they actually had a respectable collection (still mostly classics, though), where I picked up the Russian-language Lolita. The language is far too hard for me at the moment but I’ve read the English version enough times that it’s not impossible to understand! Of course most things can be found online, but I do prefer the in-person experience. I don’t know how prices compare to Russia, but Russian-language editions cost about three times as much as English ones right now. An expensive hobby…