Comments on: We Can See Russian Tragedies From Our Porch

By: SanFranLefty

SanFranLefty — Mon, 06 Jul 2009 02:43:54 +0000

@Mistress Cynica: @Jamie Sommers: It was a little surreal to read this book while reading of foreclosures of McMansions in the paper. The writing is so taut, and since I don't speak Russian I have no idea if it's a good translation, but the tension and anxiety came across nicely. I re-read Olson's story too, and it does offer a nice counterpoise to Tolstoy's piece. @Mistress Cynica: I started reading We Need to Talk About Kevin this morning, and it's like Revolutionary Road of the 21st Century. Riveting. @redmanlaw: We picked a graphic novel! That's a fancy way of saying high-falutin' comic book. Read it! @Benedick: I still have the list with all of your suggestions, some of which I've read and some I haven't and they seem intriguing. However, they're all like 600 pages so Cynica and I would have to give people two or three months notice.

By: Dodgerblue

Dodgerblue — Sun, 05 Jul 2009 22:28:05 +0000

@Mistress Cynica: I've been meaning to re-read "Death in Venice" again for that reason.

By: Mistress Cynica

Mistress Cynica — Sun, 05 Jul 2009 20:43:02 +0000

@Benedick: umm, yeah. graphic novel=comic book with an MFA. I read Anna Karenina years ago and really liked it, but have been meaning to check out the new translation. (My show-off sister is currently reading it in Russian.) Also, it strikes me as a good novel to re-read after 25 years of life experience. Like most of the classics I struggled through in HS an college, it would no doubt have far more meaning for me now.

By: Dodgerblue

Dodgerblue — Sun, 05 Jul 2009 20:20:29 +0000

@Benedick: Agree. Masterful storytelling, no wasted words. @Mistress Cynica: I saw the movie made from the book -- excellent.

By: Benedick

Benedick — Sun, 05 Jul 2009 19:10:37 +0000

@Mistress Cynica: Anna Karenina. Himself draws the portrait of a failed marriage side-by side with a spectacularly successful one. Plus best proposal evah.

By: Benedick

Benedick — Sun, 05 Jul 2009 19:06:59 +0000

@Mistress Cynica: You mean a comic book?

By: Mistress Cynica

Mistress Cynica — Sun, 05 Jul 2009 19:04:24 +0000

@Jamie Sommers: I had recently read Revolutionary Road, and was struck by the parallels, with the stultifying, do-what's-expected middle class marriage spiritually destroying those trapped in it. Marriage rarely seems to come off well in literature (or at least in the books I read) unless the story ends right after the wedding with "and they lived happily ever after."

By: Mistress Cynica

Mistress Cynica — Sun, 05 Jul 2009 19:01:42 +0000

@Jamie Sommers: SFL and I were discussing this, and in light of current events thought we would suggest Persepolis: The Story of a Childhood by Marjane Satrapi, about growing up in Iran after the 1979 revolution. Anyone have strong objections to the graphic novel (or, in this case, autobiography) format?

By: Jamie Sommers

Jamie Sommers — Sun, 05 Jul 2009 18:35:47 +0000

What are we going to read for next month?

By: Jamie Sommers

Jamie Sommers — Sun, 05 Jul 2009 18:35:16 +0000

@Mistress Cynica: I agree. I was really amazed at how timeless the story was. It really could have been written in our time. So many people living above their means, trying to get ahead in life and doing things just because they assume that’s how life must be lived. He picked his wife, his life for others – not himself – and couldn’t even find peace in dying. Still, though, I think it did have a (perversely) happy ending because his death ended his suffering, both physical and mental.

This story was so much better than Olsen’s but it amused me to see how both of them painted a depressing picture of marriage.