Literary Central Asia, East Europe & Russia Vote • November 2012

[sun surfer]

Help us choose the November 2012 selection to read for the MR Literary Club! The poll will be open for two days.

The vote is multiple choice. You may vote for as many or as few as you like.

A discussion thread will begin shortly after a winner is chosen.

In the event of a tie, there will be a one-day non-multiple-choice run-off poll. In the event that the run-off poll also ends in a tie, the tie will be resolved in favour of the selection that received all of its initial nominations first.


Select from the following works:


We by Yevgeny Zamyatin, Russia

Spoiler:

This book has been called the grandfather of dystopian fiction, directly influencing George Orwell's 1984, Aldous Huxley's Brave New World, Ursula Le Guin's The Dispossessed, Ayn Rand's Anthem and Kurt Vonnegut's Player Piano.

Although the Russian work is probably in the public domain, the English translations are (probably) not. However, there are 3 different versions that seem commonly available at different prices.

Amazon US (1)
Amazon US (2)
Amazon US (3)

B&N (1)
B&N (2)
B&N (3)

Kobo (1)

There is also a German version of "Wir" in our MobileRead library:
http://www.mobileread.com/forums/showthread.php?t=41815
(other formats also available)

Purge by Sofi Oksanen, Estonia

Spoiler:

A 2008 novel by Estonian author Sofi Oksanen. Available in ebook.

Briefly, Purge is a story of two women forced to confront their own dark pasts, of collusion and resistance, of rape and sexual slavery set against the backdrop of the Soviet occupation of Estonia. (from Wikipedia).

A review from The Guardian.

Doctor Zhivago by Boris Pasternak, Russia

Spoiler:

From Amazon-

First published in Italy in 1957 amid international controversy, Doctor Zhivago is the story of the life and loves of a poet/physician during the turmoil of the Russian Revolution. Taking his family from Moscow to what he hopes will be shelter in the Ural Mountains, Zhivago finds himself instead embroiled in the battle between the Whites and the Reds. Set against this backdrop of cruelty and strife is Zhivago's love for the tender and beautiful Lara, the very embodiment of the pain and chaos of those cataclysmic times...A classic of world literature.

“One of the very great books of our time.” —The New Yorker

“A welcome opportunity for anyone who has already read Dr. Zhivago to revisit it and experience a richly rewarding fresh take on an epic tale. For those coming to it for the first time it is a chance to read one of the greatest novels of all times.” —New York Journal of Books

“As well as a gripping story, Doctor Zhivago is a work of meditation and quiet challenge. Pasternak meant every word of it. I believe he would be pleased with the powerful fidelity of the translation now before us.” —Angela Livingstone, The Times Literary Supplement (London)


About the Author:

A poet, translator, and novelist, Boris Pasternak was born in Moscow in 1890. In 1958 he was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature but, facing threats from Soviet authorities, refused the prize. He lived in virtual exile in an artists’ community near Moscow until his death in 1960.

[Hamlet53]

I had forgotten that voting for multiple options was possible. I feel that if I do that I have done nothing to further an outcome. Doctor Zhivago is one I will read sometime [my Nobel Prize winners quest], so I will choose between the other two. It's a tough call, but I am going with We.

[issybird]

I had hoped to avoid a Russian book this time; I look upon the region month as being a horizon-expander, a time to read something from somewhere less trodden. So I'll be voting for Plunge. As an aside, I've read Dr. Zhivago and I've got so many books I'd like to read by year-end that it's hard to justify a re-read (and I don't remember it well enough to discuss it without one).

[drofgnal]

I voted for Purge. I read Zhivago earlier in the year. So its time for something new.

[caleb72]

I stuck with my nomination because I can't go past the grandfather of dystopian fiction.

[sun surfer]

I've always wanted to read Doctor Zhivago, couldn't help nominating it and if it wins I'll gladly finally get to read it, but, after seeing the rest of the nominations and considering its length and the other books I'm trying to read before the end of the year, I'll be fine with it not winning this month.

We sounds interesting and honestly I've barely ever heard of it before so it's something new to me, but, though the film The Blue Angel is great, I've never been a fan of that kind of storyline and the description compared them, so that makes me hesitant, but I'll still be happy to read it if it wins.

Purge sounds very serious and with a newer unknown writer I'm unsure how good the writing will be, but the description is intriguing and I do think it would be interesting to read a book from a lesser known country from our chosen region such as Estonia, so for those reasons I think I'm slightly pulling for Purge to win.

[issybird]

Purge won several literary prizes, so I'm assuming it's not as trashy as the synopsis suggests. I think it would be a good perspective on Soviet occupation and subsequent liberation in any case.

[usuallee]

Can't decide. Always wanted to read Doctor Zhivago. However, Purge looks really, really good. At any rate, I'm thankful to whomever nominated Purge, I may never have discovered it otherwise. (Like my to-read list isn't long enough already)

[HomeInMyShoes]

I had We on my potentail read list so maybe this pushes me to bring it to the top, well, topish of the list. I put a request in to my library for a copy when it's available.

[caleb72]

I stumbled across the original translation of this work in English which is actually public domain (it seems).

The translator was Gregory Zilboorg.

http://mises.org/books/we_zamiatin.pdf

Unfortunately it's PDF only. If I had time I would convert it to epub, but I think I'll read this version.

I've read also that the Alexander Glinka translation is not as good to read as the Natasha Randall version, both of which are available in Amazon and B&N.

[BenBanned]

Many thanks for the link!
(Never been to mises pretty awesome site.)

[paola]

Originally Posted by caleb72

I stumbled across the original translation of this work in English which is actually public domain (it seems).

The translator was Gregory Zilboorg.

http://mises.org/books/we_zamiatin.pdf

Unfortunately it's PDF only. If I had time I would convert it to epub, but I think I'll read this version.

I've read also that the Alexander Glinka translation is not as good to read as the Natasha Randall version, both of which are available in Amazon and B&N.

Caleb, many thanks! I think I am going to get Purge too, though..