So You Want to Try Russian Literature?

Last fall I toyed with the idea of starting an account to cultivate my love of Russian literature…but thanks to the usual things, I got as far as the profile picture and a list of ideas. But a friend just asked where to start in the world of 300+ page novels with dark, rich covers and unpronounceable names.

Where to start in Russian literature? Well, what do you like? Don’t start with War and Peace just because.

Love a psychological thriller? Crime and Punishment is what happens when that smart-but-dark guy stages the perfect crime…and gets away with it. It’s a story of surprises where the educated go insane, the “family man” is vile, and the prostitute is a Christ-figure. I get chills just thinking about the scene where the murderer and the prostitute read the Gospel of John together.

If you like politics and the effect of ideology on human nature, start with Solzhenitsyn — One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich is nice and short, but my personal favorite is The First Circle, which is about a group of engineers forced to work for Stalin. Imagine your smartest friends who are always having fascinating discussions that meander through philosophy, religion, and science. Now put them in a Soviet research center. Are you not entertained?

Like Dickens or Les Mis? Dostoevsky’s Poor Folk and House of the Dead feed the social justice warrior in each of us. PF is about a girl with nowhere to go and the choices she’s forced to make. HOTD is a semi-autobiographical account of Siberian prison camps, the effect of punishment on the human soul, and Dostoevsky’s own return to Christianity. It totally changed my perspective on the criminal justice system.

If you’ve read Russian literature, what did you start with? Any favorites/recommendations?