lauren_endnotes's review against another edition
5.0
"You can buy four kinds of Absolut vodka (no guarantee on authenticity) around the clock...and Makarov, Suvorov, Lev Tolstoy, and Rasputin vodkas. The saleswoman yawns and says 'You know perfectly well it's all the same. They bottle it in Poland and we paste on the labels.'
'Lev Tolstoy and Rasputin are the same?' exclaimed by friend. 'What is this, relativism, deconstructivism, postmodernism?'
'If you don't like it, don't buy it,' says the saleswoman. 'No one's forcing you.'
-Excerpt from "In the Ruins of Communism", Pushkin's Children
Pushkin's Children compiles 20 essays from 1990-2000, the years spanning the fall of Communism in her home country Russia. Essays range from observational, political, to lengthy book reviews, primarily books by Russian or American authors that she praises or skewers (sometimes both simultanously). They are equally enjoyable to read, regardless if you are familiar with the source material.
Took plenty of notes and highlights in this book, and will be following up with several of the books she reviews - primarily the works of David Remnick, Joseph Brodsky, Solzhenitsyn, and David King.
Her words are fire - illuminating the dark, melting down the old patterns/ways, and strengthening with mettle and resolve.
I was already a fan of her work after [b:Aetherial Worlds: Stories|35572111|Aetherial Worlds Stories|Tatyana Tolstaya|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1499153278l/35572111._SX50_.jpg|57003444], but this book shows her skill and brilliance across forms and styles.
'Lev Tolstoy and Rasputin are the same?' exclaimed by friend. 'What is this, relativism, deconstructivism, postmodernism?'
'If you don't like it, don't buy it,' says the saleswoman. 'No one's forcing you.'
-Excerpt from "In the Ruins of Communism", Pushkin's Children
Pushkin's Children compiles 20 essays from 1990-2000, the years spanning the fall of Communism in her home country Russia. Essays range from observational, political, to lengthy book reviews, primarily books by Russian or American authors that she praises or skewers (sometimes both simultanously). They are equally enjoyable to read, regardless if you are familiar with the source material.
Took plenty of notes and highlights in this book, and will be following up with several of the books she reviews - primarily the works of David Remnick, Joseph Brodsky, Solzhenitsyn, and David King.
Her words are fire - illuminating the dark, melting down the old patterns/ways, and strengthening with mettle and resolve.
I was already a fan of her work after [b:Aetherial Worlds: Stories|35572111|Aetherial Worlds Stories|Tatyana Tolstaya|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1499153278l/35572111._SX50_.jpg|57003444], but this book shows her skill and brilliance across forms and styles.
sarahjsnider's review against another edition
4.0
A lot of these essays are book reviews, which are lots of fun to read. I think I know less about the Russian state of mind than I did before I started. They apparently an inscrutable people.
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