Reviews

The Mother by Maxim Gorky

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krhe's review against another edition

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challenging emotional informative reflective tense slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

DOS AÑOS DESPUÉS PERO POR FIN ME HE LEÍDO LA SEGUNDA PARTE Y HA MERECIDO LA PENA. Abajo el capitalismo.

cony612's review

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3.0

Well this was painstakingly hard to finish... as is typical of Russian literature at the peak of 1917’s revolution, you get introduced to 25 characters whose names and roles you’ll confuse all the time. You get the same vibe as in « Germinal » by Zola: let the proletariat arise! What I always find fascinating and important is to always read these books by taking yourself back to the socio-historical context, and it allows you to understand the motives behind the propangandish literature more easily.

This book could have been resumed in a couple words: Mother and son unite as they realize they need to unite workers against the rich. Very long, deserves a good 3/5.

Bought this book in a cute Polish library ;)

zineameen's review against another edition

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too long and too slow

yetilibrary's review against another edition

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3.0

I've been thinking about how to review this book since I started reading it and I still don't know how. I think I'd have to reread it at least once to fully "get it." There are so many layers, so many themes, so many subtleties, so much tea ... I know I can't properly review it all, because I didn't properly absorb it all. (Reading it over the course of a few months at bedtime on my kindle was NOT the right way to read this book. I'm sorry, Maxim Gorky.)

Mother is a deceptively easy read with so many heavy themes: parents and children, the clashes between (and love between) generations, Communism, politics, questions of Truth (yes, with a capital T), revolution and rebellion, idealism vs. pragmatism, religion without faith and faith without religion ... did I mention these themes were heavy?

What interested me the most was the question of whether there was a difference between a fanatic and a hero (for lack of a better word). Communism isn't ever referred to as Communism (or even Socialism), if I recall correctly; it's only referred to as "the truth." And believers of The Truth, working to spread the word of it to society at large and rebel against the Czarist regime, sometimes blur the line between "activist" and "straight-up fanatic." (And the parallels to True Believer followers of a budding religious movement are inescapable.) Some members of the movement sacrifice their freedom for the movement; others, any chance of a "normal" life (with marriage, children, not living on the lam, etc.); still others are beaten or face execution. Others are convinced that everyone will join them if only they read the pamphlets and hear The Truth. And then there are those who believe a bunch of people, including The Workers who do not believe them or who spy on them, are going to have to be killed. What Gorky leaves us with is a picture of a mix of ascetics, near-hysterical True Believers marching cheerfully to their martyrdom, and a handful of axe-sharpening proto-Bolsheviks. This may be a pretty accurate picture of early revolutionary movements in general, but it never does answer my question: what's the difference between a fanatic and a hero/activist? IS there one? I guess it's just in the eye of the beholder.