boipoka's review
3.0
As with most collections, this was a rather uneven read.
I enjoyed Boris Godunov, and the explanatory notes were quite useful there. I like historical fiction in general, especially political machinations - and there was plenty of that. A lot was packed in very little - and the "closet play" nature of the work made it more enjoyable IMO. Plays meant to be staged often don't translate too well to the page - that wasn't a problem here.
The Tragedies were a bit too short for my liking, and the explanatory notes didn't add much to my reading experience (not like there were many of those to begin with). But they were okay, overall. The Stone Guest was probably my favourite of the 4, but the others were fine too. If I were a short story person, I probably would have enjoyed them more - they all had that "sting in the tail" and "abrupt, open ending" thing. But at least I could appreciate why they're read till date.
Scenes from Faust and Rusalka were my least favourites. I don't see why anyone who is reading only for pleasure would bother with either. I'm sure reading "the complete works" has some value in school work - but I'm not here for school. At least if I had more context on why these works are considered important, maybe I would have cared. There was some discussions around this in the introductory notes, to be fair. But that, along with the explanatory and footnotes were too focused on the titular play. Which left me feeling these were just filler material, here because they fit nowhere else.
All in all, aggresively average is my verdict.
I enjoyed Boris Godunov, and the explanatory notes were quite useful there. I like historical fiction in general, especially political machinations - and there was plenty of that. A lot was packed in very little - and the "closet play" nature of the work made it more enjoyable IMO. Plays meant to be staged often don't translate too well to the page - that wasn't a problem here.
The Tragedies were a bit too short for my liking, and the explanatory notes didn't add much to my reading experience (not like there were many of those to begin with). But they were okay, overall. The Stone Guest was probably my favourite of the 4, but the others were fine too. If I were a short story person, I probably would have enjoyed them more - they all had that "sting in the tail" and "abrupt, open ending" thing. But at least I could appreciate why they're read till date.
Scenes from Faust and Rusalka were my least favourites. I don't see why anyone who is reading only for pleasure would bother with either. I'm sure reading "the complete works" has some value in school work - but I'm not here for school. At least if I had more context on why these works are considered important, maybe I would have cared. There was some discussions around this in the introductory notes, to be fair. But that, along with the explanatory and footnotes were too focused on the titular play. Which left me feeling these were just filler material, here because they fit nowhere else.
All in all, aggresively average is my verdict.
schomj's review against another edition
3.0
Emerson's introduction was brilliant and gave me a good idea of what to expect in this collection. Falen's translation is very readable. My reactions to each play varied greatly.
Boris Godunov - historically interesting but emotionally flat
A scene from Faust - So jaded it made me feel like Pollyanna in comparison, so short that feeling was more invigorating than overwhelming. I've put off reading Faust for a long time, but may actually attempt it now.
The miserly knight - Grossly antisemitic. Even imagining the Baron as played by Scrooge McDuck couldn't make me enjoy it.
Mozart and Salieri - Bubbly and malicious. Enjoyed it more than I anticipated.
The stone guest - I mostly rolled my eyes. I've never found the legend of Don Juan particularly interesting.
A feast in time of plague - *blank stare*
Rusalka (The water-nymph) - Gave me chills and left me wanting more.
Boris Godunov - historically interesting but emotionally flat
A scene from Faust - So jaded it made me feel like Pollyanna in comparison, so short that feeling was more invigorating than overwhelming. I've put off reading Faust for a long time, but may actually attempt it now.
The miserly knight - Grossly antisemitic. Even imagining the Baron as played by Scrooge McDuck couldn't make me enjoy it.
Mozart and Salieri - Bubbly and malicious. Enjoyed it more than I anticipated.
The stone guest - I mostly rolled my eyes. I've never found the legend of Don Juan particularly interesting.
A feast in time of plague - *blank stare*
Rusalka (The water-nymph) - Gave me chills and left me wanting more.
kgjr's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
reflective
slow-paced
4.0
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