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quenchgum's review against another edition
3.0
If you're looking for a plot of any kind, don't read this book.
With that said, this book celebrates the beauty of nature and at the same time indifferently reveals the often senseless cruelty of humans. Gorky--a celebrated Russian writer--writes autobiographically of his childhood with his Grandfather, Grandmother, and Mother. His mother is an absent figure for most of Gorky's childhood, be it physically or emotionally. His Grandfather is a practical man, stubborn, and violently abusive.
Grandmother is one of the two reasons this book holds value to me. She is the classic "wise old woman" figure in literature: accepting, loving, respected, and, of course, wise. She prays to her own mystical God, and this is what brings the story its praise of nature. Grandmother's God is a pagan god of sorts; he lives in the trees' branches as they flow in the wind, or in the blooming of the flower, or in the kindness of Gorky himself as a child. Gorky's writing on this topic lends itself naturally to the reader's fuller appreciation of these things, even if you may not (as I didn't) view them as "filled with God" but rather simply as beautiful.
Another facet of this novel that I enjoyed was Gorky's message: that, though Russia's lower classes may be riddled with violence and senseless, harmful actions, they hold infinite promise and wellness of heart deep within them. That Russian culture has spawned a generation of dynamic individuals that are in the midst a huge possibility of change. Though he doesn't quite state this outright, it came through to me as I read his autobiography.
I didn't rate this higher because it bored me to no end. It simply went nowhere. Gorky goes back and forth from his Grandfather's, to his Mother's; they move from one boarding house to another; he gets in trouble in one school and two pages later he's in a childish street gang, only seven pages later to be top student; I found it all hard and somewhat useless to follow because, honestly, the plot never reached any sort of resolution for me. (Weird, too: for me it's been three books in a row that I haven't fallen into any sort of love with. Unusual!)
Overall, though, a good read, and a great insight into Gorky himself if you're a fan of his other writings.
With that said, this book celebrates the beauty of nature and at the same time indifferently reveals the often senseless cruelty of humans. Gorky--a celebrated Russian writer--writes autobiographically of his childhood with his Grandfather, Grandmother, and Mother. His mother is an absent figure for most of Gorky's childhood, be it physically or emotionally. His Grandfather is a practical man, stubborn, and violently abusive.
Grandmother is one of the two reasons this book holds value to me. She is the classic "wise old woman" figure in literature: accepting, loving, respected, and, of course, wise. She prays to her own mystical God, and this is what brings the story its praise of nature. Grandmother's God is a pagan god of sorts; he lives in the trees' branches as they flow in the wind, or in the blooming of the flower, or in the kindness of Gorky himself as a child. Gorky's writing on this topic lends itself naturally to the reader's fuller appreciation of these things, even if you may not (as I didn't) view them as "filled with God" but rather simply as beautiful.
Another facet of this novel that I enjoyed was Gorky's message: that, though Russia's lower classes may be riddled with violence and senseless, harmful actions, they hold infinite promise and wellness of heart deep within them. That Russian culture has spawned a generation of dynamic individuals that are in the midst a huge possibility of change. Though he doesn't quite state this outright, it came through to me as I read his autobiography.
I didn't rate this higher because it bored me to no end. It simply went nowhere. Gorky goes back and forth from his Grandfather's, to his Mother's; they move from one boarding house to another; he gets in trouble in one school and two pages later he's in a childish street gang, only seven pages later to be top student; I found it all hard and somewhat useless to follow because, honestly, the plot never reached any sort of resolution for me. (Weird, too: for me it's been three books in a row that I haven't fallen into any sort of love with. Unusual!)
Overall, though, a good read, and a great insight into Gorky himself if you're a fan of his other writings.
100reads's review against another edition
dark
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
sad
fast-paced
4.25
I loved it. Wonderful memoir. I want to write like Gorky. Need to reread.
diary_ofa_reader's review against another edition
dark
emotional
medium-paced
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Domestic abuse
katrinasorochinsky's review against another edition
4.0
Weirdly written at times I think because of the translation, but I absolutely devoured the story itself, amazing memoir
uhambe_nami's review against another edition
4.0
My Childhood is the first part of the moving autobiography of Maxim Gorky. The story of Gorky's life is a unique story, of course, but the trying circumstances reminded me very much of the first chapters of David Copperfield: the floggings, the cruelty of his grandfather, the mother who hardly paid him any attention, the poverty. The descriptions, on the other hand, are very Russian; I could hear the bells of the troika, and feel the cold as he walked to school with his cousin Sascha.
I looked up some bits about Gorky's life and his ideas, and it is interesting to see how the events that he described in this autobiography had an influence on him later on. It's probably safe to say that his grandmother, with her stories, helped him to become a writer; mr. Good-business, with his thoughts and silences, to become an intellectual; and his grandfather, with all the beatings, to become a revolutionary.
He said it himself so beautifully, somewhere in the middle of the book:
I imagine myself, in my childhood, as a hive to which all manner of simple, undistinguished people brought, as the bees bring honey, their knowledge and thoughts about life, generously enriching my soul with what they had to give. The honey was often dirty, and bitter, but it was all the same knowledge and honey.
One day, I must read the rest of the autobiography to see what became of Maxim Gorky and his babushka.
I looked up some bits about Gorky's life and his ideas, and it is interesting to see how the events that he described in this autobiography had an influence on him later on. It's probably safe to say that his grandmother, with her stories, helped him to become a writer; mr. Good-business, with his thoughts and silences, to become an intellectual; and his grandfather, with all the beatings, to become a revolutionary.
He said it himself so beautifully, somewhere in the middle of the book:
I imagine myself, in my childhood, as a hive to which all manner of simple, undistinguished people brought, as the bees bring honey, their knowledge and thoughts about life, generously enriching my soul with what they had to give. The honey was often dirty, and bitter, but it was all the same knowledge and honey.
One day, I must read the rest of the autobiography to see what became of Maxim Gorky and his babushka.
mikewa14's review against another edition
2.0
http://0651frombrighton.blogspot.co.uk/2015/12/my-childhood-maxim-gorky.html
mxnhtrv's review against another edition
5.0
Không phải Nhật, Mỹ, Anh hay Pháp mà chỉ văn học Nga mới khiến t có cảm giác ấp ám, gần gũi và dễ chịu độc nhất. Ngẫm lại thì có thể do con người và đất nước Nga chia sẻ vô số điểm tương đồng về lịch sử và cả tâm hồn với Việt Nam.
fuskenawsome's review against another edition
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Domestic abuse, and Violence
vuky_1903's review against another edition
4.0
Cuốn sách là trang hồi kí của Alexei viết về tuổi thơ ấu đầy bất hạnh của mình. Truyện mở đầu với sự kiện bố ruột của cậu bị chết và lúc ấy cậu còn quá bé để cảm nhận được nỗi đau khi mất người thân. Sau đó, cậu cùng mẹ và bà ngoại lên tàu và bắt đầu 1 cuộc sống mới tại nhà ông bà ngoại. Cậu sống ở đó trong khi mẹ cậu bỏ đi nơi khác. Cậu đã phải chứng kiến biết bao nhiêu cuộc cãi vã giữa những người con trong gia đình ông bà. Ông cậu thường xuyên đánh đập cậu nhưng cũng là người dạy cậu về Kinh thánh, về Chúa. Và trong cuốn nhật kí này, người mà cậu trân trọng nhất có lẽ là bà ngoại. Bỏ qua những gì bất hạnh cuộc đời đem đến cho cậu, người bà giống như bụt luôn che chở, bảo vệ cậu. Bà cũng là người đã kể cho cậu nghe những câu chuyện cổ tích, những gì mà bà đã trải qua cũng như cuộc tình của mẹ cậu và cha cậu là Maxim. Những điều được bà kể đã giúp cậu định hình được bản thân, nuôi dưỡng tâm hồn đầy đau khổ.