![]() ![]() I’ll take a brief stab at a few of things I found interesting. In addition, both books focus on a short time period with a city as a major character, but the main thing in common is that one or a dozen posts can’t sum up what it feels like to read the work. Many techniques in the style and wordplay are the same, to be sure. Petersburg is often likened to Joyce’s Ulysses and I find myself puzzled at that comparison. ![]() This rhythm mimics the corkscrew-like plotline, circling back on itself while at the same time moving forward. One example I can point to “on the surface” is the repetition of words, phrases and sentences providing a rhythm to the work that begs for it to be read out loud. Even if the language only hints at what the original Russian achieves, it is a wonderful read on the surface as well as for deeper import. I have no idea whether or not the 2009 Pushkin Press edition that I read, with translation by John Elsworth, corrects that deficiency. So what have you heard about Petersburg? Vladimir Nabokov declared it one of the most important works of the twentieth century, but he also stated no good English translation was available. What an amazing, strange, wonderful, funny, frustrating, magical book. ![]() ![]() Demonstration on Octoby Ilya Yefimovich Repin ![]()
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