Recommendations based on "War and Peace"

From the New York Times bestselling author of Rules of Civility—a transporting novel about a man who is ordered to spend the rest of his life inside a luxury hotelWith his breakout debut novel, Rules of Civility, Amor Towles established himself as a master of absorbing, sophisticated fiction, bringing late 1930s Manhattan to life with splendid atmosphere and a flawless command of style. Readers and critics were enchanted; as NPR commented, “Towles writes with grace and verve about the mores and manners of a society on the cusp of radical change.”A Gentleman in Moscow immerses us in another elegantly drawn era with the story of Count Alexander Rostov. When, in 1922, he is deemed an unrepentant aristocrat by a Bolshevik tribunal, the count is sentenced to house arrest in the Metropol, a grand hotel across the street from the Kremlin. Rostov, an indomitable man of erudition and wit, has never worked a day in his life, and must now live in an attic room while some of the most tumultuous decades in Russian history are unfolding outside the hotel’s doors. Unexpectedly, his reduced circumstances provide him a doorway into a much larger world of emotional discovery.Brimming with humour, a glittering cast of characters, and one beautifully rendered scene after another, this singular novel casts a spell as it relates the count’s endeavour to gain a deeper understanding of what it means to be a man of purpose.

'A truly great translation . . . This English version really is better' - A. N. Wilson, The Spectator TIMES LITERARY SUPPLEMENT BOOKS OF THE YEAR 2014 This acclaimed new translation of Dostoyevsky's 'psychological record of a crime' gives his dark masterpiece of murder and pursuit a renewed vitality, expressing its jagged, staccato urgency and fevered atmosphere as never before. Raskolnikov, a destitute and desperate former student, wanders alone through the slums of St. Petersburg, deliriously imagining himself above society's laws. But when he commits a random murder, only suffering ensues. Embarking on a dangerous game of cat and mouse with a suspicious police investigator, Raskolnikov finds the noose of his own guilt tightening around his neck. Only Sonya, a downtrodden prostitute, can offer the chance of redemption. Fyodor Dostoevsky (1821-1881) was born in Moscow and made his name in 1846 with the novella Poor Folk. He spent several years in prison in Siberia as a result of his political activities, an experience which formed the basis of The House of the Dead. In later life, he fell in love with a much younger woman and developed a ruinous passion for roulette. His subsequent great novels include Notes from Underground, Crime and Punishment, The Idiot, Demons and The Brothers Karamazov. Oliver Ready is Research Fellow in Russian Society and Culture at St Antony's College, Oxford. He is general editor of the anthology, The Ties of Blood: Russian Literature from the 21st Century (2008), and Consultant Editor for Russia, Central and Eastern Europe at the Times Literary Supplement.

Of all Russian writers, Chekhov is one of the best liked and most easily appreciated. Yet he is also one of the most elusive. Here Donald Rayfield reveals the layers of meaning on which the great dramatist's stories and plays are built. He examines his brief twenty-year creative life, from medical student supplementing his income by writing comic stories to his rapid rise as the father of twentieth-century drama and narrative prose. Understanding Chekhov is enriched by revelations from previously unexplored archival material, which deepen our understanding of Chekhov's sources, preoccupations, philosophy, and his relations with theater, with fellow writers, and with contemporary ideas.

When a young graduate returns home he is accompanied, much to his father and uncle's discomfort, by a strange friend "who doesn't acknowledge any authorities, who doesn't accept a single principle on faith." Turgenev's masterpiece of generational conflict shocked Russian society when it was published in 1862 and continues today to seem as fresh and outspoken as it did to those who first encountered its nihilistic hero.

Review ‘A dazzling display of Russian magical realism’Daily Mail‘I first encountered VITA NOSTRA in 2009, and then, as now, I was stunned by what I read – not just by the story, which was a revelation to me in itself, but also by the vividness and fluency and power of Hersey's translation. VITA NOSTRA has become a powerful influence on my own writing. It's a book that has the potential to become a modern classic of its genre, and I couldn’t b

I am a ridiculous man. They call me mad now. That would be a promotion in rank A delusional man whose strange dream changes his life; a self-justifying husband who causes his wife's suicide; a witness to a young girl's ruin; a writer who stretches out on a gravestone and listens to the gossip of the dead ... the narrators of these four confessional tales show how little we understand ourselves.

Six masterfully executed selections from the famed Russian author's most prolific period display those qualities for which he is famous - a natural aptitude for detail, dialogue, humor, and compassion. Includes 'The Darling', a poignant piece supporting the claim that life has no meaning without love; as well as 'The Kiss', 'Anna on the Neck', 'The Man in a Case', 'The Malefactor', and the title story.

An enchanting collection of tales which showcase Anton Chekhov at the height of his power as a writerIn the final years of his life, Chekhov produced some of the stories that rank among his masterpieces, and some of the most highly-regarded works in Russian literature. The poignant 'The Lady with the Little Dog' and 'About Love' examine the nature of love outside of marriage - its romantic idealism and the fear of disillusionment. And in stories such as 'Peasants', 'The House with the Mezzanine' and 'My Life' Chekhov paints a vivid picture of the conditions of the poor and of their powerlessness in the face of exploitation and hardship. With the works collected here, Chekhov moved away from the realism of his earlier tales - developing a broader range of characters and subject matter, while forging the spare minimalist style that would inspire such modern short-story writers as Ernest Hemingway and William Faulkner. In this edition Ronald Wilks's translation is accompanied by an introduction in which Paul Debreczeny discusses the themes that Chekhov adopted in his mature work. This edition also includes a publishing history and notes for each story, a chronology and further reading. For more than seventy years, Penguin has been the leading publisher of classic literature in the English-speaking world. With more than 1,700 titles, Penguin Classics represents a global bookshelf of the best works throughout history and across genres and disciplines. Readers trust the series to provide authoritative texts enhanced by introductions and notes by distinguished scholars and contemporary authors, as well as up-to-date translations by award-winning translators.

Anecdotes about Balakirev -- Tales of the ancient Poshekhonians / Vasily Berezaisky -- The merry old fellow / Teller of old Moscow tales -- The ancient and modern divinatory oracle / Martin Zadek -- Guak, or unbounded devotion: a knightly tale -- The tale of Vanka Kain -- The new Sterne / A.A. Shakhovskoi -- Traditional songs (late 18th century) -- Ermak Timofeich / Nikolai Polevoi -- Filatka and Miroshka the rivals / Pavel Grigoriev, Jr. -- Ivan Vyzhigin / Faddei Bulgarin -- The little humpbacked horse / Petr Ershov -- The history of Russia told for children / Aleksandra Ishimova -- The battle of the Russians with the Kabardinians / Nikolai Zriakhov -- Etiquette manuals (1849-1911) --Street types -- God save the Tsar / Aleksei Lvov -- Dark eyes / Evgeny Grebenka -- The great Moscow fire / N. Sokolov -- Elegy (Khas-Bulat) / Aleksandr Ammosov and O. Kh. Agrenova-Slavianskaia -- Balagan advertisements / Malafeev Theater (1883) -- The slums of Petersburg / Vsevolod Krestovsky -- How the Russian gave it hot to a German -- Oh those Yaroslavites, what a fine folk / Fedor Ivanich Kuz'ma -- The slums of the female heart -- Correspondence from the Russo-Turkish War / Vasily Nemirovich-Danchenko -- War stories from the present-day war with the Turks / M. Evstigneev -- Where is it better? / L.A. Tikhomirov -- A flask of hooch -- Gypsy romances -- Scenes from a third-class car / B.S. Borisov and V.A. Kriger -- Sarah Bernhardt / M.L. Lentovsky -- The queen of diamonds / V.P. Valentinov -- Anecdotes (1840-1917) -- Moscow court reporting / The Moscow Sheet (Early 1880s) -- The terrible wedding night / Aleksei Pazukhin -- The terrible bandit Churkin -- Where the oranges ripen / N.A. Leikin -- Messrs. Businessmen / I.I. Miasnitsky -- The diary of Maria Bashkirtseva -- Ivanov Pavel / V.M. Doroshevich -- Song of the stormy Petrel / Maxim Gorky -- Light-fingered Sonya / M.D. Klefortov -- Revolutionary songs (late 19th century) -- Vaudeville skits (1905-1910) -- Why was I born into this world / Tobolsk prison song -- The poor fellow died / Konstantin Romanov -- Marusia poisoned herself -- Russian sob sister / Olga Gridina -- How the lasses burned a lad in the stove / Al. Aleksandrovsky -- The wrath of God / V.I. Kryzhandrovskaia -- The little Siberian girl (Sibirochka) / Lidiia Charskaia -- The African princess (Vampuka) / M.N. Volkonsky -- Gladiators of our time / N.N. Breshko-Breshkovsky -- Sanin / Mikhail Artsybashev -- The keys of happiness / Anastasia Verbitskaia -- The vanquished / Count Amori -- Do you remember? / Petr Chardynin -- The wrath of Dionytsus / E.A. Nagrodskaia -- The Countess-actress / Count Amori -- The bloody Talisman / Nat Pinkerton, King of detectives -- The headlands of Manchuria -- The heroic feat of the Don Cossack Kuzma Firsovich Kriuchkov -- Jackals / Sergei Sokolsky -- Rasputin's nighttime orgies / V.V. Ramazanov

It is estimated that some three million people died in the Soviet forced-labour camps of Kolyma, in the northeastern area of Siberia. Shalamov himself spent seventeen years there, and in these stories he vividly captures the lives of ordinary people caught up in terrible circumstances, whose hopes and plans extended to further than a few hours. This new enlarged edition combines two collections previously published in the United States as Kolyma Tales and Graphite.For more than seventy years, Penguin has been the leading publisher of classic literature in the English-speaking world. With more than 1,700 titles, Penguin Classics represents a global bookshelf of the best works throughout history and across genres and disciplines. Readers trust the series to provide authoritative texts enhanced by introductions and notes by distinguished scholars and contemporary authors, as well as up-to-date translations by award-winning translators.