tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1911087927983597831.post4609556704170980169..comments2024-01-02T15:37:04.858-05:00Comments on Caravana de recuerdos: "Petersburg": Antipoetry and PanicRichardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01746599416342846897noreply@blogger.comBlogger8125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1911087927983597831.post-17521271975730160202015-02-27T15:35:06.216-05:002015-02-27T15:35:06.216-05:00Miguel, yes, an incredibly fun book to read! One ...Miguel, yes, an incredibly fun book to read! One of these days I'll have to actually look into what Nabokov had to say about <em>Petersburg</em> (i.e. other than just how highly he ranked it among the 20th century's best) and then read Nabokov's book on Gogol and then read Bely's book on Gogol. My work/play is cut out for me far in advance, you see!Richardhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01746599416342846897noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1911087927983597831.post-82292350865752724012015-02-27T05:53:30.797-05:002015-02-27T05:53:30.797-05:00Amazing, amazing, I can see why Nabokov loved it!Amazing, amazing, I can see why Nabokov loved it!LMRhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08538873868140070018noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1911087927983597831.post-73277319677643193722015-02-23T20:28:41.185-05:002015-02-23T20:28:41.185-05:00Although the sylvan/sylvine translation thing is a...Although the sylvan/sylvine translation thing is <em>almost</em> a letdown, Steve, I appreciate your explanation and the kind words about the post. In any event, that Bely passage has plenty of things to recommend it even without that one "artifact of translation" gag! By the way, thanks for pointing out the Russian rhyme in the second paragraph of your comment; I envy your ability to enjoy Russian literature in the original, but I fear the grammar might be too difficult for me to pick up on my own this late in the game. Will probably stick to trying to improve my Romance languages skills/reading speed rather than picking up a difficult new language like Russian or Arabic anytime soon. Cheers!Richardhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01746599416342846897noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1911087927983597831.post-81378784699420174962015-02-23T09:31:57.228-05:002015-02-23T09:31:57.228-05:00I really began to get geeked up over this Russian ...<i> I really began to get geeked up over this Russian antipoetry when I realized that what I'd taken to be an archaic or variant spelling of "sylvan" was in fact the correct spelling of the previously unknown to me mineral sylvine or sylvite, the salt of which is said to be used in lethal injections and fertilizers. </i><br /><br />I love your analysis of the novel, but I fear this is purely an artifact of translation -- Bely's adjective is лесной [lesnoi], the normal adjective of лес [les] 'woods, forest,' and not remarkable in any way (except that, of course, it sounds great in context; Bely was a wonderful poet as well as a supreme novelist). I presume McDuff was rendering it "sylvine" to provide some sort of equivalent for poeticisms elsewhere in Bely's text where they didn't work in English.<br /><br />Also, I must thank you for calling my attention to yet another misprint in my wretched paperback edition of the Russian text; I had thought Bely was varying the repeated "Дни стояли туманные, странные" [Dni stoyali tumannye, strannye -- note the rhyme!] "The days were foggy, strange" on the second occurrence by making it "Дни стояли туманные, страшные" "The days were foggy, terrible" (which would be very Bely-esque)... but when I checked a better text online I discovered it was just a typo, and Bely had странные as in the other instances.Languagehathttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13285708503881129380noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1911087927983597831.post-30705699220169836002015-02-21T12:19:25.236-05:002015-02-21T12:19:25.236-05:00Hey, Sarah, nice to hear from you! Petersburg is ...Hey, Sarah, nice to hear from you! <em>Petersburg</em> <em>is</em> wonderful--on a par with Augusto Roa Bastos' <em>I the Supreme</em> in terms of being a big book that's totally entertaining and totally strange at the same time (to compare it to one of the wilder books I know you once read). I can't imagine you not liking it if you give it a try someday, but on the other hand it is quite a bit longer than 40 pages so timing may be everything. Cheers!Richardhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01746599416342846897noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1911087927983597831.post-14581781522673656992015-02-21T12:13:12.112-05:002015-02-21T12:13:12.112-05:00Thanks, Brian. Petersburg is such a wild book tha...Thanks, Brian. <em>Petersburg</em> is such a wild book that I'm glad people who haven't read it yet have been so receptive to the excerpts from it I've shared. I'm already looking forward to an eventual reread of the novel in fact! As far as the father/son relationship in the novel, which I mostly ignored in favor of Bely's stylistic tics, I have to say that Bely was both amusing and insightful overall. Glad you mentioned Trollope; I hope to finally try one of his other novels later in the year if things work out, but these crazier authors keep calling my name!Richardhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01746599416342846897noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1911087927983597831.post-6984652978021390062015-02-21T09:41:09.208-05:002015-02-21T09:41:09.208-05:00I miss the days when I read books like this...! So...I miss the days when I read books like this...! Sounds wonderful. I'll stick it on the TBR pile at the very least and look forward to a time where I can make it through a book that's longer than 40 pages...Sarah (tuulenhaiven)https://www.blogger.com/profile/11007601900702081303noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1911087927983597831.post-38955002818086399382015-02-21T09:40:42.025-05:002015-02-21T09:40:42.025-05:00Great analysis and commentary on these passages Ri...Great analysis and commentary on these passages Richard. <br /><br />I really like the style of the writing in these passages. I think that "Mad Magazine" is a perfect description for some of it.<br /><br />I love these literary depiction of sons who have these strange issues with their fathers. Though a more conventional narrative, I am currently reading Anthony Trollope's The Last Chronicle of Barset where the issue is raising its head.Brian Josephhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15139559400312336791noreply@blogger.com