Ашик-Кериб

by Mikhail Lermontov, Михаил Юрьевич Лермонтов

Der Musiker Ashik Kerib möchte seine Liebste heiraten, doch deren Vater will die Hochzeit nicht gestatten, da Kerib armen Verhältnissen entstammt. Sie verspricht ihm, 1000 Tage und Nächte auf ihn zu warten, damit er ausreichend Reichtum ansammeln kann, um den Vater zu überzeugen. So zieht Kerib aus, um reich zu werden. Doch dann geschieht ein Wunder. Eine märchenhafte Liebesgeschichte, die vom Begründer des russischen Realismus in wunderschöner Sprache erzählt wird.

Genres: Russia, Short Stories, Classics, Audiobook, Fiction

30 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published January 1, 1846

About the author

Mikhail Yuryevich Lermontov (Михаил Юрьевич Лермонтов), a Russian Romantic writer, poet and painter, sometimes called "the poet of the Caucasus", was the most important Russian poet after Alexander Pushkin's death. His influence on later Russian literature is still felt in modern times, not only through his poetry, but also by his prose.

Lermontov died in a duel like his great predecessor poet, Aleksander Pushkin.

Even more so tragically strange (if not to say fatalistic) that both poets described in their major works fatal duel outcomes, in which the main characters (Onegin and Pechorin) were coming out victorious.

Reviews

[Azaghedi · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read this in the original Russian--with an English translation (E. A. Brayley Hodgetts, ca. 19th century) by my side for guidance--and noticed something very odd: Brayley Hodgetts decided to omit the last sentence of the story from his translation. I could understand (though disagree with) this bowdlerization if the source material was really raunchy and lascivious, but Lermontov was hardly the Marquis de Sade, and Ashik-Kerib hardly The 120 Days of Sodom.

The aforementioned sentence looks pretty harmless to me, but hey, you be the judge. I will post the final sentence below, first in Russian and then in English. The translation will be my own--and a very poor one at that. Fair warning: here be spoilers .

*SPOILER ALERT* ::horns sounding, bright lights strobing::

Тогда в радости Ашик-Кериб сказал ему: «Послушай, Куршуд-бек, я тебя утешу: сестра моя не хуже твоей прежней невесты, я богат: у ней будет не менее серебра и золота; итак возьми ее за себя — и будьте так же счастливы, как я с моей дорогою Магуль-Мегери».

Then with joy, Ashik-Kerib said to him: 'Listen, Kurshud-bek, I will comfort you: my sister is no worse than your former bride, and I am rich: she will not be lacking in silver and gold; so take her for yourself -- and be very happy, as I am with my dear Magul-Megeri.'

Was offering a rival some money and your sister as compensation for ruining his wedding to your beloved so bad that it deserved to be excised from the story entirely? Yikes, the Victorian era was even more uptight than I thought.

[Дмитрий · Rating 4 out of 5]

Оказывается, Лермонтов учил кумыкский (азербайджанский? он его называл "татарский") язык.

[Nadja · Rating 2 out of 5]

Komisches Ende 🧐

[Jarosław Loretz · Rating 3 out of 5]

Mocno przeciętna bajka, w której z fantastyczności jest tylko podrzucenie bohatera na zaczarowanym koniu (scena jest wyjątkowo absurdalna). Reszta to romans w kostiumie z grubsza arabskim. Z grubsza, bo bohater pochodzi z gruzińskiego Tyflisu (Tbilisi), a udaje się do niesprecyzowanego miasta Chałaf, którego nigdzie w sieci nie sposób znaleźć (być może chodzi o jakąś miejscowość w Iranie, ale trudno zyskać pewność).

Ani tu więc uroku, ani wdzięku, na dokładkę zaś rzecz jest już dziś wątpliwa moralnie (skoro bohater weźmie sobie za żonę upatrzoną kobietę, to rywal do jej ręki otrzyma za żonę siostrę bohatera - niezależnie od jej zdania na ten temat).

Lektura do zapomnienia.

[David Sweeney-Bear · Rating 3 out of 5]

Audiobook (English) available at https://dsbaudio.com