Зависть. Три Толстяка. Воспоминания. Рассказы

by Yury Olesha

"Королем метафор" называли Юрия Карловича Олешу (1899-1960) писатели-современники. Проза писателя искрится блестящими образами и афоризмами, чуть ли не каждый абзац по емкости и законченности равноценен новелле.
Знаменитый роман "Три Толстяка" стал визитной карточкой писателя.
Роман "Зависть" - вершина творчества Ю. Олеши и, безусловно, одна из жемчужин русской литературы ХХ века. В сборник включена книга "Ни дня без строчки" - дневниковые записи, являющиеся, по сути, тонкой и глубокой эссеистикой изощренного стилиста и чуткого человека, а также рассказы, не только издаваемые, но и давно ставшие библиографической редкостью.

Genres: Russia

704 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2012

About the author

Yury Karlovich Olesha (Russian/Ukraine: Юрий Олеша or Юрий Карлович Олеша), Soviet author of fiction, plays and satires best known for his 1927 novel Envy (Russian: Зависть). He is considered one of the greatest Russian novelists of the 20th century, one of the few to have succeeded in writing works of lasting artistic value despite the stifling censorship of the era. His works are delicate balancing-acts that superficially send pro-Communist messages but reveal far greater subtlety and richness upon a deeper reading. Sometimes, he is grouped with his friends Ilf and Petrov, Isaac Babel, and Sigismund Krzhizhanovsky into the Odessa School of Writers.

Reviews

[Daneil · Rating 5 out of 5]

Зависть - Envy is a fantastic novella. It is at once hilarious, poetic, face-paced and philosophical. The action centers around a young poet-drunk who finds himself in the apartment of the director of moscow cafeterias who is spearheading the invention of a new kind of sausage. A war of ideas ensues between the young poet (representing dying, mawkish 19th century values) and the director (representing the Soviet ideals of the new man). The young poet strikes up an alliance with the director's yarn-spinning brother and hatch a plot to rescue the brother's daughter, a young komsomol gir, and marry her off to the poet. If that doesn't sell you on the novel, perhaps the first lines will: "Mornings he sings on the toilet..." A tough read in Russian, lots of archaic vocabulary and poetic syntax, but well worth it if you have the translation nearby.