Bronka. An Annotated Russian Reader

by Lyudmila Ulitskaya, James S. Levine, Lyudmila Ulitskaya

Bronka. An annotated Russian reader is intended for Low Intermediate and Intermediate-level students of Russian (B1-B2). “Bronka” is a powerful coming-of-age story about a schoolgirl growing up in a communal apartment in Moscow in the years following World War II, and how she copes with her cramped living quarters, boorish neighbors, and the surrounding dismal realities of 1940s urban life in Moscow. Drawing on her inner strength, Bronka manages to escape the oppressive circumstances of her teenage years, and ultimately finds love and fulfillment. But her unusual path to happiness remains the central mystery of this extraordinary tale. “Bronka” is an excellent literary text for students of Russian language, literature, and culture. The reader provides ample support for the learner, including marginal glosses, historical-cultural, and grammatical commentaries, as well as a range of exercises on word-formation, vocabulary building, and participles.

94 pages, Paperback

Published January 1, 2017

About the author

Russian profile here Людмила Улицкая

Lyudmila Ulitskaya is a critically acclaimed modern Russian novelist and short-story writer. She was born in the town of Davlekanovo in Bashkiria in 1943. She grew up in Moscow where she studied biology at the Moscow State University.

Having worked in the field of genetics and biochemistry, Ulitskaya began her literary career by joining the Jewish drama theatre as a literary consultant. She was the author of two movie scripts produced in the early 1990s — The Liberty Sisters (Сестрички Либерти, 1990) and A Woman for All (Женщина для всех, 1991).

Ulitskaya's first novel Sonechka (Сонечка) published in Novy Mir in 1992 almost immediately became extremely popular, and was shortlisted for the Russian Booker Award. Nowadays her works are much admired by the reading public and critics in Russia and many other countries. Her works have been translated into several languages and received several international and Russian literary awards, including the Russian Booker for Kukotsky's Case (2001). Lyudmila Ulitskaya currently resides in Moscow. Ulitskaya's works have been translated into many foreign languages. In Germany her novels have been added to bestseller list thanks to features of her works in a television program hosted by literary critic Elke Heidenreich.