The Life of Matvei Kozhemyakin

by Maksim Gorky

Born "Aleksey Maksimovich Peshkov" on March 16, 1868, in Nizhny Novgorod, Russia--later renamed in his honor--Maxim Gorky would learn early the harsh lessons of life. He spent his early childhood in Astrakhan where his father worked as a shipping agent, but when the boy was only five years old, his father died, and he was sent to live with his maternal grandparents. This was not a happy time for the young Gorky as conditions were poor and often violent. At the age of eight, the boy's grandfather forced him to quit school and apprenticed him to several tradesmen including a shoemaker and an icon painter. Fortunately, Gorky also worked as a dishwasher on a Volga steamer where a friendly cook taught him to read, and literature soon became his passion.

At the age of twelve, Gorky ran away from home and barely survived, half starving, moving from one small job to the next. He was often beaten by his employers and seldom had enough to eat. The bitterness of these early experiences led him to choose the name Maxim Gorky (which means "the bitter one") as his pseudonym.

Gorky's teenage years were spent working in Kazan as a baker, docker, and night watchman. At the age of 21, Gorky attempted suicide, shooting a bullet through his lung. Although he survived, his lungs were permanently damaged and caused him to suffer frequent bouts of tuberculosis. After recovering from this incident, he left Kazan and tramped around the country, from his native Nijny Novgorod all the way to the southern Caucasus and back again. During the course of this two-year journey, he became acquainted with the lowest members of society, the derelicts, theives, and prostitutes.

At the age of 24, he decided to rejoin society and took a job as a reporter for a provincial newspaper. Although jailed periodically for association with revolutionaries and for his own outspoken opinion on the existing social order, Gorky managed to publish a few short stories, mostly about the tramps and derelicts he had met on his journeys. These short stories soon became very popular, touching the imagination of the Russian people. Gorky became a kind of folk hero. He was the first Russian author to write sympathetically of such characters as tramps and theives, emphasizing their daily struggles against overwhelming odds. Eventually, rumors reached the Moscow Art Theatre of "a tramp from the Volga with an enormous talent for writing," and when Chekhov introduced Gorky to the company in the spring of 1900, they convinced him to give them a play.

Gorky spent the next two years toiling over two plays. The first to appear on the stage was The Smug Citizen (1902) which portrayed the worker as superior to the average intellectual. The play was produced by the Moscow Art Theatre in 1902, but only in a censored version because Gorky had come to the attention of the Tsarist police. They now had a file on the writer. Because of his outspoken opinions, they considered him a threat. In addition, the authorities had Gorky's election to the Imperial Academy of Russian Artists overturned, sparking a storm of controversy, even from the mild-mannered Chekhov who resigned from the academy in protest. During the premiere of the play, the theatre was surrounded by a squadron of mounted Cossacks in order to discourage any public demonstrations. Although The Smug Citizen is no longer considered an important work, all of the controversy surrounding it insured its success at the time with the Russian public.

Gorky's second play, The Lower Depths (1902), however, was even more successful. Produced by the Moscow Art Theatre in 1902, the play is full of striking characterizations, based mostly on outcasts Gorky had met during his travels. Like all of his novels, short stories, and plays, The Lower Depths was a protest against inhumanity, but Gorky not only wrote about the injustices of his society, he also acted against them. He continued to be involved in revolutionary activities, and his sympathies soon turned towards the Marxists. In fact, the earning from his plays, which were donated to support party activities, constituted a large portion of the organization's income. As a result of Gorky's activities, he also continued to be in and out of jail. During one prison sentence, he composed The Children of the Sun (1905). After the abortive revolution of 1905, in which he was involved, Gorky went abroad to raise money for the Marxists. During this period, he wrote Summer Folk (1903),! Barbarians (1906), and Enemies (1906), The Last Ones (1908), Queer People (1910), Vassa Zheleznova (1910). Russian theatres, however, were forbidden by the authorities to produce Enemies or The Last Ones. Gorky returned to Russia in 1914, just in time for World War I and the Bolshevik Revolution. Although he agreed with the Bolsheviks in opposing Russia's involvement in the war, he opposed their seizure of power in 1917 and publicly criticized Lenin's methods. Disillusioned with post-revo...

Genres: Classics

604 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1910

About the author

Also known as Alexei Maximovich (Aleksei Maksimovich) Peshkov.
Alternate spelling for Maxim Gorky.

Reviews

[Lee · Rating 3 out of 5]

I considered retiring this book several times, and don’t think I would have missed much had I given in.

Gorky details the entirety of Matvei Kozhemyakin’s life, giving his protagonist many decades to redeem himself from some very poor childhood decisions or progress as a member of society. Instead, he chose to have Matvei remain physically and emotionally stagnant.

Although characters came and went rather often, this inconstancy felt like a genuine reflection of a lifetime’s shifting relationships. Personalities were plentiful and unique, but much like Matvei, people rarely progressed. Although the stagnancy of Okurov’s structure and residents were reflective of the novel’s major themes, it didn’t always make for an engaging read.

Scenic descriptions were my primary staying power. Always beautifully done and well-integrated in prose, they set a familiar scene in so many different ways that the audience was invited to witness decades’ changes simply through the setting.

Overall a slightly disappointing read. I found it as a second-hand copy, and as a second-hand copy I shall forward it further.

[سيدو الأندلسي · Rating 5 out of 5]

" يا لروسيا الحزينة " مراجعة لرواية حياة ماتفي للكاتب مكسيم غوركي .

يرسم مكسيم غوركي قصة كئيبة لحياة ماتفي كوجيمايكين سافيليفتش و صورة متناهية الدقة لبلدة ريفية روسية تدعى " أوكروف" لمدة تزيد على نصف قرن منذ إلغاء نظام القنانة في ثورة 1905 .
تتميز هذه الرواية بالدقة و العمق حيث تظهر كل شيء بالتفصيل و تحمل المشاهد قوة قاهرة تترك المرء مصعوقا و ذلك بسبب الفرادة التي يتميز بها الأدب الروسي في رسم الشخصيات عواطفها ، شغفها ، الإيمان و جلد الذات .
يصف غوركي كيفية تنامي البورجوازية الصغيرة ، الرواية لا تصور حياة ماتفي و بلدة أوكروف فقط بل تصف حال الملايين من البشر .
في رسالة كشف غوركي عن الافكار الكامنة وراء عمله و دعى الناقدين إلى الإنتباه للخط الفلسفي الذي طرحه في الرواية ، وعلى لسان شخصية ماروشكا أين قال عندما سئل: " هل هناك شياطين ؟ نعم هناك أتركوني ، لكن ربما هم غير موجودين ، حسنا ليست ، أتركوني في سلام " .
مشهد زوجة الأب مع ماتفي ذكرني برواية إمتداح الخالة لماريو باراغاس يوسا اين تتشابه الأحداث إلى حد ما ، لكن غوركي إسترسل في الوصف و كان دقيقا في رسم مٱلات الأحداث التي ستلازم بطلنا ماتفي مدى الحياة ، و منه نستنتج أن الادب الروسي هو أصل كل الٱداب و كل الٱداب هي إمتداد للأدب الروسي ، ماعدا الأدب الياباني الفريد كونه متأثر بشعر الهايكو و ثقافة الشعب الياباني الخاصة .
حين قرأ بوشكين المخطط الأول للأرواح الميتة الذي جلبه غوغول هتف قائلا :"يا إلهي كم هي حزينة روسيا " ، وحين ستقرأ هذه الرواية ستردد ماقاله بوشكين ، هذا الحزن ليس خطا طبعا إنما هو سبب لمدح المؤلف .

" إن الشكر يا سيدي الكريم ، كل الشكر ، ما شكر الشاكرون ، إلى الله وحده . ثم إلى روسيا " مالك

[Zahraa · Rating 3 out of 5]

الترجمة العربية الصادرة عن دار نينوى ركيكة ولا أنصح بها. هي ترجمة للترجمة الإنجليزية مما تسبب في العديد من الأخطاء.
التقييم للرواية لا للترجمة.

[داليا روئيل]

لدي وله خاص جدا بكتابات مكسيم كوركي
الرواية رائعة و بالطبع لاتخلو من طابع الوعظ ولكنها مميزة جدا

[Trounin · Rating 2 out of 5]

Опять и опять! Стоит Горькому взяться за крупное произведение, мысль растворяется в обилии слов. Повесть о Кожемякине Максим писал два года, принявшую в итоге вид крупного труда. Несмотря на это, смысловое наполнение не вышло за размеры повести. Горький вновь опирался на действительность, излагая проблемы современного ему общества. Всё это он перемешал с тяжестью быта человека в России на протяжении XVIII века. Причём, говорил настолько невнятно, отчего не удаётся придти к мнению — об адекватном ли восприятии шла речь.

(c) Trounin