Bright Young Things discussion

As I nominated this book, I am happy to lead the discussion for Lenin on the Train

In April 2017 the exiled leader of the Bolsheviks, Vladimir Ilyich Lenin, travelled back to Russia by train. He was in exile, in Switzerland, when revolution broke out in Russia, and was keen to get back. However, with Europe at war, that was easier said than done. However, there was unexpected co-operation from the German High Command, who thought he would disrupt the Russian war effort and transported him in a sealed train, which took three days to cross Germany.

https://www.spectator.co.uk/2016/10/l...

Here is an interesting article about the book.

I got confused about the order of our non-fiction books and thought it was Homage to Catalonia this month and Lenin on the Train in December.

I am confused too, Val. To be honest, with our moderators no longer moderating, I am going to leave this group after this book. I just felt obliged to start the thread as I nominated it! I have tried to contact Ally, and left messages, but have had no answer.

As you know, I have now started a new group with two fellow members of this group - Nigeyb and Judy. We have tried to incorporate everything we loved about this group, plus tweaked it to reflect a wider period and a more Eurocentric viewpoint. I hope Ally won't mind me mentioning this, as it is quite different to this this group. However, if anyone IS interested, it is called Reading the 20th Century, so the period covers the whole 100 years, not just the first half.

Find us here:
https://www.goodreads.com/group/show/...

'Reading the 20th Century', a friendly and inclusive group that explores and discusses the literature, history, culture and music of the years between 1900 and 1999. This 100-year period saw extraordinary levels of change, including two global conflicts, new political ideologies, increased life expectancy, the end of empires and much more.

The 20th Century witnessed more technological and scientific progress than all the other previous centuries combined, inspiring writers, historians and artists to try to make sense of it all.

Each month we explore a ten year period within the century, or a movement or idea, by nominating and voting on a work of fiction or non-fiction linked to the monthly theme. Aside from this group choice, there will also be an alternate read, nominated by one of our moderators. Group members are welcome to choose one, both, or indeed, neither of the monthly choices.

Although we cover all aspects of the 20th Century, we are a UK-based group and our main emphasis tends towards the UK and Europe.

I would say that, should this group become active again, I would love to participate, but I just feel it has lost focus recently.

I thought one of the most interesting things about this book was the way the German, and the British, Secret Service were trying to undermine the Russians. The Germans, obviously, to keep them out of the war and the British to encourage them to keep fighting. James Joyce commented that the German's offer to ferry Lenin home showed they were, 'pretty desperate...'

I will join you, Susan! It is a book I have wanted to read for a little while and this is the perfect time.

Hurrah! I feared I was shouting in the wilderness, Haaze. However, as I had nominated the book, I felt that I should really set up a discussion thread at least :)

Not sure who nominated the fiction title this month, but I would advise them to do the same, as it seems unlikely the moderators are going to appear...

I know what you mean (both "wilderness" and "set up")! Great topic though with the centennial and all....!!

I've ordered the book from the library and I'm hoping that it will pop up on the reservations shelf soon. After 'War and Peace' I thought it was time to find out a little more about Russia in the 20th century.

Jane wrote: "I thought it was time to find out a little more about Russia in the 20th century"

I share your motivation: such turmoil in Tsarist Russia with enormous ripple effects. I think it will be an enlightening reading experience.

I have started it.

For those of us in the UK, there are some interesting documentaries on BBC 4 next week, including Empires of the Tsars, a 3 part series (it has been shown before) on Tuesday 8pm and then that is followed by The Real Doctor Zhivago, Timewatch: Who Killed Rasputin? and Masterspy of Moscow - George Blake.

So, next Tuesday, BBC4 is great for any of us interested in Russian history. Plus there are other programmes on all week on that channel, including "Russia 1917: Countdown to Revolution," all about Lenin's return to Russia and a 2-Part series on Russia's Lost Princesses (that is on Thursday).

https://view.ma.mailenvelope.bbc.co.u...

Here is a link to the BBC Russian Season.

I came across this book: The Anna Karenina Fix: Life Lessons from Russian Literature

As a lover of Russian literature, this is certainly a book I want to read.

A literary self-help memoir about using the Russian classics to find the answer to life's most important questions.

Viv Groskop has discovered the meaning of life in Russian literature. As she knows from personal experience, everything that has ever happened in life has already happened in these novels: from not being sure what to do with your life (Anna Karenina) to being in love with someone who doesn't love you back enough (A Month in the Country by Turgenev) or being socially anxious about your appearance (all of Chekhov's work). This is a literary self-help memoir, with examples from the author's own life that reflect the lessons of literature, only in a much less poetic way than Tolstoy probably intended, and with an emphasis on being excessively paranoid about having an emerging moustache on your upper lip, just like Natasha in War and Peace.