Discovering Russian Literature discussion

Here you may discuss different translations, and any background and resource material about the author and the book which you think will be useful and interesting. Please mark spoilers when appropriate.

Schedule:

Part 1 - August 7-14
Part 2 - August 15-22
Part 3 - August 23-30

Hi everybody! I will be leading this discussion, and I'm going with the Marian Schwartz translation from 2008. Who's going to join me in reading this book? What translation will you be using?

According to Wikipedia, the magazine that was publishing this book in serial form was shut down by the government partway through, and Bulgakov couldn't publish the whole book until after Stalin's death. Instead, he adapted it into a play - The Days of the Turbins. Also, there were autobiographical elements in the story. The White Guard's Wikipedia page is here.

Just to let you know - if you're going with the Michael Glenny translation, there are scenes missing from that version that are included in the Marian Schwartz translation. Hopefully that won't interfere too much with our discussions, and I'm sure those of us who are reading the full version will fill the others in on what they've missed.

Hi! I will be reading this book, too, but I'm going with the original since I'm a native speaker.

The Russian wiki page also states that there were 3 editions of the play, "The Days of the Turbins", and that its original name was also "The White Guard", but it was changed because of the censorship. I think it was believed that the book romanticized and idealized the white movement and the whites.

I'm jealous, Olga! I'm trying to learn Russian, but it'll be a while yet before I can read Russian literature as it was originally written. I'm looking forward to doing that one day. :)

Faye wrote: "I'm jealous, Olga! I'm trying to learn Russian, but it'll be a while yet before I can read Russian literature as it was originally written. I'm looking forward to doing that one day. :)"

Good luck! I believe Russian is quite difficult but It's definitely worth it :) The language in this book, for example, is amazing.

As soon as I started the novel I realized that I really need to read more about the Ukraine's struggle for independence during 1917-1920 and about Petliura. There are a lot of historical references in the book, and I found myself struggling to understand some of them, so knowing the background is in fact very important in this case.

Thanks, Olga, that's good to know. I'll be starting the book tonight, and hopefully tomorrow I can do some research and post what I find.

Here's an article about the Ukrainian War of Independence that might be helpful.

Thanks! I think the novel starts at this moment: "...when the Central Powers were defeated on the Western Front, Germany completely withdrew from Ukraine. Skoropadsky left Kiev with the Germans, and the Hetmanate was in turn overthrown by the socialist Directorate."

As far as I understand the Ukranians supported Petliura, and the Russians, especially the officers and the intellectuals, who lived in the Ukraine like the Turbins, hated him and believed he was a criminal.

I am starting Russian Studies this fall, but for now I'll have to read an english translation. I'll start reading tonight. The White Guard will be my second Bulgakov, I read The Master and Margarita earlier this year.

I am just about to start this and my translation is by Marian Schwartz.

Faye wrote: "According to Wikipedia, the magazine that was publishing this book in serial form was shut down by the government partway through, and Bulgakov couldn't publish the whole book until after Stalin's death..."

We talked about the whole deal of Starlin's censorship when we read The Master and Margarita last year. It must have been tough on these writers specially for Bulgakov because I read somewhere he was really friend of Stalin.

Here's an article about the censorship issue on "The White Guard"

http://www.guardian.co.uk/culture/201...