The Classics Club monthly meme is another way to bring members of The Classics Club together. The post for the month will go up on the main page of this blog on the 2nd of the month, and you’ll have all month to respond over at your blog.
Q: What classic piece of literature most intimidates you, and why? (Or, are you intimidated by the classics, and why? And has your view changed at all since you joined our club?)
To answer the question, Russian literature intimidates me. Its books are big and scary and they’re in a different language (I sounded like an ugly American just then) my point being the translation was difficult for me. Although, now that I think about it I did love Lolita (but not in a Humbert Humbert kind of way) so who knows. I would still love to face my fear and try Russian literature again but perhaps through a different novel.
Hopefully you'll try some! I've read and loved several Russian novels.
You might try some short stories? Most of the famous Russian authors wrote short stories too and maybe they would be a good place to start.
I hope your next Russian attempt is a success. I agree with Jean – try short stories or a shorter novel. I recently bought Fathers & Sons by Turgenev and it's only 200 pages.
I haven't tried Doctor Zhivago, but I've seen the movie. Perhaps if you want to try Russian literature again you should try some of Gogol's short stories…they're pretty funny. 🙂
My November Meme is here