Constance Garnett Poradie kníh

Fyodor Dostoyevsky was born on 11th November 1821. He was introduced to literature very early. At age three, it was heroic sagas, fairy tales and legends. At four his mother used the Bible to teach him to read and write. His immersion in literature was wide and varied. His imagination, he later recalled, was brought to life by his parents' nightly readings. On 27th September 1837 tragedy struck. Dostoyevsky's mother died of tuberculosis. Dostoyevsky and his brother were now enrolled at the Nikolayev Military Engineering Institute, their academic studies abandoned for military careers. Dostoyevsky disliked the academy, his interests were drawing and architecture. His father died on 16th June 1839 and perhaps triggered Dostoyevsky's epilepsy. However, he continued his studies, passed his exams and obtained the rank of engineer cadet. Dostoyevsky's first completed work was a translation of Honoré de Balzac's novel Eugénie Grandet, published in 1843. It was not successful. He believed his financial difficulties could be overcome by writing his own novel. The result was 'Poor Folk', published in 1846, and a commercial success. His next novel, 'The Double', appeared in January 1846. Dostoyevsky now became immersed in socialism. However, 'The Double' received bad reviews and he now had more frequent seizures. With debts mounting he joined the utopian socialist Betekov circle, which helped him to survive. When that dissolved he joined the Petrashevsky Circle, which proposed social reforms. The Petrashevsky Circle was then denounced and Dostoyevsky accused of reading and distributing banned works. Arrests took place in late April 1849 and its members sentenced to death by firing squad. The Tsar commuted the sentence to four years of exile with hard labour in Siberia. His writings on these prison experiences, 'The House of the Dead' were published in 1861. In Saint Petersburg that September he promised his editor he would deliver 'The Gambler', a novella on gambling addiction, by November, although work had yet to begin. It was completed in a mere 26 days. Other works followed but a different approach helped immensely. In 1873 'Demons' was published by the "Dostoyevsky Publishing Company". Only payment in cash was accepted and the bookshop was the family apartment. It sold around 3,000 copies. However, Dostoyevsky's health continued to decline, and in March 1877 he had four epileptic seizures. In August 1879 he was diagnosed with early-stage pulmonary emphysema. He was told it could be managed, but not cured. On 26th January 1881 Dostoyevsky suffered a pulmonary haemorrhage. After the second the doctors gave a poor prognosis. A third haemorrhage followed shortly afterwards. Fyodor Dostoyevsky died on 9th February, 1881.

Brand-new translation of one of Turgenevs major novels, includes pictures and an extensive section on Turgenevs life and works.

Presented here in a masterful new translation by Michael Pursglove, this landmark collection established the literary reputation of the author, who considered it his most significant contribution to Russian literature, and is universally regarded as a milestone in the Russian realist tradition.

Pobyt v cudzine v blízkosti milovaného muža a nové zážitky Anne na chvíľu prinesú pocit šťastia a radosti. Po návrate do Ruska milenci pochopia, že sa dostali na okraj spoločnosti. Anne neprinesie pokoj ani odchod na vidiek. Trápi ju strata spoločenského postavenia, bojí sa o lásku milovaného muža a trpí ustavične sa stupňujúcimi výčitkami svedomia. Uvedomuje si bezvýchodiskové postavenie a čoraz nástojčivejšie sa jej vynára myšlienka, že jediné riešenie je smrť.

Už vyše sto rokov neutíchajú spory o tom, ktorý z románov F.M. Dostojevského je najlepší. Jedni tvrdia, že prvý – Chudobní ľudia, – pretože znamenal novú kvalitu v ruskej literatúre (podľa Belinského to bol prvý ruský sociálny román); iní sa nazdávajú, že Zápisky z mŕtveho domu, pretože sú v nich všetky základné myšlienky a problémy Dostojevského tvorby posibírskeho obdobia; tretí zaň označujú Zločin a trest, pretože znamená novú kvalitu v spisovateľovej tvorbe (prechod od dialogického románu k polyfonickému) a je aj skladobne najucelenejší; štvrtí dokazujú, že Diablom posadnutí, pretože prináša jeho najhlbšie rozvažovanie o človeku a svete a piati vyzdvihujú práve Bratov Karamazovovcov, pretože je to posledný román, v ktorom sa ako v oceáne zlievajú všetky témy predchádzajúcich autorových veľtokových románov. Tak ako každý z Dostojevského románov, predstavujú aj Bratia Karamazovovci neopakovateľnú myšlienkovú a umeleckú kvalitu, takže z hľadiska jeho stúpencov môže byť najlepší. Ide o to, že tak ako celé jeho dielo, predstavuje ďalší, iný, nový pokus myšlienkovo a umelecky preniknúť k „človeku ako k tajomstvu, ktoré treba odhaliť.“ Tak totiž svoje autorské vyznanie, svoj program, charakterizoval ešte na začiatku spisovateľskej dráhy on sám. Za toto odhaľovanie ľudského tajomstva platil tým najcennejším – zdravím a životom.

F. M. Dostojevskij uvádza svojho hrdinu, knieža Leva Myškina, do sveta plného zloby, falše a kariérizmu. Myškin, stelesnením ideálneho človeka, otvorene a dôverčivo pristupuje k ostatným, avšak jeho úprimnosť často vyvoláva posmech. Jeho magnetická povaha dokáže burcovať aj cynikov, no predovšetkým znepokojuje. Knieža sa snaží porozumieť každému a prežíva ich pocity, pričom nesie pocit zodpovednosti za krutosti života. Postupne sa dostáva do zápasu vášní, až sa stáva ich obeťou. Dostojevskij sa s Myškinom hlboko identifikuje, pričom mu pripisuje aj vlastnú chorobu. Spojuje ju s názorom, že medzi čudáctvom epileptikov a genialitou je len krok, a vyberá si oblasť ľudskej prirodzenosti a vzťahov ako najťažšiu výzvu. V diele sa objavujú ozveny národných eposov a literárnych zápasov, ktoré hľadajú ideály pravdy, dobra a krásy. Toto dielo, ako piate rozsiahle dielo Dostojevského, sa stalo jedným z najčítanejších v svetovej literatúre.

The story of an impoverished Russion student's murder of a miserly landlady and its repercussions on his life and his family