The Complete Tales of Alexandr Sergeyevitch Pushkin [Paperback]

Alexandr Sergeyevitch Pushkin (Author), Gillon R. Aitken (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 17, 1996

Writing with lyrical simplicity, Pushkin laid the foundations of an indigenous national literature.

Considered in his day Russia's greatest poet, Pushkin was famous not only for works that inspired ballets and operas, such as Eugene Onegin and Boris Godunov, but for his stories--"The Queen of Spades" and many others--all of which are collected here in a translation that captures their grace and vitality.

Editorial Reviews

Language Notes

Text: English, Russian (translation) --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Details

• Paperback: 512 pages
• Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company (November 17, 1996)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0393004651
• ISBN-13: 978-0393004656
• Product Dimensions: 7.7 x 5.1 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #248,076 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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47 of 48 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Best of Them All, November 26, 2001

By 

Thomas F. Ogara (Jacksonville, FL USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Complete Tales of Alexandr Sergeyevitch Pushkin (Paperback)

Virtually anybody who prepares a list of the five greatest writers in world history will include at least one Russian on the list. If there is only one, that one should be Pushkin.

Unfortunately, Pushkin is given short shrift outside of his homeland. The reason is not hard to explain - most of his work is poetry, which translates badly. What's worse, even in translation his poetry wouldn't read any better than, say, Lermontov, whereas the difference would be obvious to a Russian, just as the difference between Shakespeare and Marlowe would be to an English speaker.

Pushkin's prose works provide a basis for remedying the situation. His stories are disarmingly simple and readable, just like his poetry. Yet practically every major Russian novelist of the nineteenth century acknowledged his debt to Pushkin as a model and crafter of prose, as well as a source of themes. This includes Gogol, Goncharov, Tolstoy and Dostoyevsky.

My personal favorites are "The Captain's Daughter", "The Moor of Peter the Great", which is about Pushkin's own great grandfather, who was Ethiopian, and most of all "The Queen of Spades", which practically singlehandedly created the genre of stories of the supernatural. Any one of the stories can be done in one sitting (well, maybe one long sitting for a few of them). Do yourself a favor and make the acquaintance of one of the best writers that ever lived.

26 of 29 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Master of Short Stories: Pushkin, December 7, 1999

By 

Jason Davis - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Complete Tales of Alexandr Sergeyevitch Pushkin (Paperback)

Pushkin is a master of the short story form. His stories are written in the clear, taut, concise form that he has become famous for. The Aiken translation is considered by many Russians to be the best. Especially recommended are the TALES OF BELKIN, The Postmaster. Have fun!

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A terrific 'gateway' introduction to Russian literature (details), July 22, 2009

By 

Patrick W. Crabtree "The Old Grottomaster" (Lucasville, OH USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Complete Tales of Alexandr Sergeyevitch Pushkin (Paperback)

This is a repackaging of Norton's 1966 edition, (dark blue softcover) which is the one that I own, 495 pages in length including helpful endnotes.

The early Russian author, Alexand[e]r Sergeyevitch Pushkin (1799-1837) was most renowned for his poetry/plays, particularly: "Boris Godunov" (1825, drama); "Ruslan and Ludmilla" (poem, 1820), and; "Eugene Onegin" (1831, verse novel.) These three works have subsequently gained much world popularity since they have evolved into the appurtenant art of Classical music, orchestrated by some of Russia's most renowned composers:

Boris Godunov

Great Russian Classics

Tchaikovsky: Eugene Onegin

If Pushkin ever lacked status as a novelist it was chiefly because he failed to conclude most of these great stories. In fact, of the fifteen tales contained in this anthology, only a few are complete. "The Captain's Daughter" is the finest of these works and, in terms of length it manifests a novella. The remainder fall into a general category of short fiction. Here is the complete list of the stories found here:

The Moor of Peter the Great (unfinished)

A Novel in Letters (unfinished)

The Tales of the Late Ivan Petrovitch Belkin
--From the Editor
--The Shot
--The Blizzard
--The Undertaker
--The Postmaster
--The Squire's Daughter (unfinished)

The History of the Village of Gorukhino (unfinished)

Roslavlev (unfinished)

Dubrovsky (unfinished)

The Queen of Spades

Kirdjali

Egyptian Nights (unfinished)

The Captain's Daughter (also features an "alternative" final chapter)

I can easily characterize Pushkin's prose stories by remarking that they are "heroic unsupernatural fairy tales." Most are historically-based and happy endings, (at least in the finished works), appear inevitable. Even in the unfinished tales the astute reader can see that Pushkin was working towards "happily ever after" type conclusions. And for that element, there may be reason to retrospectively criticize Pushkin; however, the Russian people revere him still because he has given them something noteworthy to cling to, especially considering that this is a country with a tragic history where daily life was often dreadful for the masses.

Secondarily, Pushkin was a pioneer in this realm and of his era. In Pushkin's time Russia had very little to offer in the way of "literature." By forging an erudite basis for the subsequent authors of Russian literature's "Golden Age," Pushkin became the very foundation from which Tolstoy, Dostoyevsky, Turgenev, Goncharov, Gogol, and many others could springboard.

Finally, if Pushkin's writing seems immature when viewed through contemporary eyes, one is thus directed to keep in mind that not only did he represent a new frontier in Russian writing, he also had to be mindful of the authoritarian régime which had prevailed (and would continue for a time) in his country for hundreds of years. In other words he had to worry about the censors and consequently, he had good reason to be concerned for his own skin.

In the end Pushkin's stories can serve a singular terrific purpose: it's a great place to commence one's reading of Russian literature. These works are straightforward and will make total sense to western readers. I now wish that I had read Pushkin prior to delving into the more mature and intricate literature of the giants which I have already mentioned.

Sadly, Pushkin was killed in a duel where he faced off against Baron d'Anthés, a man who had purportedly become the paramour of Pushkin's wife. While d'Anthés was slightly wounded, his shot at Pushkin proved fatal to the great poet who died two days following the encounter.

The translation of Pushkin's prose works into English was artfully and masterfully effected here by Gillon R. Aitken. It's a great edition and I highly recommend it.