Customer Reviews

Eugene Onegin

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Eugene Onegin is, simply put, a marlevous and unforgettable book. It is also probably the single most-difficult-to-translate book in any language. Pushkin tells his story in verse, rhyming verse no less, and negotiating the sense, style, plot, and charm from one language to another has proved a daunting task. Nabokov failed miserably (although his notes are wonderful: read these and skip the translation). Hofstedler's verse is a bit wooden. Charles Johnson's translation is easily the best of the bunch, so if you don't have time to learn Russian (and who does?) settle for Johnson's translation.

P.S. The closest thing we have to Onegin in English is "Golden Gate" by Vikram Seth. It's a wonderful book to read in tandem with Onegin.

Nabokov's criticism of Arndt's translation is sometimes cited as evidence of Johnston's or Falen's version being superior to it. This is a misunderstanding: the thrust of Nabokov's arguments is in fact directed at any form-preserving translation of 'Onegin', and the only reason his wrath was not unleashed against later attempts at it is that Nabokov died in 1977 - the year Johnston's version was first published. It is true that the authors of more recent translations of 'Onegin' benefited form access to Nabokov's literalistic rendering (which makes a very useful crib but cannot possibly be recommended to lay readers of poetry) and his painstakingly detailed commentary - but so did Arndt when he revised his translation in 1981.

Form-preserving translations inevitably involve what Nabokov derisively called "arty paraphrase", and a common argument against such translations goes along the lines of "I prefer to know what the poet meant". The problem with this position is that Pushkin meant to create a work of art based on harmonious interplay between the sense conveyed by the words and the music of iambic tetrameters arranged in exquisitely rhymed stanzas. Approximating this interplay in English is a formidable challenge, but it is the only way to get anywhere near the intention of Pushkin. If some readers would rather enjoy the most precise English equivalents of his words, preferably placed in the same order as in the original (where this order, and even the words themselves, were often chosen for the sake of the metre and rhyme that have vanished in the literal translation) - well, that is their choice. Arndt dismissed translations of this type as "sad ritual murder performed for the purposes of an ever more insatiable lexical necrophilia".

As many as eight form-preserving translations of 'Onegin' can be found on Amazon: see my list "Form-preserving translations of 'Eugene Onegin', published 1881-2008". Having given a try to five of them, I think that it is only natural that different readers may prefer different versions. For what it is worth, Arndt's translation turned out to the only one that I wanted to continue reading after a few pages (I know much of the original by heart). His text flows almost effortlessly, his rhymes seldom feel forced, and he manages to put across some of the stylistic brilliance and sheer magic of Pushkin's writing. Arndt is also particularly good at translating passages that involve complex emotions or subtle humour, of which there are plenty in this book.

Some readers are attracted by the contemporary vocabulary and idiom of the translations of 'Onegin' made in the 21st century, and this is as good a reason as any to prefer one translation to another. However, bearing in mind that rhymed metrical verse is inevitably perceived as archaic by today's Anglophone readers, and that the language of the original feels somewhat old-fashioned to today's speakers of Russian, it is not at all clear whether rendering 'Onegin' (written by a contemporary of Byron) in modern parlance has much artistic credibility. The language of Arndt sounds more fitting to me.

Overall, my recommendation would be to read at least two translations of this outstanding work of literature and to choose Arndt's classical version as one of them.

When Russians ask you who your favorite poet is they will often add a "Besides Pushkin, of course." Pushkin has an iconic status in Russia that is maybe unparalleled in the English speaking world. Shakespeare probably comes the closest. Eugene Onegin is a masterpiece and the genius of it's creator is apparent. It is alwasy difficult, however, to read poetry in translation. Others have spoken of the translation difficulties already. As a non-Russian speaker, I won't comment on them except to say that, at some points, the difficulties encountered in translation are obvious and frustrating. Professors have told me, however, that this translation is about as good as they come. Like any other work of genius, Eugen Onegin needs a careful reading. Each layer, and there are many, proves more rewarding then the next. Pushkin is often funny, passionate and has a pretty keen sense of satire. I would advise everybody to read this. Pushkin is doubly important as background to Dostoyevsky and Tolstoy. He began the Russian literary tradition.

Eugene Onegin is a masterpiece, a precursor to the great 19th century Russian novels. Onegin prefigures the 'superfluous man'. He does not live for an idea, like some of Dostoyevsky's characters, nor does he live content with an idea, like some of Tolstoy's. Onegin simply exists, and it gives him a perspective on life which is overly rationalistic: one sees it in his rejection of a certain lover's letter, his toying with others, and in the cold and calm manner in which he raises his gun during the duel. But the story soon snaps him out of it, but only when it is too late. My attitude to him was largely ambivalent, and I warmed more to Lensky. (Actually, the narrator is an interesting character in himself). The poem skips along beautifully and the rhyme is quite seductive. Lovers of poetry and of Russian literature should enjoy this immensely.

Pushkin is my favorite poet. He was extremely talanted. Eugene Onegin is the best poem he written. I am from Russia and have read this poem over 100 times. I know a lot of it by heart (first 2 chapters, Tatyana's letter to Onegin, Onegin's to Tatyana, and many paragraphs in between). I have won an award in school in Russia and and in college in NY for reading pieces from this poem by heart. In this poem Pushkin says many true things about life and teaches us how to live it. I truly recommend it to everyone. You'l love it!

I am not a poetry lover but I found this book to be delightful. It can be appreciated simply as a good read. This particular translation made it very accessible, very engaging. I was swept up by the period detail provided by the author. If you like books with dashing but jaded heroes and strong minded heroines this is for you.

I was unable to put it down. The characters are extremely well drawn.

Eugene Onegin is the most popular work of fiction, I would say, in Kyiv. Just down the street from me (I live on Pushkinskaya) is the restaurant Eugene Onegin. I have seen Tchaikowcky's opera and somebody else's ballet performance of the piece. It is an essential piece of Russian literature. Part of the canon for an educated person, if that has any sense anymore, and a pleasure to read besides.

I recommend Douglas Hofstadtler's great book on the problems of translating poetry, "Le Ton beau de Marot" as a measure for how to do it well. This translations succeeds beautifully.

Nearly every Russian sees Pushkin as their country's greatest writer. This perception, however, is not shared by many foreigners. The problem, of course, is translation. Pushkin's verse is supremely elegant, witty and musical. Few, if any, great poets are harder to translate.

Charles Johnston's version is not at all bad, and conveys much of Pushkin's wit - though not his lyricism. James Falen's version (Oxford World's Classics) is better still. And Stanley Mitchells's version of the first chapter, published in the journal "Modern Poetry in Translation" vol 11, is truly outstanding. I enjoyed it every bit as much as the original - something I would never have believed possible. This journal is well worth seeking out in libraries!

Pushkin is a wonderful poet, and my favorite (I'm Russian). This book is wonderful, and I recommend it fully. However...the original verse is the most complex I've ever read--quite posibly the most complex ever written--and there are no good translations. Even Nabokov, who is my favorite author, couldn't manage to pull it off. I suppose that to poeple who don't know what they're missing, the English is acceptable, but after reading the Russian, the translations are a mockery. Few have good meter and rhyme, and those that do sound incredibly forced. One of the greatest things about Eugene Onegin is that it displays an unbelievable complicated system of verse, and yet still sounds so natural that unless one listens for the rhyming, it seems like prose. This is utterly lost is the English.

Pushkin is to Russian literature what Shakespeare is to English literature. And the most important, the most influential, work of Pushkin's is EUGENE ONEGIN. So it is with Pushkin and ONEGIN that I begin a personal survey of Russian literature in translation (continuing on to Gogol, Dostoevsky, Chekhov, Tolstoy, Solzhenhítsyn, with many stations in between - a multi-year project, no doubt).

Many Russians born before the Bolshevik Revolution knew by heart lengthy excerpts from ONEGIN. (I wonder whether any born after say 1960 do.) Such memorization feats are facilitated by the fact that the novel was written in verse. And not free verse, mind you. All but a few of the approximately 5500 lines are written in very formal, structured stanzas with a consistent rhyming pattern (aBaBccDDeFFeGG) and four iambic feet per line. By this very formal structure there proceeds an unconventional, discursive, often informal narrative.

The plot of the novel is disarmingly simple. Eugene (more properly "Yevgeny") Onegin is a young Russian man of comfortable inheritance. He is "sensitive", perhaps one of those new "Romantics" (the time of the novel is the 1820s), but he also is somewhat of a fop and a dandy, the sort of man liable to squander his youth in idleness. Curiously, he ends up being a not very attractive or sympathetic title character. A young woman, Tatyana, falls head over heels in love with him. Tatyana, on the other hand, is one of the more attractive and sympathetic women in literature. Onegin rejects her proffer of love but with time the tables are turned. In the course of the novel, there are several balls and parties, two lovesick letters, and a duel. That pretty much covers it.

But in truth, the plot takes up only about a third of the narrative. Another third, approximately, is given to descriptive passages - such as the Russian countryside in autumn and the approach to Moscow - and the final third to a potpourri of Pushkinian digressions - among them literature, food and wine, the ballet, and (most famously) ladies' feet. The novel includes all sorts of commentaries on Russian society - some admiring, some disapproving. Among the latter there is a biting critique of the social conventions of honor and dueling.

The most conspicuous theme of the novel is lost youth. For example:
But sad to feel, when youth has left us,
That it was given us in vain,
That its unnoticed flight bereft us
And brought no harvest in its train[.]
Ironically (and prophetically?), Pushkin died at age 37, having been mortally wounded in a duel.

EUGENE ONEGIN is a wonderfully inventive and protean work. It is charming and it is playful. It contains much exuberant authorial showing off - with considerable justification. It is a distinctively Russian amalgam of both comedy and tragedy.

Amazon lists at least six different English translations of ONEGIN, and a good number of the reviews of each translation discuss and debate their respective merits and demerits. I have two different translations. One is by Vladimir Nabokov. As is his wont, Nabokov's approach is a singular one. He does not attempt to replicate the formal elements of Pushkin's Russian, such as rhyme and iambic rhythm. Instead, his lodestar is "completeness of meaning". It's an interesting and instructive translation, but by forgoing the formal elements Nabokov abandoned the music and soul of the work. My other translation is by Walter Arndt. The first version of it, published in 1963, has been on my shelves for nearly 40 years. I am posting this review under the listing for the second revised edition. Regarding the merits of Arndt's translation (as well as the problems with Nabokov's approach), I commend the review by Oldthinker of September 17, 2009.

There is no question that any translation of ONEGIN will strike a modern English reader as somewhat alien and fusty. My guess is that the original Russian would strike a contemporary Russian reader as rather archaic. It, emphatically, is a work from a different age -- just like a Shakespeare play. But, as with Shakespeare, if the literate reader approaches EUGENE ONEGIN with an open mind and gives herself up to it, reading it will be quite rewarding.