Eugene Onegin (Penguin Classics) [Paperback]

Alexander Pushkin (Author), Charles Johnston (Translator), John Bayley (Introduction)

Book Description

Publication Date: December 20, 1979 | Series: Penguin Classics

This is the widely acclaimed translation of Russian literature's most seminal work. Pushkin's "novel in verse" has influenced Russian prose as well as poetry for more than a century. By turns brilliant, entertaining, romantic and serious, it traces the development of a young Petersburg dandy as he deals with life and love. Influeneced by Byron, Pushkin reveals the nature of his heroes through the emotional colorations found in their witty remarks, nature descriptions, and unexpected actions, all conveyed in stanzas of sonnet length (a form which became known as the Onegin Stanza), faithfully reproduced by Walter Arndt inthis Bollingen Prize translation.

Editorial Reviews

Review

or Yevgeny Onegin yiv-hgye-nye-le-hnye-gyin Verse novel by Aleksandr Pushkin, written from 1823 to 1831 and published in Russian in 1833 as Yevgeny Onegin. Eugene Onegin is a disillusioned aristocrat who moves from St. Petersburg to a rural estate. Through Lensky, a neighboring landowner and poet, Onegin meets Tatyana, a romantic, unpolished young woman who falls in love with him at first sight. Onegin rejects her love. He needlessly allows himself to be drawn into a duel with Lensky, whom he kills. Tatyana enters a loveless marriage of convenience that is, to her, a binding commitment. Years later, Onegin and Tatyana meet again. She is now a member of high Russian society. Onegin falls in love with Tatyana but she rejects him, admitting that although she still loves him, she must remain faithful to her marriage vows. Peter Ilich Tchaikovsky's opera Eugene Onegin, written in 1877-78, is one of the best-known Russian operas. -- The Merriam-Webster Encyclopedia of Literature

Language Notes

Text: English, Russian (translation)

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Product Details

• Paperback: 240 pages
• Publisher: Penguin Classics (December 20, 1979)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0140443940
• ISBN-13: 978-0140443943
• Product Dimensions: 6.9 x 4.3 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (15 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #315,481 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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34 of 36 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Best Translation of an Untranslatable Book, April 25, 2000

By 

KS (US) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Eugene Onegin (Penguin Classics) (Paperback)

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.

18 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A classical translation, still unsurpassed in several respects, September 17, 2009

By 

Oldthinker - See all my reviews

This review is from: Eugene Onegin (Paperback)

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.

16 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A masterpiece, April 26, 2002

By 

FJC "Flynn" (Washington, DC USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Eugene Onegin (Penguin Classics) (Paperback)

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.