Handbook of Russian Literature [Paperback]

Dr. Victor Terras (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0300048688 | ISBN-13: 978-0300048681 | Publication Date: July 25, 1990

This first encyclopedia of its kind in English covers ten centuries of Russian literature and includes nearly 1,000 entries by leading scholars. It will be an indispensable guide for students or the general reader. "The Handbook is an Eden for browsers... a dependable, illuminating guide."-Robert Taylor, Boston Globe "A comprehensive survey in one volume of one of the world's richest national literatures. The volume includes entries on authors, genres, literary movements, and period studies, together with reviews of notable journals. The lengthiest entries run to more than 6,000 words, the shortest have been kept to a single paragraph, giving the book value both for ready reference and as a collection of history and criticism."-Booklist "The achievement here is grand, the knowledge collected invaluable."-Theoharis C. Theoharis, Christian Science Monitor "A vast and informative compilation.... The magnificent panorama of Russian literature accumulatively unfolds, from its ancient folklore and earliest written texts... to our present century's structuralism, modernism, and socialist realism."-Gordon McVay, Times Higher Education Supplement "For anyone interested in Russian literature, this new Handbook is the single most useful book to own."-J. Thomas Shaw, Slavic and East European Journal "An indispensable source of concise information for all students of literature for years to come."-Ray Parrott, Philological Quarterly

Product Details

• Paperback: 580 pages
• Publisher: Yale University Press (July 25, 1990)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0300048688
• ISBN-13: 978-0300048681
• Product Dimensions: 10.9 x 8.4 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.8 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #702,523 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Near Perfect One Volume Encyclopedia of Russian Literature, April 22, 2002

By 

"botatoe" (Albany, NY) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Handbook of Russian Literature (Paperback)

If you are a reader of Russian Literature, or simply a lover of encyclopedias, dictionaries and other reference works, "Handbook of Russian Literature" is something you might want in your library. The "Handbook" has nearly one thousand entries, large and small, providing comprehensive coverage, in a single volume, of every aspect of Russian literature during the past ten centuries. A large format book with small print and double columns on each page, the "Handbook" contains entries written by over one hundred leading scholars and ably edited by Victor Terras.

The entries range from one or two lines to several thousand words over several pages. There are biographical entries of Russian authors, little and well known, as well as entries on various genres, historical periods, literary movements, literary journals and periodicals, and critical theories. Each entry includes a bibliography and, in addition, there is a useful general bibliography, broken out by historical periods, at the end of the book. The "Handbook" is, in other words, a perfect reference and entrée into the world of Russian literature. I find myself dipping into this book often, at random, and never fail to learn something new and interesting. I also use it as a valuable source of background reading when I sit down to read a Russian author.

The only shortcomings of the "Handbook" are that its print is very small (allowing the book, of course, to cram an immense amount of information in less than 600 pages) and that it devotes little coverage to authors of roughly the last quarter of the twentieth century, including some of the so-called "dissident" authors who wrote in the years immediately preceding publication (a shortcoming, however, that is excusable because most of the research for the "Handbook" was done in the early 1980s and the book was published in 1985). Also, while the bibliographies are useful for the casual reader, serious research requires reference to more recent sources.

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Great Resource, March 2, 2001

By 

romashka (Columbus, OH United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Handbook of Russian Literature (Paperback)

This is a great book for anybody who is studying or likes reading Russian Literature. It has an informative article on practically every Russian writer that you'll need to know about, although a few of the more contemporary ones are omitted.

In addition to providing a thorough biographical sketch for each author, it also mentions the major works of each author and gives critical opinions and brief analyses of many of the works. The major translations available are listed at the end of each entry.

I like reading the sketch on an author before I begin reading his or her work. It provides a great introduction.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Near Perfect One Volume Encyclopedia of Russian Literature, November 16, 2001

By A Customer

This review is from: Handbook of Russian Literature (Paperback)

If you are a reader of Russian Literature, or simply a lover of encyclopedias, dictionaries and other reference works, "Handbook of Russian Literature" is something you might want in your library. The "Handbook" has nearly one thousand entries, large and small, providing comprehensive coverage, in a single volume, of every aspect of Russian literature during the past ten centuries. A large format book with small print and double columns on each page, the "Handbook" contains entries written by over one hundred leading scholars and ably edited by Victor Terras.

The entries range from one or two lines to several thousand words over several pages. There are biographical entries of Russian authors, little and well known, as well as entries on various genres, historical periods, literary movements, literary journals and periodicals, and critical theories. Each entry includes a bibliography and, in addition, there is a useful general bibliography, broken out by historical periods, at the end of the book. The "Handbook" is, in other words, a perfect reference and entrée into the world of Russian literature. I find myself dipping into this book often, at random, and never fail to learn something new and interesting. I also use it as a valuable source of background reading when I sit down to read a Russian author.

The only shortcomings of the "Handbook" are that its print is very small (allowing the book, of course, to cram an immense amount of information in less than 600 pages) and that it devotes little coverage to authors of roughly the last quarter of the twentieth century, including some of the so-called "dissident" authors who wrote in the years immediately preceding publication (a shortcoming, however, that is excusable because most of the research for the "Handbook" was done in the early 1980s and the book was published in 1985). Also, while the bibliographies are useful for the casual reader, serious research requires reference to more recent sources.