Stories From Today's Russia [Paperback]

Ludmilla Derevyanchenko (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 11, 1995 | ISBN-10: 0844242527 | ISBN-13: 978-0844242521 | Edition: 1

Advanced Beginning through Intermediate Intermediate students of Russian will connect with these contemporary stories created especially for them. Written by three contemporary Russian-language authors, the tales reflect aspects of the lives of Russians today.

Editorial Reviews

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Product Details

• Paperback: 80 pages
• Publisher: McGraw-Hill; 1 edition (January 11, 1995)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0844242527
• ISBN-13: 978-0844242521
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 5.9 x 0.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,104,456 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

61 of 63 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An excellent reader with curious stories, May 15, 2000

By 

robert nt stewart - See all my reviews

This review is from: Stories From Today's Russia (Paperback)

There are three novelettes here. The first is about a German who comes to stay with her teenage Petersburg penfriend, the second about a pet Polar Bear and the last about a shipwrecked boy.

The text is up-to-date and not patronising with the minimum of footnotes.

Critically speaking the stories are genuinely weird especially the true one about a polar bear who thinks he's human and who lives in a tower block. Apparently it was also made into a documentary.

If you can't find a suitable reader, then this will suffice and should take you a couple of weeks to progress through. However the varied language used shows you how Russian verbs are used in context, and thus the book will last you a long time as a grammar reference. There are also short annotated Russian stories for learners in the weekly English version of 'Moscow Today'. Check this out too.

21 of 21 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Good Reading, September 13, 2005

By 

Ronster - See all my reviews

This review is from: Stories From Today's Russia (Paperback)

I have found very few books geared for English speakers at the intermediate level, so if you fall into the same category, get this book! The stories are engaging, and there are a lot of words to learn and lots more to relearn.

English translations for many words and some phrases are included along the bottom of each page. The only thing I found odd was that some very difficult words were not translated, yet some of the easier ones were. But even if it had no translations at all, I would still recommend it.

One more thing: If you find the first story to be difficult to read, start with the second story and move on to the third - I found them to be much less difficult.

21 of 21 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Enjoyable stories, September 12, 2005

By 

Mr Peter G George (Ellon, Aberdeenshire United Kingdom) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Stories From Today's Russia (Paperback)

After studying Russian for a few months I wanted to try reading something. At first I was seriously over-ambitious and struggled to read a paragraph of Pushkin, looking up every word. I decided Stories from Today's Russia might be more suitable. I initially found the text to be quite difficult; there were a good number of words I didn't know, but as I continued reading I began to find I could read more quickly, making less and less use of my dictionary. These stories are ideal for someone with a reasonable vocabulary and a fair knowledge of the basic rules of Russian grammar. They are neither so easy that there is no challenge at all, nor so hard that they become tedious. It helps that the stories themselves are quite interesting and varied. There are a good number of pictures and maps and some short exercises. I found this book really useful not only because I learned a good number of new words and improved my understanding of some grammar points, but also because in the end I began to really enjoy reading Russian. Maybe one day I will be ready for Pushkin.