On Wed, Jun 16, 2010 at 1:19 PM, Indrajit Gupta <[email protected]> wrote: > > > Obviously you like 'the Russians'; acid test: did you like the Inspector > General? But this lot, well, War and Peace was as good or > as bad as one of our contemporary multi-volume swords-and-sorcery fantasies; > and had the virtue moreover of being firmly > grounded in contemporary reality. Crime and Punishment was incredible but > like other Russians, needs unflagging concentration. > Haven't read Fathers and Sons, and Brothers Karamazov.
At first I didn't remember it, but looking at wikipedia, I recognized the play. I did watch that play and yes, I did enjoy it, but not enough to remember it, obviously. It was a fun comedy, but nothing to right home about. I don't know why I like those books so much. Maybe it was the time in which I read them. I would not compare them to, say, Tolkien's, though. They tend to be much deeper and more complex. War and peace has a dizzying number of characters. Maybe it is just that Tolstoi and Dostoiesvsky describe large groups of people well enough that I have the feeling that I can start to understand them and the time in which they lived. I'm fond of Balzac, too, which gives me almost the same feeling. I think you definitely have to have time to focus while reading those books. I had that luxury when I last read them, but I don't have as much now, so maybe I wouldn't be able to enjoy them as much. Andre
