Hmm... just realized that reading fiction in translation feels more like reading non-fiction than fiction in a language you know.
Conversation
Replying to
Russian lit translates well into English. Not so sure on German or Japanese
2
Replying to
Even with Russian, I personally sense a certain distance. Except perhaps with Chekov who achieves a level of immersive intimacy.
2
2
Replying to
I have more affinity for Dostoyevskii, Solzhenitsyn, Bulgakov. Never gravitated Russian poets though. Wonder if did?
1
Replying to
Dostoyevsky is definitely very Russian. No American could have written things like that.
Replying to
completely agree. A Russian writer isn't quite authentic until the state has tried to torture them into submission
1

