I know it sounds pompous and a really donnish thing to do but if you read the story once more, this time as a biting social satire about the respect that we all have for figures in authority, you might get a curious sense of duality about each and every scene. On one hand, it is a comedy; on the other, it is satire. Both are handled by a master at his prime. Of his short pieces, there are others which are evocative; I personally like Taras Bulba, for the spit-in-your-heroism of the eponymous hero.
Do try it again. --- On Thu, 17/6/10, Andre Manoel <an...@corp.insite.com.br> wrote: > From: Andre Manoel <an...@corp.insite.com.br> > Subject: Re: [silk] Ten toughest books to read > To: silklist@lists.hserus.net > Date: Thursday, 17 June, 2010, 18:35 > On Wed, Jun 16, 2010 at 1:19 PM, > Indrajit Gupta <bonoba...@yahoo.co.in> > 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 > >
