I’ve only read the first volume of The Gulag Archipelago and it changed my life (clichéd as it sounds). The length of of his books are not really the problem for me: it’s the emotional depth, the utter depravity of the human spirit. I remember looking (quite literary, physically seeing) the world, and myself, differently after I finished the first volume and, so, I want to take my time with his works. But, undoubtedly among the best writers Russia has ever produced, and my personal favourite writer of all time, Dostoevsky coming a close second.
I always recommend that people use the very short "One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich" to introduce themselves to Solzhenitsyn. It's a powerful book and far less daunting than his other novels.
I fear I have never read any of these. Naturally have seen the Jekyll and Hyde films in the past. But you make your book reading sound so interesting I feel I could get into books I have never even considered before. Your joy in reading and humor makes me chuckle along.
Finished reading Resurrection and quite a few of Tolstoy's short stories: Master and Man, How much Land does a Man Need, etc. Picked up Master and Commander by Patrick O' Brian. I'm about half way through it and am excited to reread East of Eden and hear everyone's thoughts. Thinking of you Tristan during your difficult time.
I've read none of these books. The only one I've not heard of before was the Uncommon Danger one. Back in the 70s Solzhenitsyn's books were "discovered" by the West. I purchased many of them at that time, Cancer Ward, August 1914, A Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich, Gulag Archipelago. Sadly, I only read A Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich. I want to read Cancer Ward but the silly superstition of getting cancer while reading the book keeps me from reading it. Both my parents died of cancer so you can imagine why reading a book about cancer would be difficult.
I haven't heard of these novels, well apart from Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde of course. I am intrigued by Uncommon Danger, it sounds familiar to the current circumstances we are living. I am also intrigued by Goodbye to all that. I added all four books in my TBR list. Thanks so much for introducing me to "new" classics. 😊
These all sound fascinating and I actually haven't read any of them. Right now the August 1914 interests me the most of these. I'm reading The Gulag Archipelago right now and want to read all of his I can get my hands on.
I literally ordered a copy of Tristram Shandy while I was watching your video. It’s something I’ve always wanted to read, being a huge fan of digression in the novel (one of my all time favorites is Three Men in a Boat by Jerome K. Jerome). From your description, it actually sounds a bit like A Confederacy of Dunces, another novel that’s just pricelessly funny to me. Of the other books you discussed I was most intrigued by Goodbye to all that. I love author’s memoirs, especially when they talk about other authors! Cheers!
I enjoyed Tristram Shandy quite a bit. Takes patience though. As a WWI buff I really liked the Graves as well. Amazing how he crossed paths with so many future luminaries; I suppose privilege and connections played a role in that. If I were to pick one of those to start today I'd go with the Ambler. Have been finding it hard to focus mentally and now I'm trying to get used to bifocals, so I'm sticking with a thriller for now. Then again that Ambler plot did seem a bit complicated. Maybe Stevenson then...
I think I made the Ambler book sound more complicated than it is. However, if the concentration is a bit low, then Stevenson may be a better option. Or allow oneself to take a break.😃👍
Love me some Jekyll and Hyde. Tristram Shandy has been on my "someday" list for a long time, but it's sounds like it will require a lot of coffee. Or maybe martinis.
Of these, I've read three: Tristram Shandy, Jekyll and Hyde, and Uncommon Danger, titled Background To Danger in the States. Ambler is one of my favorite writers now. I recommend "Journey Into Fear" as the best introduction to Ambler's work, followed by "A Coffin for Dimitrios". May I recommend "A Storm of Steel" by Ernst Junger if you've not already read it? It stands alongside Remarque's "All Quiet on the Western Front" as a classic novel of World War I, yet is not nearly as well known: "As though walking through a deep dream, I saw steel helmets approaching through the craters. They seemed to sprout from the fire-harrowed soil like some iron harvest."
@@tristanandtheclassics6538 Dimitrios would do very well in the current government, although he might not want to associate with people of such dubious morals.
Everything you talk about sounds interesting. My to-read list is getting longer and longer. Uncommon Danger and Goodbye to All That intrigued me particularly, and I would also like to get into gothic literature.
Daniel Deronda you say. So a quick read then 🤣🤣 George Eliot didn't do things by halves did she. The book must weigh about 10kg. How are you getting on with it?
@Tristan ~ Am still reading "Resurrection" - my eyes have been terribly sore and have had to put it down all too often. But am determined to finish this great book. Can you give us a reading list of great books from the Third World? So many great classics are often overlooked in the West and we need to read their books as often as thy read ours.
This is an excellent suggestion and I've already been planning it for a while. Sorry about your eyes. I remember getting terrible eye strain once and I couldn't read for more than 15 mins at a time for 4 months.
@@tristanandtheclassics6538 I did it! Just finished "Resurrection" by Tolstoy. What a book! Everyone should read it. We could likely have a long discussion dealing with many topics based on this sensational classic. With your kind permission, I'd like to address only one here and that is the subject of Valdemar Simonson. Over the past century scholars and critics have said that Tolstoy was an Anti-Semite. This despite that several of his disciples were Jewish. This is a subject I hope to explore some day soon. Having said that, based on the outlook and scope of this great novel, I wonder if Simonson was Jewish. What today we call a progressive or liberal Jew, often characterized as a "SJW" or social justice warrior. History gives us many examples of people who fit this mold with Yehshuah ben Yosef (better known as Jesus Christ of Nazareth) being the most famous. The two had much in common: both were of a highly moral and principled sense; both stood up fearlessly to injustices; both willing to sacrifice and be sacrificed if necessary in order to end injustices; both were educators (Jesus was called Rabbi or Teacher) while Simonson was a schoolmaster; Simonson joined with a socialist group while Jesus taught and practiced socialism among his disciples; Simonson condemned war, Jesus was Prince of Peace; Simonson condemned capital punishment, Jesus said let he who is without sin cast the first stone; Simonson said that a man's role is sustain life, Jesus said that his efforts were to insure life for all; Simonson loved Platonically, Jesus did precisely the same; both adhere to a strict code of eating, dressing, and lifestyle; both imprisoned, both exiled both condemned as criminals and subversives by the authorities, both messianic in their outlook and conduct. Because of all this and more, I am convinced Simonson was a Jewish progressive. Thoughts?
Hi i love your book review iam reading currently lady chaterly lover the story is soo good and the writing style also , I would like to do a full book review about devil by dostoevsky
Sorry for the delay Becky. Here's a new link. discord.gg/z8GUhD4W If you have read Resurrection this month, we are having a group discussion today at 2pm GMT. 😃👍
0:48 Tristram Shandy
5:08 Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde
9:42 Goodbye To All That
11:58 Uncommon Danger
16:53 August 1914
Thank you Daniel, I forgot the to.e stamps😃👍
@@tristanandtheclassics6538 Time stamping other people's videos is a hobby of mine.
Yes please. Thank you so much. I never missed an episode
Tristram Shandy sounds like a good time! I need to add it to my tbr 🤓
It's a rather influential work on later authors.
This is great. Goodbye To All That sounds like something that I'd love to read. I admire your selection of literature, so enthralling to me.
Thank you. 😊 There is so much to read and so little time.
I’ve only read the first volume of The Gulag Archipelago and it changed my life (clichéd as it sounds). The length of of his books are not really the problem for me: it’s the emotional depth, the utter depravity of the human spirit. I remember looking (quite literary, physically seeing) the world, and myself, differently after I finished the first volume and, so, I want to take my time with his works. But, undoubtedly among the best writers Russia has ever produced, and my personal favourite writer of all time, Dostoevsky coming a close second.
Thanks for this amazing comment Shivangi. 😃👍
I always recommend that people use the very short "One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich" to introduce themselves to Solzhenitsyn. It's a powerful book and far less daunting than his other novels.
I actually just started a Homer to Present literature “degree.” All from the library. Each period 3-10 pieces.
I fear I have never read any of these. Naturally have seen the Jekyll and Hyde films in the past. But you make your book reading sound so interesting I feel I could get into books I have never even considered before. Your joy in reading and humor makes me chuckle along.
Thank you so much Linda. ☺ There are so many books that sound amazing. That's why everybody's collection is bigger than the amount they have read.😅
Finished reading Resurrection and quite a few of Tolstoy's short stories: Master and Man, How much Land does a Man Need, etc. Picked up Master and Commander by Patrick O' Brian. I'm about half way through it and am excited to reread East of Eden and hear everyone's thoughts. Thinking of you Tristan during your difficult time.
Thanks Jason. How much Land is such a well written story. Ties in nicely with Resurrection doesn't it?
I loved Tristam Shandy, Sentimental Journey not so much.
I've read none of these books. The only one I've not heard of before was the Uncommon Danger one. Back in the 70s Solzhenitsyn's books were "discovered" by the West. I purchased many of them at that time, Cancer Ward, August 1914, A Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich, Gulag Archipelago. Sadly, I only read A Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich. I want to read Cancer Ward but the silly superstition of getting cancer while reading the book keeps me from reading it. Both my parents died of cancer so you can imagine why reading a book about cancer would be difficult.
Totally understand why a book like would be hard to read. Sorry for your tragic loss. How did you like Denisovich?
Uncommon Danger is titled Background To Danger in the States for some reason.
I haven't heard of these novels, well apart from Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde of course. I am intrigued by Uncommon Danger, it sounds familiar to the current circumstances we are living. I am also intrigued by Goodbye to all that.
I added all four books in my TBR list. Thanks so much for introducing me to "new" classics. 😊
Hi Charmaine. Hope you are well. The uncommon Danger story does sound uncannily like today, doesn't it.
These all sound fascinating and I actually haven't read any of them. Right now the August 1914 interests me the most of these. I'm reading The Gulag Archipelago right now and want to read all of his I can get my hands on.
Don't you love it when you find a brilliant author?
@@tristanandtheclassics6538 absolutely. It's the best.
I literally ordered a copy of Tristram Shandy while I was watching your video. It’s something I’ve always wanted to read, being a huge fan of digression in the novel (one of my all time favorites is Three Men in a Boat by Jerome K. Jerome). From your description, it actually sounds a bit like A Confederacy of Dunces, another novel that’s just pricelessly funny to me. Of the other books you discussed I was most intrigued by Goodbye to all that. I love author’s memoirs, especially when they talk about other authors! Cheers!
3 men in a boat is just fantastic. Have you read 3 men on the bommel? It's not as good but there are some seriously funny bits in it.
@@tristanandtheclassics6538 I haven’t read it yet, but I do own a copy. Will get to it at some point!
I enjoyed Tristram Shandy quite a bit. Takes patience though. As a WWI buff I really liked the Graves as well. Amazing how he crossed paths with so many future luminaries; I suppose privilege and connections played a role in that. If I were to pick one of those to start today I'd go with the Ambler. Have been finding it hard to focus mentally and now I'm trying to get used to bifocals, so I'm sticking with a thriller for now. Then again that Ambler plot did seem a bit complicated. Maybe Stevenson then...
I think I made the Ambler book sound more complicated than it is. However, if the concentration is a bit low, then Stevenson may be a better option. Or allow oneself to take a break.😃👍
Love me some Jekyll and Hyde. Tristram Shandy has been on my "someday" list for a long time, but it's sounds like it will require a lot of coffee. Or maybe martinis.
🤣 you're not kidding. It gets a bit disjointed which can make it a bit tough going at times. But I'm definitely going to read it again.
Of these, I've read three: Tristram Shandy, Jekyll and Hyde, and Uncommon Danger, titled Background To Danger in the States. Ambler is one of my favorite writers now. I recommend "Journey Into Fear" as the best introduction to Ambler's work, followed by "A Coffin for Dimitrios".
May I recommend "A Storm of Steel" by Ernst Junger if you've not already read it? It stands alongside Remarque's "All Quiet on the Western Front" as a classic novel of World War I, yet is not nearly as well known: "As though walking through a deep dream, I saw steel helmets approaching through the craters. They seemed to sprout from the fire-harrowed soil like some iron harvest."
Brilliant 👏 thanks for mentioning Coffin for D. Perhaps Ambler's most famous.
@@tristanandtheclassics6538 Dimitrios would do very well in the current government, although he might not want to associate with people of such dubious morals.
Everything you talk about sounds interesting. My to-read list is getting longer and longer. Uncommon Danger and Goodbye to All That intrigued me particularly, and I would also like to get into gothic literature.
There are just too many books. Let me know what you think of Ambler.😃
Only know the first two! Goodbye to All That and Uncommon Danger going on my reading list, thanks :)
Hi Katja! 👋 Uncommon Danger sounds rather thrilling doesn't it. A quick read too, by the looks if it.
Wonderful way of presenting great works. Thank you for your time and efforts.
Thank you Ali, that is really kind of you.
I haven’t read any on your book haul list. The spy novel sound interesting 🤔. I am currently enjoying a reading of Daniel Deronda by George Eliot.
Daniel Deronda you say. So a quick read then 🤣🤣 George Eliot didn't do things by halves did she. The book must weigh about 10kg. How are you getting on with it?
@Tristan ~ Am still reading "Resurrection" - my eyes have been terribly sore and have had to put it down all too often. But am determined to finish this great book. Can you give us a reading list of great books from the Third World? So many great classics are often overlooked in the West and we need to read their books as often as thy read ours.
This is an excellent suggestion and I've already been planning it for a while. Sorry about your eyes. I remember getting terrible eye strain once and I couldn't read for more than 15 mins at a time for 4 months.
@@tristanandtheclassics6538
I did it! Just finished "Resurrection" by Tolstoy. What a book! Everyone should read it. We could likely have a long discussion dealing with many topics based on this sensational classic. With your kind permission, I'd like to address only one here and that is the subject of Valdemar Simonson.
Over the past century scholars and critics have said that Tolstoy was an Anti-Semite. This despite that several of his disciples were Jewish. This is a subject I hope to explore some day soon. Having said that, based on the outlook and scope of this great novel, I wonder if Simonson was Jewish. What today we call a progressive or liberal Jew, often characterized as a "SJW" or social justice warrior. History gives us many examples of people who fit this mold with Yehshuah ben Yosef (better known as Jesus Christ of Nazareth) being the most famous. The two had much in common: both were of a highly moral and principled sense; both stood up fearlessly to injustices; both willing to sacrifice and be sacrificed if necessary in order to end injustices; both were educators (Jesus was called Rabbi or Teacher) while Simonson was a schoolmaster; Simonson joined with a socialist group while Jesus taught and practiced socialism among his disciples; Simonson condemned war, Jesus was Prince of Peace; Simonson condemned capital punishment, Jesus said let he who is without sin cast the first stone; Simonson said that a man's role is sustain life, Jesus said that his efforts were to insure life for all; Simonson loved Platonically, Jesus did precisely the same; both adhere to a strict code of eating, dressing, and lifestyle; both imprisoned, both exiled both condemned as criminals and subversives by the authorities, both messianic in their outlook and conduct. Because of all this and more, I am convinced Simonson was a Jewish progressive.
Thoughts?
Hi i love your book review iam reading currently lady chaterly lover the story is soo good and the writing style also , I would like to do a full book review about devil by dostoevsky
Lawrence does have a scintillating way with the pen. As for Devils, it is on my radar and I promise to do an in depth video on it.😃👍
I would like to join your book club, but when I clicked on the link I was directed to a page that said the invitation had expired. Any suggestions?
Sorry for the delay Becky. Here's a new link. discord.gg/z8GUhD4W
If you have read Resurrection this month, we are having a group discussion today at 2pm GMT. 😃👍
You will never reveal the location of the Storage Unit of Many Wonders, will you...?