Aleksandr KuprinReviews

Zheltkov, një “njeri i vogël”, po raskapitet nga dashuria për princeshën Vera Sheina, një zonjë e shoqërisë së pasur e cila pothuajse nuk është e vetëdijshme për ekzistencën e tij. Pasi bashkëshortja e tij merr një dhuratë veçanërisht të shtrenjtë ditëlindjeje, princi Vasili Shein viziton Zheltkovin, nën shoqërinë e vëllait të Verës, dhe i thotë atij të mos i ngacmojë më gruan. Zheltkov del nga skena por jo para se t’i çojë mesazh Verës të dëgjojë Sonatën e Dytë për Piano të Bethovenit. Muzika shkakton një transformim rrënjësor te Vera.

Довольно противоречивое впечатление от повести.
Допускаю, что книга просто устарела. Возможно, в условиях 19 века идея "увидеть один раз в театре" = "полюбить на всю жизнь" могла казаться нормальной или даже романтичной. Они ж и браки так же заключали - ах, мы виделись трижды на балу, станьте моей женой, я люблю вас без памяти.
Но в реалиях 21 века - о мой бог, Вера, смени имя и место жительства, потому что это маньяк.
Посмотрим на вещи здраво: если Желтков кого и любил, то не Веру, а выдуманный им самим образ Веры в его голове. Преследовал ее, выяснял, где она была и чем занималась, о чем регулярно слал ей записочки.
Ничего романтичного / прекрасного / великого в этом нет, одно лишь нездоровое воображение одинокого фантазера. Get a life!

И трагичность всей истории получается не в том, что "он так преданно ее любил, а она так его отвергла, и не случилось у них великой истории любви!".
Трагичность в том, что несчастный Желтков столько лет прожил в плену своих беспочвенных фантазий и в итоге во имя этих беспочвенных фантазий покончил с собой. Потраченная впустую жизнь.

И еще трагичность немного в том, что Куприн, как типичный мужчина, полагает, что женщине будет не хватать подобного маньяка в ее жизни (ведь что может быть лучше преследующего тебя сумасшедшего!), и потому в кон��е вынуждает героиню еще и пострадать по этому поводу. Мда.

This is somewhat ridiculous in a way similar to George Sand's lyric effort in the field of ethnography ("The Devil's Swamp" or something). Really, "Else von der Tanne" by Wilhelm Raabe, which presents a similar story without the need to resort to a love affair, is much stronger. But I guess Kuprin was quite young in 1898.
And, of course, the name Eupsychy Afrikanovich takes the cake.

Young Werther in the Russian army. A lot of romantic olfactory activity, senseless army training every other chapter, iconically, and love in a traditional dichotomy: dirty vs. lofty.
Two stars go to the language.

Humorous story about honour among thieves, contrasting "honest" criminals with "scum" who commit violent pogroms against Jews.

The Duel (1905) is Russian author Aleksandr Kuprin's realist masterpiece, wining him literary fame and friendship with Anton Chekov, Maxim Gorky, Leonid Andreyev, Nobel Prize-winning Ivan Bunin and Leo Tolstoy. Kuprin was a born storyteller and has been compared with Kipling and Jack London. Like London, however, Kuprin "degenerated" later in life with the vices of women (prostitutes) and drink and his works similarly became sensational, like with the lurid account of prostitutes in The Pit (1915). But he reached a pinnacle of high art with The Duel.

The Duel explores "honor" in its many permutations. Honor in career, love, and the hypocrisy inherit. The main character, Romashov, is a 21 year old military officer in training in a backwater provincial town where everyone knows everyone and gossip spreads quickly. Kuprin's realistic portrayal of the horrors of Russian military life is a wonderfully rich portrait of an "odious and wanton liaison [of] gambling, drinking, soul-killing, monotonous regimental routine, with never a single inspiring word, never a ray of light in the black, hopeless darkness."

Romashov experiences a number of setbacks in his career and his romantic notions of being a hero to the Czar are shattered by cruel realities - on the brink of suicide (a common occurrence in his regiment) he undergoes a change when he discovers salvation through empathizing with the sufferings of others: "it was clear to [Romashov] at once how petty and insignificant was his own sorrow in comparison with [his friends] cruel fate." By rising above soul-crushing military doctrine of honor and violence, and finding instead sympathy with others, he finds freedom, "a proud, triumphant feeling of malicious joy and defiance."

To this end Romashov then discovers that most professions are based on "mistrust of the honor and morality of mankind.. supervisors and official, policemen, book-keepers, priests, etc.." and there are only two careers that are truly noble, science/art. and manual labor. Thus Romashov navigates his way through the world of honor in the sphere of his career, but he has a fatal flaw and that is love. In the end he is tricked by honor in love (or lack thereof) and it is his undoing. Kuprin was not entirely happy with the novels ending, and I tend to agree that its sensationalism mires it in the 19th century. It could have been a modernist novel had Romashov's duel ended in a different way, such as the alternative path suggested by his friend Nasanski. However it is still dramatic and satisfying.

The Duel is available online its original 1916 English trans.

--Review by Stephen Balbach, via CoolReading (c) 2008 cc-by-nd

i read this book when i was only 6 yrs old.. it was my grandfather's favorite.. can hardly remember any details but it was ,i guess, riveting to my young soul...hahaa