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Another Life and The House on the Embankment European Classics Yuri Trifonov Michael Glenny John Updike 8601406681248 Books

Download As PDF : Another Life and The House on the Embankment European Classics Yuri Trifonov Michael Glenny John Updike 8601406681248 Books

Another Life and The House on the Embankment European Classics Yuri Trifonov Michael Glenny John Updike 8601406681248 Books

Through his 1976 novella, The House on the Embankment, Yuri Trifonov is able to paint a picture [or canvas] of Soviet life in Moscow through the character of Glebov, an average Soviet citizen and also one of the narrators of the book. Glebov's life is followed from childhood to adulthood, as he lives in the Soviet era from 1937 to around 1970. Glebov's main characteristic is that he is plagued by indifference and indecisiveness. The reader is able to perceive many aspects of the Soviet Union through Glebov's eyes, such as Soviet hierarchies, like the father of Lev, Glebov's friend, "sending away" boys and their families for beating up Lev at school. Eventually, after the war, Glebov and his girlfriend, Sonya get entangled with administrators at school and Sonya's father and Glebov's advisor, Professor Ganchuk (a former Cheka member). The entanglement leads Glebov into difficult decisions that ultimately change his life. Trifonov effectively gives an interesting and thought provoking view of Soviet society through a rather average character as the reader can see how government officials held great power, speaking out was not encouraged, and the bourgeois survived and even recreated itself. Glebov touches on this as he says of the House on the Embankment, his residence across from the Kremlin, "Up there in those lofty stories, it seemed, a life went on that was utterly different from life in the small house below... There was unfairness for you!" (201). Glebov, through his indifference, is the only character who manages to live comfortably later on, as he becomes bourgeois himself, balding and fat, while making trips to Paris. Trifonov shows how Glebov's indifference influenced Soviet society, as it managed to continue the way it was.


Tags : Another Life and The House on the Embankment (European Classics) [Yuri Trifonov, Michael Glenny, John Updike] on Amazon.com. *FREE* shipping on qualifying offers. <div>Widely regarded as a major writer of his generation, Yuri Trifonov tolerated attack and admiration in the Soviet Union. His novellas are celebrated as being in the tradition of great nineteenth-century Russian writing. In Another Life,Yuri Trifonov, Michael Glenny, John Updike,Another Life and The House on the Embankment (European Classics),Northwestern University Press,0810115700,Classics,Classic fiction,FICTION Classics,FICTION General,FICTION Literary,FICTION Short Stories (single author),Fiction,Fiction - General,Fiction-Coming of Age,Modern & contemporary fiction (post c 1945),Modern fiction,RUSSIAN NOVEL AND SHORT STORY,ScholarlyUndergraduate,Short Stories (single author),UNIVERSITY PRESS,United States

Another Life and The House on the Embankment European Classics Yuri Trifonov Michael Glenny John Updike 8601406681248 Books Reviews

After reading Yuri Trifonov's, The House on the Embankment, it would be a fair statement to say that this novella is one about ordinary lives that happen to take place during extraordinary times.
Centered on the life of Vadim Glebov and portrayed as a flashback, this is a story of how one made decisions during the Soviet era in Moscow, Russia when one's decisions could have everlasting effects for a person and his or her family.
Glebov ultimately chooses to show loyalty to no one and as his father always preached, "Don't stick your head out." This was not completely understood by a young Glebov, although it certainly became clear as he became older and was able to grasp the complexity, or simplicity however one wants to look at it, of the statement. Glebov chose to not stick out and just conform to society, especially the aspects of the bourgeois society.
Trifonov does a great job of portraying the wrongs that existed during the Soviet era. The socialism that was supposed to exist is obviously not working out so well because the wealthy come out on top, he shows how people moved up the ranks in society by performing certain acts for those in power, and the jealousy of the people that is existent in the socialist setting.
Even more incredibly, Trifonov was able to get his story published during the period of censorship that existed on literature, as well as other genres. Trifonov eloquently layered the negative aspects of The House on the Embankment so that the human elements were highlighted and more evident than the underlying tones that were directed against the government and the Soviet society.
This is certainly a must read for anyone who is a fan of literature from the period of "the thaw" as well as anyone that wants an easy read that doesn't take too much time to finish. In this novella, one can get an adequate view into Soviet society as Trifonov makes the reader feel as if they are experiencing the scenes in the book for themselves.
The story "House on the Embankment" begins with a man, Glebov, who is middle aged, balding, fat, and seeking to buy some furniture. It is around 1970, in the Soviet Union. While looking for the furniture, he notices an worker who appears familiar to him. It turns out to be a former friend, Shulepa, from his childhood days, who ignores Glebov after the latter calls out to him. Now Glebov is an elite member of Soviet society, so the question is raised as to how this successful academic is associated with this alcoholic loser.
The narrative then goes back to a time long since past, in the 1930s, before the Second World War. It is a tale of Glebov, Shulepa, and several other friends with names like "Bear" and "Walrus" growing up in or around a large apartment building in Moscow known as the "House on the Embankment." The House is a place of residence for those of the privileged class. The children are not much unlike those whom you or I may have grown up with. Trifonov does an excellent job of bringing every character in his novel to life. And there are certainly no shortage of characters in this story.
The narrative then gradually proceeds forward in time, to the War, to the 1950s when Glebov and Shulepa attended College, and finally up to the present time in which the novel began. There are many events which occur over the years, many tragic events; for example the disappearances of people during the Stalin era, and also things like unrequited love. As these events unfold, the reader begins to discover what was the cause of the animosity between Glebov and Shulepa in the beginning of the story. But Shulepa isn't the only one who hates Glebov, this man who has so little character.
Perhaps the most interesting thing about this novel is the appearance of a second narrarator. The initial narrator is a 3rd person who is in the background; not an active participant in the events. The second narrator is different--he is actually one of the several friends in the story, and it is the readers' task to discover who the second narrator is. I read this story about 3 times before I narrowed down the choices to two different characters. After the 5th reading, and some research in the secondary literature to back up my conclusion, I discovered who it was. (I won't spoil it for you by telling you who it is here, but if you want to know, you can contact me.) Throughout the novel, these two narrators trade places, one distant and passive, the other one active and passionate in his narrative style.
This is a very beautiful novel, certainly worthy of the name "masterpiece." As I indicated earlier, I read this 5 times, and I found each read as interesting as the previous. Each time that you read it, you discover some subtle point which you missed the last time you read it; this is one of those stories in which the plots are so numerous, it is easy to miss something.
About the only thing that could stand some improvement is the translation of this work from the original Russian. (The original appeared in the literary magazine Druzhba Narodov in Jan. 1976, p.83) The translation is not bad, otherwise I might not give a good review here, however the translator, Glenny, leaves out certain intimacies between characters, and on some occasions, inserts or transforms sentences during the translation, of which I didn't see the necessity. I suffer from the belief that you should retain as much fidelity to the original during your translation, at least to the point where you begin to lose the reader because the expression you are translating does not have an equivalent in the second language.
If you can read Russian and have access to a good library, I suggest that you read the original. Otherwise, get this book, you won't be disappointed. There is another story in the book, which comes before "House," "Another Life." I haven't read it yet, so I am not reviewing it here. However, the book is worth the price with "House" alone.
Through his 1976 novella, The House on the Embankment, Yuri Trifonov is able to paint a picture [or canvas] of Soviet life in Moscow through the character of Glebov, an average Soviet citizen and also one of the narrators of the book. Glebov's life is followed from childhood to adulthood, as he lives in the Soviet era from 1937 to around 1970. Glebov's main characteristic is that he is plagued by indifference and indecisiveness. The reader is able to perceive many aspects of the Soviet Union through Glebov's eyes, such as Soviet hierarchies, like the father of Lev, Glebov's friend, "sending away" boys and their families for beating up Lev at school. Eventually, after the war, Glebov and his girlfriend, Sonya get entangled with administrators at school and Sonya's father and Glebov's advisor, Professor Ganchuk (a former Cheka member). The entanglement leads Glebov into difficult decisions that ultimately change his life. Trifonov effectively gives an interesting and thought provoking view of Soviet society through a rather average character as the reader can see how government officials held great power, speaking out was not encouraged, and the bourgeois survived and even recreated itself. Glebov touches on this as he says of the House on the Embankment, his residence across from the Kremlin, "Up there in those lofty stories, it seemed, a life went on that was utterly different from life in the small house below... There was unfairness for you!" (201). Glebov, through his indifference, is the only character who manages to live comfortably later on, as he becomes bourgeois himself, balding and fat, while making trips to Paris. Trifonov shows how Glebov's indifference influenced Soviet society, as it managed to continue the way it was.