Classics of Russian Literature

By: The Great Courses, Irwin Weil

Narrated by: Irwin Weil

Length: 17 hrs and 29 mins

Publisher's summary

Russian literature famously probes the depths of the human soul, and in this series of 36 insightful lectures prepared by a frequently honored teacher legendary among educators in both the United States and Russia - you probe just as deeply into the extraordinary legacy that is Russian Literature itself.

Professor Weil introduces you to masterpieces such as Tolstoy's War and Peace, Dostoevsky's Crime and Punishment, Pushkin's Eugene Onegin, Gogol's Dead Souls, Chekhov's The Seagull, Pasternak's Doctor Zhivago, and many other great novels, stories, plays, and poems.

In all, you plunge into more than 40 works by a dozen writers, from Aleksandr Pushkin in the 19th century to Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn in the 20th century. You also investigate the origin of Russian literature itself, which traces its lineage back to powerful epic poetry and beautiful renderings of the Bible into Slavic during the Middle Ages.

All of these works are treated in translation, but Professor Weil does something very unusual in the literature-in-translation arena. For almost every passage that he quotes in English, he reads an extract in the original Russian, with a fluent accent and an actor's sense of drama.

PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying reference material will be available in your My Library section along with the audio.

©2006 The Teaching Company, LLC (P)2006 The Great Courses

The professors passion for the topic is very tender

It’s basically a non-exhaustive survey of Russian literature, including the personal and historical contexts of the authors. I’m a Russian speaker so not new to this topic but still found this interesting. And the delivery was excellent - he’s so passionate about the topic! Amazing Russian pronunciation as well.

Great literature classes

I love this book, there is so much information to be learn. I will definitely listen to it again. Great history

This is really special!

Who was Gorky? What made Tolstoy tick? Why was Pushkin a great poet?
If you have any interest at all in great literature, get this course! Prof. Weil not only delivers a compelling study of these and many other authors, but does so in English and Russian (which he speaks so beautifully you might feel compelled to try it yourself). The history and literature of this tragic country has never been told with such understanding and respect ( governments not withstanding). I can not recommend enough! Get this book! But be ready, now its time to listen to War and Peace, Dr Zhivago, The Brother Karamazov, and The Gulag Archipelago, and about fifteen others! Can't wait!

A Great Course

This course is definitely my favorite thus far. The presenter’s excellent speaking and singing voice kept my attention. Although I have never taken Russian, Prof. Weil communicated the power and beauty of that language. Finally, the course went far beyond discussion of the literature and revealed much about Russian history, politics and culture.

Passionate survey of Russian literature

Having listened to the Audible versions of most of the novels covered in these lectures, this overview of Russian literature was valuable and entertaining. Irwin Weil is the best kind of academic- knowledgeable and passionate in his love of his subject. I especially loved how he could recite passages in seemingly expert Russian as well as English translation.

Really helpful

I really loved these lectures and wil probably listen to sone of them again. Very nice info/analysis and insightful commentary.

Brings subject to life beautifully

Great mental images while listening, although I wish he had spelled out a lot of the names. That's basically my only complaint, overall I have learned a lot and been inspired by this lecture series.

Excellent!

I studied Russian History in college and have read most of the writers he discusses before. This is an excellent overview for newcomers to Russian Lit or veteran readers alike. I especially enjoyed his delivery. First off, his Russian pronunciation is excellent. He even sings a bit. This is a course I’ll probably listen to a second time.

The whole jingbang, box and dice

Prof. Weil's 36 idiomatic and often personal lectures delight in many ways. It's a broad literary sweep, with a bouncing-off-the-walls plot summary of each work. Listening to select prose and poem passages in the original Russian provided additional texture and context - it's a beautiful language. The occasional Russian song thrown in was a bonus, although like me, Irwin's a singer best suited to shower-time! I'm nicely motivated to read the works I wasn't already familiar with, esp. Mikhail Sholokhov's 'And Quiet Flows the Don'. This course series goes straight into my top 10.

Newbie

I was intimidated for a long time to take a dive into the great Russian authors and this was a perfect introduction to me, half biography and half book reviews, I listened to this through my work shifts and enjoyed every minute. The narrator has plenty of energy and was a pleasure to listen which by itself is rare enough.