Rdrama bookclub. "Petersburg" Discussion Thread #2 :marseyflagrussia: :marseyww1russian1: Chapter 2

!bookworms

To discuss the second chapter of our book club pick, "Petersburg" by Andrei Bely. I'll finish the chapter tomorrow and give my takes then but the threads get published on tuesday so here it is.

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Honestly this is a very difficult book to discuss because I don't have the strand of autism that makes you obsessed with early 20th century history, so while I can understand when he's referencing or satirizing something, I have nothing more than a passing knowledge of what or why. Add to that that the footnotes generally cover it, as well as any intertextuality, and there isn't much left to say. The actual story and characters haven't sparked much interest yet. I can feel there's humor and interesting prose in there somewhere, but I fear the translation has lost it.

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Fair point. It is indeed a difficult book and a "novel of a city" type narrative, I honestly thought it would be more character driven than making St Petersburg itself a character.

but I fear the translation has lost it.

Another point that is likely true and which unfortunately affects most of Russian literature, it's a tricky language to translate and judging by some idioms used in the one I have it seems like the translator opted for a more word to word approach.

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It took some rereading to understand most of the things the stranger / Ivanovich said because years of rdrama has trained my brain not to internalize schizo posts. Also I like the r-slurred weeb lady :marseyme:

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Father Georgy was such a an r-slur he forgot he was a fed

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!anticommunists some context.

Father Gregory Apollonovich Gapon was a left wing political activist and a glowie for the tsarist secret police (Okhrana).

He led a mostly peaceful demonstration of workers to the winter palace where they were shot in 1905 and then called upon workers to stand against the tsarist regime :marseyfedposthmmm:(this event triggered the 1905 Revolution). A year later the commies figured out he was a :marseyfedpostglow: so they hanged him. The Okhrana glowies deserve an effort post tbh.

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I'm 2 chapters behind, just started since I was trying to finish some other books first :marseyseethe: But I'll try to catch up and contribute in next week's thread :marseyreading:

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:#tntbarrel:

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