Russian Book Club: Little Tragedies by Pushkin

Our book club is for anyone who is interested in Russian literature but is daunted by the prospect of reading a complete work in the original!

Each month we select a classic or contemporary Russian literary work to read in translation. While our discussions are held in English, we incorporate excerpts and quotes in Russian into the sessions to provide an authentic experience. The club is hosted by an experienced teacher, who will tailor the language element to the levels of the participants. So whether you’re an elementary or advanced learner of Russian, our book club welcomes all levels of proficiency.

Alexander Pushkin is considered to be the father and an indisputable genius of Russian literature. Little tragedies is the name of the collection of Pushkin’s four dramas in verse: The Miserly Knight, Mozart and Salieri, The Stone Guest and A feast During the Plague. They all bring up eternal questions of the complexity of human nature,  ambiguity and the duality of good and evil.

We recommend reading Pushkin in the translation by Richard Pevear and Larissa Volokhonsky: Boris Godunov, Little Tragedies, and Others: The Complete Plays (Vintage Classics): Amazon.co.uk: Pushkin, Alexander: 9780593467565: Books

There is a great commentary and another translation which you can read here

https://www.arvindguptatoys.com/arvindgupta/rus-pushkin-3tragedies.pdf

We also recommend watching the Little tragedies

Part 1

https://youtu.be/1Ke33_1de_Y?si=-D05IYQcCTbd2lJn

Part 2

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=sJcrStM2U3c

You can read it in Russian here

А. С. Пушкин. Маленькие трагедии