One of three novels read for a literature seminar class at SMCM that I came to think of as:
"The Bridges of Madison County but in the 19th century ... One of three novels read for a literature seminar class at SMCM that I came to think of as:
"The Bridges of Madison County but in the 19th century ... and as legitimate literature. And as proto-feminism."
Probably the most enjoyable of the three, it was presented as the most obscure text of the bunch (or at least the least well-known). Think of it as "the German Madame Bovary" -- except not nearly as obnoxious.
Taken in context, it's a great look at the marriage institution during this period of German history....more
This novel was like arsenic poisoning with page numbers. An effete precursor to The Bridges of Madison County (or so I would imagine). Even taken in cThis novel was like arsenic poisoning with page numbers. An effete precursor to The Bridges of Madison County (or so I would imagine). Even taken in context it fails to satisfy in either an aesthetic or intellectual capacity. As I recall from class, we did a review of some coded color symbols; I guess that was supposed to make it significant. (Not so much.)...more
One of three novels read for a literature seminar class at SMCM that I came to think of as:
"The Bridges of Madison County but in the 19th century ... One of three novels read for a literature seminar class at SMCM that I came to think of as:
"The Bridges of Madison County but in the 19th century ... and as legitimate literature. And as proto-feminism."
I recall that my impression of this book was: "Well... It was better than Madame Bovary, so I didn't hate it. Also: Russians are awesome."
I took my time with this one, trying to give it a good, solid, "close" read. It's certainly an exemplar of the craft of Russian literature and it was not without its enjoyable moments. At the end of the day (semester?) however, I could not deny to myself that this is not a book that I necessarily would have read on my own time....more
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