Petersburg by Andrei Bely

[for those who clicked away after the first sentence, I meant 'in Russian.']
Andrei Bely (1880-1936), born Boris Bugaev, was a Symbolist writer who at the turn of the century wrote a book regarded as Russia's 'Ulysses.' A modernist monster of a work incorporating literature about Petersburg, his Symbolist ideas and those of his intellectual idols, worries of imminent revolution, and the eternal question of the Russian identity - all in a simple, dramatic story taking place over a day and a night.
White Nights, Green Ears.
(Sorry about the video glitches, don't know why it's doing that.)
versofolio.xyz

[@arefinedsolitude5199]

Many thanks for your videos. It's much appreciated.

[@1siddynickhead]

Thank you so much for this!

[@solidsnake3014]

I was just thinking about Petersburg this morning. Gud buk.

[@christophmahler]

Sensible introduction - thanks for the upload.

[@christophmahler]

"Sorry about the video glitches (...)"
Tik Tok LightemUp: "It's an electro-magnetic interference by the _'thoughtform of explosive anger'_ after passing the statue of Saturn at the Gagarin Embankment - when people appear like nothing but coats and noses..."
Although Bely is a Symbolist - what he describes reminds me _strongly_ of British writer Joseph Conrad, an 'impressionist' which make the similarities in the description of the modern social fabric even more unsettling.

[@VersoFolioBooks]

Can you recommend any Joseph Conrad in particular? I read Heart of Darkness years ago but never pursued him.

[@christophmahler]

@@VersoFolioBooks
I wrote a long reply 5 months ago with links - of course RUclips deleted it _automatically_ ...
I loved the short story that preceeded 'Heart of Darkness': *'An Outpost of progress'*

[@liquidpebbles7475]

If clickbait videos came with great recommendations like this i wouldnt mind

[@ToasterToastingToast]

You recommended the Maguire & Malmstad translation, but I am concerned about the discrepancy in length between the two versions. Why is Maquire & Malmstad half the length of the penguin edition translated by McDuff?

[@VersoFolioBooks]

I've read both and compared a bunch of sentences. The length of the actual text is about the same. It's purely down to formatting - the Malmstad is physically taller and has closely spaced text. Honestly, it's a bit unwieldy if you're using two bookmarks for text and footnotes, compared to the Penguin - but worth it for the extra context.

[@pmccartney75]

As I understand it, the Maguire Malmstad translation is of a second version of the novel which Bely revised and cut down from his original publication, and the shorter version is considered by most (Bely included) to be the definitive version. That’s why the MM translation is much shorter I think, though OP says they’re the same, so I’m not sure.

[@VersoFolioBooks]

@@pmccartney75 Just checked the MM foreword, turns out you're correct. Whoops.
Frankly I'd still recommend MM, I've read both MM and McDuff and didn't really notice anything significant was missing in the former.

[@GreyEyedAthena]

So the penguin version is thé entire version of the original book? Not the chopped up version of the book he made later on?

[@michaelfrantz975]

Twin Pillars of Russian Lit...Petersburg and The master and Margarita

[@ieronim272]

Petersburg is a monumental masterpiece, Master and Margarita barely counts as literature, more like political satire and puffed up nonsense